Counseling Services

CCN Therapist

Mona Ochoa-Horshok provides confidential counseling services for all Capstone College of Nursing students.  Ms. Ochoa-Horshok is a licensed professional counselor holding a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and has over twenty years of experience in counseling.  She is available Tuesdays 11-12 and Thursdays 2-3 and is located at Canterbury Chapel Episcopal Church and Student Center. Ms. Ochoa-Horshok is also available to meet via Zoom for those students who would prefer to meet virtually.

Students with ongoing counseling needs are encouraged to take advantage of the University’s Counseling Center, which is open daily and also has 24/7 on-call services. 

To make an appointment with Ms. Ochoa-Horshok contact Ms. Lisa Tyner, (205) 348-7156 or ltyner@ua.edu or Dr. Michelle Cheshire, (205) 348-1022 or mcheshire@ua.edu.

This service is supported by the generous donations made to the CCN and is offered free of charge.  

Campus Counseling Resources

Counseling Center

The Counseling Center provides counseling, outreach programming and consultation services to all enrolled students.  Consultation services are also available to faculty and staff members who are concerned about the welfare of students.  The Counseling Center offers a range of support groups and workshops on topics related to mental health/wellbeing and building skills for success in college. Students do not need to be engaged in individual counseling to take advantage of these groups. For information on specific groups being offered this semester, please visit https://counseling.sa.ua.edu/counseling/support-groups/ or call 205-348-3863.  Groups are free of charge.

Student Health Center and Pharmacy

The Student Health Center offers Health Promotion and Wellness services designed to enhance student health and well-being. 

The Student Health Center and Pharmacy provides medical, women’s health, allergy/immunizations, nutrition therapy and psychiatry services. The in-house pharmacy has the same hours as the clinics. 

Womens and Gender Resource Center

The Women and Gender Resource Center offers free and confidential counseling and advocacy services via tele-therapy, as well as in-person services as necessary. New clients can call 205-348-5040 between the hours of 8am and 5:15pm to schedule an intake and receive guidance on accessing and completing the new client forms that are submitted through DocuSign. We ask that any new clients call and speak to someone before submitting the forms. For more information on WGRC programs and services, please visit their website.

Collegiate Recovery and Intervention Services

Collegiate Recovery and Intervention Services (CRIS) provides a comprehensive continuum of care for students with substance use concerns. Services range from prevention, awareness, and exploration of consequences for high risk behaviors to a supportive, safe, and engaging environment that supports students seeking or contemplating recovery.

The Capstone Family Therapy Clinic offers individual, couple and family therapy services to UA and the surrounding community. Please call 205-348-8154 to inquire further. There are other mental health training clinics on campus that can provide resources not only for community members, but also students. These include the Psychology Clinic and the Capstone Family Therapy Clinic. The Capstone Family Therapy Clinic a training clinic, where therapists in training for marriage and family therapy serve individuals, couples, and families with a variety of mental, emotional, and relational health issues. Student fees are $5 per session.

Tips on Adjusting to College Life

Multicultural Mental Health

Tide Against Suicide

The Counseling Center, in partnership with staff, faculty, and students from across UA, is continuing our campus wide suicide prevention Tide Against Suicide initiative.

  • Visit our website to learn more about the mission and vision of the initiative, programming, prevention training, and how to become a partner.
  • Please access and bookmark information concerning the UA 911 Guide.  
  • We encourage students to access free online self-help tools available through the Counseling Center.
  • We encourage students to reach out for help by trained volunteers by texting BAMA to 741-741

Healthy Relationships

Learning and good academic performance depends on many factors in a student’s life.  One very important success ingredient involves establishing and maintaining healthy relationships with friends, faculty, staff, classmates, co-workers and others. This has proven to have its unique challenges during this season of social distancing and virtual classes.

Helpful resources for healthy relationships: 

Civility 

UA has long maintained expectations for civility on campus.  We should expect nothing less of the conduct of ourselves, students and others.  A community of learning functions at its best when it is free of abuse, bullying, harassment and violence.  Below are a few UA resources which address these concerns.

Test Anxiety

Brain Matters

Tune in to Brain Matters, the Counseling Center’s LIVE weekly one hour radio show, aired on WVUA 90.7 The Capstone, on Tuesdays from 6-7PM. The show is hosted by Dr. B.J. Guenther, a staff therapist at the UA Counseling Center and features guests who discuss mental health issues and issues pertaining to the college student population.

Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts and check out recordings of our past Brain Matters shows.