Campus Life
Joel Porter Counseling Center
Free, confidential counseling for every enrolled student, in 104 Davis Hall.
Joel Porter Counseling Center
Free, confidential, and here for you
Eligibility and cost
All currently enrolled students are eligible. Services are free.
Appointments
Contact Toni Cochis, Director · 104 Davis Hall · (919) 497-3420
Counseling is not provided via email.
Professional counseling is available to all enrolled students at no cost. Schedule an appointment by calling, emailing, or visiting Davis Hall.
Your privacy is protected. The center does not disclose your participation or information without written consent, except in limited situations required by law or safety concerns. Counseling records are stored securely and kept separate from academic records.
Exceptions include:
- Risk of harm to others: Action may be taken to protect others, including contacting authorities or notifying individuals at risk.
- Risk of harm to self: The center may arrange off-campus evaluation or contact a support person.
- Abuse or neglect: Suspected abuse of a minor or disabled adult must be reported to state authorities.
- Legal orders: Information may be released if required by court order or federal authority.
Counseling helps clarify goals, address challenges, and build coping strategies through guided conversation and self-exploration. The center provides short-term individual and group therapy using structured models to meet student demand.
Eligibility and Cost
All currently enrolled students are eligible. Services are free.
Appointments
Contact Toni Cochis, Director
104 Davis Hall
(919) 497-3420
Counseling is not provided via email.
Students requiring services beyond the center’s scope are referred to external providers at their own expense. Referrals may occur at intake or after initial sessions.
Common reasons for referral include:
- Need for long-term or intensive care
- Complex clinical conditions not suited to short-term therapy
- Requirement for more frequent sessions than available
- Chronic suicidal ideation or recent attempts
- Severe self-injury
- Multiple psychiatric hospitalizations
- Court-ordered treatment
- Need for psychological testing
- Active psychosis
- Specialized care needs, including eating disorders or substance use requiring higher-level treatment
Icebergs Conflict Resolution Workshop
Anger is a normal response to conflict. This workshop focuses on understanding anger, identifying triggers, and managing reactions effectively. Participants learn how to respond calmly in challenging situations and express emotions constructively.
CHANGES Program
CHANGES addresses alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. It is available to students seeking support and is also assigned for policy violations.
The program uses guided self-exploration to help students understand their substance use, recognize patterns, and identify areas for change. A licensed substance abuse counselor leads the process and provides tools to support healthier decisions.
ARC Program
ARC is an intervention for students who complete CHANGES and have a subsequent substance-related incident. It is a structured, individualized program focused on decision-making and coping strategies.
The program emphasizes accountability, reflection, and problem-solving to reduce repeat behavior. It is not a treatment program but provides additional support. Participation includes strict requirements; noncompliance may result in suspension or expulsion. Counseling and additional resources are available.
Workshop and Outreach Requests
Submit requests for workshops or outreach at least three weeks in advance by contacting the Joel Porter Counseling Center.
From the Counseling Center
Policies and services in full
Confidentiality is a priority. Our goal is to provide a safe environment in which to discuss personal issues. If you seek counseling, you have a right to privacy. The center will not disclose that you have received counseling or the specifics to anyone without your written permission. Rare exceptions may occur in regards to safety issues or court orders.
The center keeps and files counseling documents in a secure location for their use, separate from all other records, including academic. Much of what you may wish to share is very personal. The Joel Porter Counseling Center joins with the administration of the college in affirming your right to privacy.
The college will not disclose your information without your written permission except for the following reasons:
- Imminent Harm to Others: If the center has reason to believe that you are seriously threatening physical violence against another person, or if you have a history of physically violent behavior, and if the center believes that you are an actual threat to the safety of another person, they will take action. They may contact the police, seek hospitalization, notify another person, or a combination to ensure the other person’s protection.
- Imminent Harm to Self: If the center has reason to believe you are in danger of physically harming yourself or are unable to follow treatment recommendations, they may take steps. They may arrange for an evaluation off-campus and contact a family member or another person to help protect you.
