Services Provided

We understand that college can bring many changes to students’ lives and can be filled with experiences for which students may need extra support. Individuals and couples can work with a counselor to explore their concerns and work toward a better understanding and resolution of their difficulties. It is our goal to assist individuals in identifying problems, developing alternatives, making decisions, and helping them pursue their plan of action.

Individual therapy operates on a short-term model, meaning that while we do not have a session limit, typical courses of treatment are from 4-6 sessions up to a semester of weekly sessions.

In addition to providing individual counseling for students, CCS offers couples counseling for students who are dealing with issues in their relationship with their significant other. A couple can be married, single, LGBTQIA+, roommates, or housemates. As long as both partners are Butler University students, the couple can be seen at CCS for couples counseling.

Our staff strive to work within an approach that is culturally humble and trauma informed. Mental health treatment at CCS is tailored to the needs of each student. CCS clinicians are informed by a diversity of lived experiences and theoretical orientations.

General Therapy Groups

Our general therapy groups are named Understanding Self and Others primarily because they are designed for students who wish to increase self understanding, self-esteem, and intimacy in relationships, as well as address their interpersonal style and relationship-building skills. Group members come together with others who are also struggling with something about themselves or their lives with which they are not happy. The group provides a private, warm and supportive environment in which you can constructively experiment with new ways of relating to others, share personal experiences, express fears and concerns, and get support and feedback.

Themed Groups

CCS offers a variety of themed group experiences based on current needs of students presenting to our services. Themed groups we have offered include:

• Grief/Loss
• Trauma/Sexual Assault Recovery Support
• Family Difficulties
• BIPOC Student Support
• Neurodivergent Student Support
• LGBTQIA+ Student Support
• Perfectionism
• Eating/Body Image Support
• Therapy Dogs Support

If you are interested in becoming a member of a group, please call us at 317-940-9777 to talk about your needs and check the day and time each group meets. Groups are limited to 8 participants, and they are typically filled within the first few weeks of each semester. Some of our groups are drop-in and some are closed, so we do ask that students who attend closed groups complete our intake forms and discuss this treatment option with a clinician prior to participation.

Bella is happy to join CCS as part of the animal assisted therapy program! Bella is an 8-year-old English Bulldog. She has a rambunctious, friendly personality and loves belly rubs, treats, and playing with her hundreds of toys. Bella loves to monitor the halls of CCS and greet all the clients before and after sessions. You can see Bella on campus in her stroller- she is not much of a walker! She loves to go to Atherton Union for pup cups at Starbucks and is happy to get pets from everyone that walks by.  

After successfully completing almost a year of obedience school, Bella passed her American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Test to join the CCS staff as a therapy dog. Bella gets excited to come to work every day at CCS where she provides support for students in counseling; whether she is helping students reduce their anxiety, consoling grieving students, or simply filling a gap for homesick students missing their family, she is always a comfort! When Bella is not at work bringing smiles to Butler students and staff, she lives at home with Dr. Kiray and her dog brother Ox. 

To visit Bella, simply call CCS at 317-940-9777 or email Dr. Kiray at ckiray@butler.edu  

Lilo joined CCS as a therapy dog in Fall 2023! She is an 8-year-old Chihuahua-Shih Tzu mix with two dog brothers, one cat brother, and two human siblings. She enjoys sunbathing, assisting health services with blood draws and injections, and licking ankles. She can often be found laying in a sunny spot in the hallway, croissant-like in her dog bed, or perched on the back of an arm chair. Some say she is cat-coded as she is not fond of typical dog things (or dogs), but she has a huge heart for her human pals.

Lilo has graduated from puppy and basic training programs and passed her American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Test to join CCS staff as a therapy dog. Lilo loves Monday mornings and despises Friday afternoons because she loves her job. Students have described her as sweet, adorable, and, of course, very small.

To visit Lilo, simply call CCS at 317-940-9777 or email Dr. Casiana Warfield at cwarfiel@butler.edu

CCS contracts with a licensed psychiatrist, Dr. DeLynn Williams, to provide free consultations for medications related to mental health conditions such as mood disorders, anxiety, and ADHD.  Prior to consulting Dr. Williams regarding medication to treat ADHD, students must provide documentation that sufficiently evaluates and substantiates this diagnosis. CCS will bill a student’s account $50 for any appointments that are missed without prior notification.

CCS typically refers students to local substance abuse treatment facilities for assessment and treatment of substance-related difficulties.  The scope of services offered by CCS does not currently include AOD education, mandated assessments, or court-mandated referrals.

Counseling & Consultation Services (CCS) offers limited generalist counseling services, by licensed and professionally trained staff, to currently enrolled Butler University students. CCS supports the educational mission of Butler University by providing short-term therapeutic intervention so that students may reach their personal and academic goals. Consultation and programmatic outreach services are available to students, faculty, staff and employees of Butler University.

In accordance with this mission, the services are not focused on remedial or reconstructive (long term therapy or multiple appointments weekly) experiences. Likewise, CCS is not appropriate for students whose conditions are deemed more complex (for example, medically, in level of severity, pharmacologically, legally, or due to specialized circumstances) than what can be treated in an ethically appropriate way by CCS staff. Students presenting with such conditions will be referred to appropriate resources in the community at the discretion of the Director. Students are responsible for paying the costs incurred for services and treatment provided through outside agencies.

Students must be currently enrolled at Butler University to be eligible for services. Any faculty or staff of Butler University who are also enrolled in courses at Butler are not eligible for psychotherapeutic services and will be referred to the University’s Employee Assistance Program for such services.

See Outreach & Consultation for information on educational programs and trainings.