Welcome to the IPFW Community Counseling Center, as counselors, we are dedicated to helping individuals, couples, and families deal more effectively with their concerns. We are a free clinic and would like to help you.
The IPFW Counseling Center is the primary training center for graduate students-in-training. Most sessions are observed by a faculty supervisor and another student. Each evening, the professional team discusses how to provide the best services possible. In the last decade, IPFW faculty and counseling students earned two national and nine statewide awards for excellence. The program has both state and national accreditation.
We respect the rights of clients and adhere to a strict ethical code. A central tenet of our ethical code is maintaining client confidentiality as mandated by law. Indiana law requires all counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers to report child abuse. We must also tell authorities if clients become a danger to themselves or others.
We extend services to everyone, regardless of race, sex, religion, gender preference, or national origin. We believe that individual growth and development are best nurtured in the context of environmental and family relationships.
For more information write to: Ethical Standards, National Board for Certified Counselors, #3-D Terrace Way, Greensboro NC 27403.
Contacting Your Counselor:
If you need to contact your counselor to cancel an appointment or if you have an emergency, call (260) 481-5405. To leave a message for your counselor, follow the prompts:
- Press 1 to leave a message for the clinic manager.
- Press 2 if your appointments are on Mondays.
- Press 3 if your appointments are on Tuesday nights.
- Press 4 if your appointments are on Wednesday nights.
If you have an emergency that cannot wait, you can call St. Joseph Behavioral Health at (260) 425-3606 or Parkview Behavioral Health at 260-373-7602.
Welcome desk in the IPFW Community Counseling Center.
The IPFW Counseling Center offers help for individuals (adults and children), couples, and families experiencing personal problems, adjustment reactions, or career-counseling concerns. Typical client issues include:
- Relationships issues
- Self-concepts enhancement
- Time management
- School problems
- Family and martial counseling
- Depression/anxiety disorders
- Assertiveness training
- Career counseling
- Parenting and child discipline
- Coping with loss
- Remarriage and step-family issues
- Stress reduction
- Life adjustments problems
Fees
Sessions are free of charge.
Appointments
To arrange an appointment or make a referral to the IPFW Counseling Center, call 260-481-5405. Sessions are available by scheduled appointment, Monday 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. All inquiries are treated confidentially.
Cancellations and Missed Appointments
As a client at the IPFW Community Counseling Center, it is important that you attempt to keep all of your scheduled appointments. There is a high demand for our free services and we often have a significant waiting list. If you need to cancel, please call your counselor or the clinic manager. If you do not show up for a scheduled appointment and your counselor cannot get in touch with you to confirm your next appointment, your time slot may be given to someone else on the waiting list.
Therefore, if you miss an appointment, please contact your counselor or the clinic manager to confirm your next appointment. If you miss three appointments, we must give your appointment time to someone else on the waiting list. Counseling has the best results when a client consistently comes to his/her appointments. We hope we can work together to make this a beneficial experience for you.
Contacting Your Counselor:
If you need to contact your counselor to cancel an appointment or if you have an emergency, call (260) 481-5405. To leave a message for your counselor, follow the prompts:
- Press 1 to leave a message for the clinic manager.
- Press 2 if your appointments are on Mondays.
- Press 3 if your appointments are on Tuesday nights.
- Press 4 if your appointments are on Wednesday nights.
If you have an emergency that cannot wait, you can call St. Joseph Behavioral Health at (260) 425-3606 or Parkview Behavioral Health at 260-373-7602.
Ashley Freels
Clinic Manager
Lidija Situm
Clinical Director for the Counselor Education Program
Location
The IPFW Counseling Center is located northeast of IPFW’s main campus on the shared IVY Tech/IPFW north campus in the Dolnick Learning Center building.
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Office location:
IPFW Community Counseling Center
Dolnick Learning Center Building
100 Baker Drive
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46835
Mailing address:
IPFW Community Counseling Center
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
Parking
Free parking is available at the Dolnick Learning Center building where the IPFW Counseling Center is located. Please feel free to park in the areas marked “college parking”. Handicapped parking is also available.
Possession of Drugs, Alcohol, or Weapons
IPFW policy prohibits the possession of drugs, alcohol, or weapons on its property.
Clients Who are Minors
Clients under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian for the initial session. The legal guardian must sign the “Consent for Treatment" and "Custody Addendum" forms before counseling can begin. A determination will be made during the first session regarding who will attend counseling to best serve the child’s needs.
Confidentiality
As counselors, we respect the rights of clients and adhere to a strict ethical code. A central tenet of our ethical code is maintaining client confidentiality as mandated by law. Any information you share cannot be released to anyone without your written consent. The only exception that may occur is where Indiana law requires counselors, psychologists, psychiatrist, marriage/family therapists, and social workers to break confidentiality. These areas include when clients are a danger to themselves or others, or when there is evidence of child abuse. Counselors are also required to break confidentiality when required by court to release information. For more information you may contact the American School Counselors Association or the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Video Camera
A video camera is used to record counseling sessions. A supervisor (a licensed counselor or therapist) monitors the sessions either live via a television in a different room, or by viewing the recorded session. This is a teaching tool used to help train the counseling student. The recordings are not viewed by anyone outside of the counseling team and are never taken out of the clinic. Recordings are always destroyed in less than 2 weeks.
Technology used in the IPFW Community Counseling Center.
When you come to the clinic, you will work with a graduate student in the counseling program. The IPFW Counseling Center is the primary training center for graduate students-in-training. Most sessions are observed by a faculty supervisor and another student. Each evening, the professional team discusses how to provide the best services possible. In the last decade, IPFW faculty and counseling students earned two national and nine statewide awards for excellence. The program has both state and national accreditation.
The graduate counseling students are supervised by one of the following faculty members.
Faculty Supervisors
Dr. James Burg
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Mental Health Counselor
Associate Professor / Interim Dean of the College of Education and Public Policy
Dr. Kerrie Fineran
Assistant Professor / NCC / PSC / Coordinator, School Counseling
Dr. Benjamin Houltberg
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Assistant Professor / Coordinator, Couple and Family Counseling
Dr. Amy Nitza
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Associate Professor / Director of Counselor Education
