Law School Office of Wellness

Supporting the School of Law’s mission to cultivate competent and socially responsible legal professionals, the Office of Wellness believes that a healthy emotional life is fundamental to personal, academic, and professional success. Valuing individual strengths and differences, core values, and the developmental demands of legal study, our office provides compassionate, professional services supporting emotional balance and growth while encouraging individuals to reach their potential.

Our elective, free, and confidential services for NCCU law students include the following:

• Screening and assessment
• Individual counseling
• Referral services
• Consultation services (university and professional-exam disability accommodations, university and program exit/re-entry, academics, character and fitness issues, etc.)
• Health coaching
• Addiction counseling and recovery support
• Emergency response

We also offer mental health and wellness programming to the NCCU law community.

Comprehensive human wellness can be looked at in parts: social, academic, spiritual, physical, financial, and so forth. Our office believes that emotional wellness can be achieved through deepening our understanding of ourselves, embracing our emotions in constructive ways, and managing our life’s challenges with new or different approaches.

Our office is here to embrace each student’s own individual vision of wellness, identify avenues and alternatives, and provide support in each unique path of personal growth and fulfillment.

Screening is a brief clinical interaction with the purpose of deciding whether professional help is indicated, along with determining “next steps.” Assessment is an in-depth, face-to-face process that focuses on what the therapy will look like when therapy is recommended. The clinician evaluates the student’s characteristics and concerns, explores psychosocial factors relating to presenting issues in a comprehensive fashion, and works toward an individualized plan for treatment.

Combinations of services and supports may be recommended — Office of Wellness, the University Counseling Center, resources within the School of Law or the campus community — and referrals may be made to area providers and resources. Treatment options are considered with regard to each student’s unique needs.

Some ambivalence about making an initial appointment is normal. We encourage the help-seeking and self-discovery process for all of our law students.

Students may set up a non-urgent initial appointment by email or phone: [email protected], 919-530-5156.

For urgent concerns during normal hours (8 a.m.–5 p.m., M–F), students should use our urgent-access number: 980-288-5288. For crisis response after 5 p.m. and on weekends, students should access the counselor-on-call system through the university police: 919-530-6106.

As part of a treatment plan, your counselor may recommend a course of individual counseling — a series of confidential, face-to-face meetings with a counseling professional focusing on issues related to the individual’s presenting concerns. Needs are periodically re-assessed in this process and treatment is adjusted accordingly.

Students choose to become involved with counseling for a range of issues or concerns. Attending professional school, it is common for individuals to develop difficulties for the first time in their life; likewise, it is common for difficulties in a person’s history to re-emerge or for existing issues to exacerbate. No matter your circumstances, it can be helpful to speak with a counseling professional in a safe environment.

Our clinical counseling services are confidential, free, elective, and non-judgmental. In most cases, no formal “diagnosis” is entered into the confidential record.

In some cases, a student’s concerns may be beyond the scope of services provided. Alternately, some students prefer to receive services off-campus for varying reasons. The Office of Wellness is available to assist in connecting students to appropriate treatment providers — whether at the outset of therapy, after assessment, or in the course of treatment.

When a student’s well-being becomes a point of concern, our office is available to faculty, staff, friends, and family members for consultation. Consultation can be useful in mitigating confusion that surrounds mental health concerns, and it can be helpful in determining “what to do next.”

Students often seek professional consultation involving personal or professional matters that intersect with current or past mental health concerns: character and fitness issues, university and professional-exam accommodations, university and program exit/re-entry, academic requirements, etc.

Consultation for non-emergency situations may be accessed by phone (919-530-5156) or by other arrangements. Please note that, due to confidentiality, the Office of Wellness will not typically be able to share identifiable student information.

Change can be a challenge — motivational support and accountability can help. Health coaching assists individuals in accessing resources and internal strengths to meet self-identified wellness goals. Appointments are brief and behaviorally focused.

Legal professionals experience elevated levels of substance-use and alcohol-use disorders. Stress, lifestyle, co-occurring mood issues, and the professional culture are possible factors. Some law students may begin to develop substance-use or alcohol-use issues for the first time during the course of their professional study. Others may be entering professional school after substance-use treatment in the past. Recovery can be a lifelong process.

The Office of Wellness can assist in the journey of recovery. Please note, however, that we do not provide court-mandated alcohol or drug treatment — though we may be able to provide counseling required by the university or by professional practice boards. Our recovery-oriented services include:

• Substance/alcohol-use disorder screening and assessment
• Individual counseling
• Area referrals: specialists, programs, and support groups
• Consultation

Learn more about substance-use issues and alcohol-use issues in legal practice.

Students may set up a non-urgent assessment, consultation, or follow-up visit by phone or email. We make every effort to schedule students as quickly as possible, typically within a week of request.

For emergency consultation and response during daytime hours, students (or concerned parties) should use our urgent-access number: 980-288-5288.

For crisis response after 5 p.m., students should access the counselor-on-call system through university emergency services: 919-530-6106.

What Constitutes a Crisis? 

An affirmative response to any of these would indicate an emergency intervention:

• Suicidal thoughts or thoughts about hurting oneself
• Acute anxiety and an inability to calm oneself
• Thoughts about hurting others
• Out-of-control, confused, or disorganized thoughts
• A recent traumatic event (sexual assault, physical assault, or personal disaster)
• Inability to take care of one’s basic needs
• Acute drug or alcohol intoxication or withdrawal
• Fear for personal safety (stalking, receiving threats, or anticipating violence)

NCCU School of Law, Room #134 (SW corner of first-floor faculty area)
Phone: 919-530-5156
Daytime emergencies: 980-288-5288
After-hours crisis: 919-530-6106

Brett Bowers, LCMHCS, LCAS, NCC, MAC, is a licensed clinical mental health counselor supervisor, licensed clinical addiction specialist, and certified health coach with a background in university counseling center practice. As a mental health generalist, he works with a broad scope of clinical concerns. Honoring differences, he adapts counseling and treatment to fit unique individual needs.

The School of Law Office of Wellness offers clinical training experiences (when available) to candidates in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-approved counseling programs. Contact us about counseling practicum and internship in university/professional-school practice.