Mission:
Counseling Services’ mission is to provide high quality, holistic mental health services to the Columbia College Chicago student body. Through collaborative and confidential relationships, we work with students to develop the coping strategies necessary for success in their academic, professional, and personal lives. We aim to assist students in developing resiliency, self-esteem, and confidence using evidence-based practices to guide our work.
Vision:
Our vision is to promote human diversity, end the stigma of mental illness, and eliminate the barriers to quality and effective mental health services. We strive to create an affirming, inclusive environment that fosters self-discovery, and empowers students to find their own voice and utilize their strengths. We envision a therapeutic space that allows all students to feel seen and heard!
Diversity Statement:
Counseling Services is committed to providing services that acknowledge and promote the diversity of our students. We engage in culturally humble practices that honor the variety of the human experience. We respect each student’s individuality, creativity, and unique expression through the therapeutic process.
Our Staff:
Britt Hodgdon, LCSW
Director of Counseling Services
312-369-7480
"I love surrounding myself with big thinkers and dreamers and seriously love a good conversation with a stranger out in the streets of Chicago. I’m equally drawn to nature and solitude and being in the dirt, be it a garden or a good hike. I’m a writer, a community person, a mama and have a house full of beloved pets to make sure it never gets boring."
Anna Looker, LCPC
Staff Therapist
312-369-6962
“I'm an outgoing person who loves to meet new people and connect with others! In my free time, I’m often reading a fantasy or sci-fi novel, playing volleyball, taking a long walk with a large coffee, checking out an antique shop, or relaxing with my Siamese cat, Beatrice.
Richard Chin, LCSW
Coordinator of Counseling Services
312-369-8539
"I enjoy going for walks with my wife, playing with my kid and dogs, and fumbling through licks on the guitar. I try to find joy and humor in life and in frustration.”
Connie Valle
Administrative Assistant
312-369-8700
“I love spending time with my Family and having Family Dinners. I enjoy long car rides (we turn them into karaoke time!); definitely enjoy music especially oldies music. I love Mediterranean food and pizza! I enjoy good jokes and laughs. My favorite shows are The Big Bang Theory and The History Channel. I like going to art galleries and admire different kinds of art.”
- Britt Hodgdon, LCSW
Britt Hodgdon, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, received her Master of Social Work from University of Chicago in 2013. She has worked in a variety of trauma recovery-based settings, including services for pregnant and parenting youth in care, unhoused youth, children’s sex abuse recovery, community and interpersonal violence recovery and therapy for people living with HIV and impacted by oppression due to other intersecting identities.
Britt entered the field of social work with the intention of supporting people without access get the care they need to recover from trauma regardless of ability to pay. Britt works from a relational, body-centered, radical relationship stance and enjoys using humor, creativity and deep listening to get to the healing.
Britt has a keen interest in addressing social determinants of mental health, utilizing harm reduction as a means of collective care and attachment work both with children and caregivers and in adults who recognize the signs of complex attachment patterns in their current relationships. Britt is passionate about youth-centered work and doing what it takes to help young people get and stay well to break family cycles of trauma and harm.
- Anna Looker, LCPC
Anna Looker, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, holds a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Concordia University Chicago. For many years, Anna worked in a variety of settings, including community mental health centers, shelter/transitional housing programs, residential services, and outpatient clinics- providing individual and group treatment for severe mental illness as well as substance abuse. When she began working in university settings, she discovered a passion for working with students.
Anna strives to create a safe, supportive, and collaborative relationship with clients. She enjoys partnering with clients to discover and develop their inner strengths, abilities, and resilience. Her theoretical style draws from dialectal behavioral therapy, solution focused therapy, cognitive behavioral approaches, and brief narrative therapy.
Anna’s clinical interests include working with depression and other mood disorders, anxiety, substance use issues, emotional regulation, social skills-building, and adjustment challenges. She also has a keen interest in suicide prevention and crisis intervention.
- Richard Chin, LCSW
Richard Chin, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, holds a Master of Social Work from UIC’s Jane Addams College of Social Work and a BSEd in Human Development and Psychological Services from Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy. He has worked with diverse populations in both community and institutional settings providing treatment for both substance use disorders and mental illnesses.
He utilizes an “Eclectic” therapeutic approach drawing on a variety of theoretical frameworks to individualize treatment for his clients and is largely informed by Rogerian, or Person-centered, principles. His clinical interests are in mood and anxious disorders, especially as they relate to life changes.
- Connie Valle
Connie joined Counseling Services in January 2019 and brings excellent customer service skills and enthusiasm to the office. Connie earned her Certificate of Nurse Assistant from Harold Washington College and is continuing her education. Connie has over eight years of experience working with diverse populations and within residential-outpatient services serving individuals with chronic illnesses. She strives to make her interactions with students comfortable and enjoyable.