- Abuse of Children or Disable Adults: If the center has reason to believe that anyone is abusing or neglecting a child under the age of 18 or a disabled adult, the center is legally obligated to report the situation to the appropriate state agency.
- Legal Compliance: If a court of law or the Department of Homeland Security orders the release of certain information, we are legally required to comply with this order.
Counseling does not tell you what to do, how to feel, or who to be; counseling can, however, help you clarify goals and find solutions to problems through careful listening, guided self-exploration, and new perspectives and information. Counseling services provide brief mental health counseling and related support. These services help Louisburg College students identify barriers, improve coping skills and achieve personal goals. Joel Counseling Services utilizes six short-term individual therapy and group therapy models to meet significant student demand and use our resources effectively.
Any student currently enrolled at Louisburg College is eligible to see a counselor free of charge.
Any information you share with the Joel Porter Counseling Center staff is confidential and stored separately from your academic records. Students may discuss the legalities of releasing information with the counseling center staff.
See Toni Cochis, Director of the Joel Porter Counseling Center - 104 Davis Hall - (919) 497-3420
We are unable to provide counseling or psychological advice through email.
If there are needs beyond what the center’s model accommodates, it will refer those students to an outside community provider. The student bears the cost of external services. Such referrals might occur immediately following an intake, or they might occur after some treatment and a further assessment of need has taken place.
Some examples of clinical concerns that result in a referral to an outside treatment provider are:
- Individuals with chronic mental health conditions that require long-term, ongoing care
- Clinical presentations, such as some personality disorders that indicate short-term therapy may be ineffective or detrimental
- A need or desire to see a counselor more frequently than the center can accommodate.
- Chronic suicidal thoughts or recent history of multiple suicide attempts
- Severe and chronic self-injury
- A history of multiple psychiatric hospitalizations
- Court-ordered treatment
- Psychological testing and assessment
- Active symptoms of psychosis at risk for progressive deterioration
Concerns that require a more specialized form of care than can be provided at the Joel Counseling Services, including:
- Significant or chronic disordered eating symptoms
- Significant or chronic substance use which requires long-term therapy or a higher level of care
Workshops
Icebergs, CHANGES, ARC, and outreach requests
Anger is a natural, basic emotion everyone experiences as all people face conflict in their lives. All of us need to feel safe and secure, have a sense of belonging, identity, autonomy, and control over our environment. The center offers this workshop to help you learn how to manage and express angry feelings effectively. We talk about what anger is and recognize what triggers anger. We discuss how to think and act more calmly during challenging moments in life. Come learn how to “keep your cool.”
CHANGES is an alcohol and drug program available to students concerned about their alcohol or drug use - including tobacco or the use of those with whom you intimately interact. The college also utilizes the program in a sanctioned format for students who violate the college's policy regarding alcohol and drugs.
CHANGES Program utilizes various approaches to assist students in gaining a better understanding of their alcohol and drug use through self-exploration and reflection. A licensed substance abuse counselor applies guided materials to help students further their knowledge about alcohol and drugs, with a strong emphasis on self-identifying areas that warrant a need for change. The program offers students additional skill resources that will support their desire for change.
ARC is an intervention program designed for those students who have completed the CHANGES Program and have had another substance abuse-related incident on campus. This initiative is an individualized sanction that helps students further explore their decision-making methods while developing effective coping skills to help them deal with whatever they face. The center did not design this program for treatment but for extra support to students who need it to achieve their goals while on campus.
The ARC Program helps students look at all areas of their lives. They can reflect when decision-making has had a negative consequence and work on problem-solving techniques, leading hopefully to better choices. Students who the college has referred to the ARC Program have stringent guidelines to follow. If a student is not compliant, the college may suspend or expel them from campus. Students will have access to counseling if needed and additional resources that will support their desire for change.
If you would like to request that our staff provide a workshop or other outreach event, please contact the Joel Porter Counseling Center three weeks before the requested date.
In Crisis?
Call for help now.
During business hours, contact the Counseling Center or come to 104 Davis Hall. After hours, contact Campus Safety at (919) 497-3400.