Since your husband is a full-time student at NIU, he is eligible for individual counseling services at the Counseling and Student Development Center (CSDC). Unfortunately, you are not eligible for CSDC services since you are not a student. However, it sounds like you could both benefit more from couples counseling.

The NIU Family Center, located on-campus in Wirtz Hall 161, telephone 753-1684, is a campus agency with a training focus. In the Family Center, advanced graduate students work with individuals, couples, and families under the direct supervision of licensed clinical faculty. Clients may be students or non-students. To contact the Family Center, call the number listed above and leave a message indicating that you would like couples counseling, and a contact number where you can be reached. Someone from the Family Center will return your call. You can then discuss your preference to work with a counselor who has a Christian Counseling perspective.

Another option would be a local community agency, the Family Service Agency, located at 14 Health Services Drive in DeKalb. The phone number for the Family Service Agency is 758-8636. This is an agency staffed by counselors and social workers who work with individuals, couples, and families. I have spoken with a representative of this agency who told me that, while no one there works strictly from a Christian Counseling framework, many of the counselors there are Christian and would likely be very supportive and respectful of your desire to have counseling that included this perspective. I would encourage you to call and explain your preference so that you can be guided to an appropriate therapist in that agency.

I hope you find at least one of these options right for you and your husband.

Sincerely,

Barb Wired