Registered ESF students are eligible to seek services at Counseling Services. During your initial intake session, you and your counselor will determine your goals and outline some of the services which may be most helpful to you.

There is no charge for counseling sessions. Counseling Services is supported by the Student Health Fee and the College's budget.

Counseling Services provides counseling and educational programs to students, and are available to staff and faculty for consultations regarding students. We are also available to assist with referral for medication evaluation at Crouse, ESF's Student Health Center.

Counselors work with students to accommodate busy schedules. Please keep in mind, counseling is short-term, solution-focused in nature. If the student requires additional and/or intensive services, the counselor will work with the student to connect with agencies and other counselors in the surrounding community for ongoing care.

ESF counselors offer dozens of prevention, education and outreach events to students throughout the year. Some events include:

• QPR (Suicide Prevention)
• Eating Disorders/Body Image Workshops
• Therapy Dogs
• International Women's Day Bake Sale

If you would like Counseling Services to provide an educational workshop for your club or organization, please contact us at 315-470-6660 or rlarson@esf.edu.

Confidentiality

Counselors take your confidentiality very seriously. What you say in counseling stays in counseling with a few, very specific exceptions:

• You are an imminent danger to yourself or others
• You make terroristic threats
• You are abusing a child or vulnerable adult
• Your file is subpoenaed by a court of law and the subpoena is signed by a judge

Client counseling files are securely kept and never become part of your academic record. Your parents/guardians, ESF staff or faculty will not be informed of your participation in counseling.

Meet the Staff

Ruth A. Larson, Director of Counseling Services
Ruth has been a counselor for over 25 years and her focus is on adjusting to college, depression, anxiety, mindfulness, grief and loss, PTSD, sexual and relationship violence, and LGBTQIA+ issues. She is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), an effective tool for PTSD and phobias. Ruth is a member of the Association for University and Community College Counseling Directors and the American Counseling Association.

Ruth Larson's Intro Bio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js1vbNnUHTc

Maggie McCurdy, Staff Therapist
Maggie has been a counselor since 2013 and been providing mental health counseling in higher education settings since then. Maggie's areas of focus are adjusting to college, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, autism spectrum, and LGBTQIA+ issues. Maggie is a registered member of The International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals Foundation and the American Counseling Association.

Maggie McCurdy's Intro Bio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFhYl2CoxXo