For students dealing with academic anxiety, shyness, career choice problems, relationship conflicts or any other low-level anxiety problems — there is hope.

Student Counseling Services, located on the third floor of the Student Services building, offers many opportunities for ISU students to get free and confidential counseling.

“Our goal is to help students be successful academically,” said Lenore Binen, clinical director and staff psychologist.

Binen said students who need counseling should call the counseling service to make a screening appointment. The screening appointment lasts about 50 minutes and determines the best course of action for the student, Binen said.

Staffed with 11 doctoral students in the ISU counseling psychology doctoral program, five pre-doctoral level counselors, 11 senior staff level counselors and one marriage and family therapist with a doctoral degree, Student Counseling Service offers many skilled people to help students.

Individual, group and career counseling are a few of the services offered by Student Counseling Services.

“It’s a sign of maturity when people are willing to seek help,” said Suzanne Zilber, training director and staff psychologist. “We have a wonderful counseling staff.”

Zilber said the counseling staff is dedicated to matching the right counselor to each client. She also stressed the need for students to recognize problems before the problems get out of hand.

If students wait until their situation is severe, Student Counseling Services will not be able to give these clients to counselors in training, Zilber said.

Students who have trouble sleeping, have a loss of appetite, are withdrawn socially, lack motivation at school or feel sad or depressed should consider setting up an appointment for help.

“A lot of students are proactive; [they know] tendencies toward a particular problem before it starts interfering with school,” Binen said.

Zilber said even issues like homesickness, decision-making problems and changing majors can be dealt with through Student Counseling Services.

“We would like [these students] to come in,” she said. “We have counselors who are delighted to help.”

The many demands students struggle with include establishing satisfactory interpersonal relationships, establishing a career path and purpose, financial demands and balancing meeting family needs with school, Zilber said.

“We want to help them cope so they can keep going as students,” Zilber said.