Counseling Services

Counseling Services

Central Piedmont’s Counseling Services provides personal and academic counseling to current students, as well as crisis intervention for students who are suicidal, confused, involved in unsafe relationships, or experiencing other emergencies. Whether your concern is academic, personal, or a mix of both, we are here to help you.

Counseling Services During Coronavirus

To promote the health and safety of our students and staff alike during the coronavirus situation, Counseling Services will now serve you online. We are available by email or by phone or video appointments for:

  • personal counseling support
  • academic probation
  • academic suspension
  • advising for pre-health science programs

Contact a Counselor

Our diverse counseling staff bring unique training, specializations, and backgrounds to the work they do. When scheduling a personal counseling appointment, you are encouraged to communicate any specific preferences regarding experience, specialty, gender, etc. that you feel might be helpful. We will accommodate these requests when possible. When not possible, please know that our counselors will be sensitive to your concerns and help arrange a referral when needed.

If you experience a mental health emergency, please call 911.

When to See a Counselor

People come to Counseling Services for a lot of different reasons. You’re encouraged to come see us when you want to:

  • clarify your goals for college and your education and create new strategies to achieve them
  • discuss study habits and your educational history
  • improve your academic standing and meet Standards of Academic Progress
  • receive short-term personal counseling
  • manage anxiety and stress
  • improve relationships and build a support system
  • explore new ways to take care of yourself
  • connect with resources on and off campus
  • get information about Central Piedmont degrees, diplomas, and certificates
  • receive course recommendations (for students without a faculty advisor)

Counselors are available during Central Piedmont's standard operating hours to help you if you are experiencing a personal crisis. If you have an emergency after hours, or if you are off-campus, please call 911.

You can also make a counseling services referral for someone else.

Need Counseling?

  • Personal Counseling Assistance Program

    The Personal Counseling Assistance Program is a free and confidential service available to you when you face challenging times. You and your counselor work together to discover solutions for problems and create strategies for successfully meeting goals. When you can benefit from the services of other professionals, counselors will provide you with referrals as appropriate. You might seek personal counseling if you are experiencing any of the following:

    • stress and worry
    • feeling depressed
    • struggles in personal relationships
    • parenting issues
    • low self-confidence or self-esteem
    • test-taking anxiety
    • grief
    • unclear goals
    • substance abuse
    • low motivation
    • a crisis

    Counselors are available during Central Piedmont's standard operating hours. You may drop by the counseling and advising services reception desk at your nearest campus to make an appointment, or call 704.330.6433. Please specify that you want an appointment for personal counseling.

    If you are having an emergency, you will be seen without an appointment whenever possible. If you have an emergency after hours, or if you are off-campus, please call 911.

Counseling Center Events and Activities

Counseling Services also hosts workshops, events, and other activities to promote academic success, healthy relationships, and personal wellness; you are invited to attend, and faculty are encouraged to bring their classes.

  • Positive Community for Women

  • Request a Speaker: Speakers' Bureau

    The Counseling Services Speakers’ Bureau is available to serve faculty and staff of the college by reaching out to students via classroom visits, lunch and learn presentations, student or college organizations, etc. The goal of the Speakers’ Bureau is to offer information to students that can help them in their academic pursuits as well as personal growth.

    The Speakers’ Bureau consists of counselors on staff at the college who can present on a variety of topics, including Counseling & Advising 101, Healthy Relationships, Domestic Violence Awareness, Effective Communication, Goal Setting, Stress Management, and Time Management, to name a few.

    Don’t see your topic of interest? No problem! Just include it on the “Other” line of the speaker request form and we can discuss customizing a presentation to meet your need. For optimum service, we ask that you submit your request at least two weeks in advance to allow presenters time to adequately prepare. If you have difficulty submitting your request online, feel free to email your request directly to counseling@cpcc.edu.

    Speakers' Bureau Presentation Topics

    The following is a listing of frequently requested presentations. If you have an interest in other topics, Counseling Services will be happy to develop something to meet your needs.

    • Domestic Violence Awareness 101: gages students’ existing knowledge about Domestic Violence (DV) and
    • dispels some widely believed myths about DV. It also defines what DV is and what it is not, as well as highlights types of abuse, warning signs, characteristics of batterers, and the importance of holding abusers accountable and not blaming victims. The presentation also explores some of the reasons why victims of DV often stay with their abusers.
    • Counseling and Advising 101: An overview of Student Success Services and the different services offered by
    • Academic Advisors, Student Counselors, Transfer Advisors, Faculty Advisors, and Career Counselors. Designed to help students understand the differences between various counseling and advising staff available to assist them and know where to go when they need assistance. The presentation also includes information to help students understand SOP, priority registration, GPAs, and college policies for withdrawing from courses.
    • Healthy Relationships: Relationships are a very important and necessary part of all of our lives. No one can successfully get through life without connecting with others in a meaningful way. This presentation gives some background information to support our vital need for meaningful, loving connection and relationship with others, as well as offers some insight into what makes relationships healthy.
    • Goal Setting and Planning: In order to get to where you want to be, you must first know where it is you’re going and make a plan to get there. This is the essence of goal-setting and planning. This presentation explores the concepts of short, mid, and long-term goals and provides strategies for successfully setting goals.
    • Anxiety and Test-taking Strategies: Anxiety is a part of life, particularly when one feels overwhelmed. Many students face anxiety specific to test-taking. In this brief presentation, we explore the physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral manifestations of anxiety, as well as offer some strategies to help manage and overcome anxiety related to test-taking.
    • Faculty & Students Communicating for College Success: Communication is the key to good understanding. This presentation discusses the benefits of students keeping the lines of communication open with their instructors. The presentation also discusses learning styles and teaching styles and how understanding each can help students excel in the classroom.
    • Effective Communication: Communication is the thread that keeps people connected to each other. This
    • presentation defines what communication is, some elements that make communication more effective, why communication is important, obstacles to effective communication, and the very important roles of listening and responding.
    • Assertive Communication: Say It Like You Mean It: There are two versions of this presentation title. Both focus on assertive communication. One also focuses on helping the audience learn how to communicate in ways that will allow one to be heard, offering tips for assertive communication on various levels. The other focuses on types of communication, the pros and cons of each type, and how people can learn to communicate more successfully.
    • Stress Management: This presentation defines what stress is and the effect it can have on one’s sense of wellbeing. It also discusses some common mistakes that people make in failing to manage their stress, as well as offering healthy strategies for coping with and minimizing stress in one’s life. We also offer a presentation that focuses specifically on how laughter can be used to combat stress.
    • Time Management: This presentation defines what time management is and offers students various time management strategies. The presentation challenges students to view time as a nonrenewable resource and limited commodity that must be managed efficiently to get the most out of it. Topics such as goal-setting, planning, procrastination and setting a study schedule are discussed.
    • Balancing Roles: This presentation focuses on the various roles that we all play in life and offers helpful tips on how we can balance those roles by setting goals, prioritizing, and managing our time well. It also contrasts the traditional view of finding balance with the more contemporary view of it, which includes a focus on values and coping skills, in addition to time management.
    • Diversity: This presentation focuses on diversity between groups, between individuals, and within
    • individuals. It also discusses the reasons for conflict between groups.
    • Math Anxiety: This presentation gives some general information about math anxiety and focuses on reasons for math anxiety, how it affects people (i.e. symptoms), and some strategies and tips for addressing, managing, and/or overcoming math anxiety.

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