As of Monday, January 27, the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine has a full-time licensed counseling psychologist on staff with almost 20 years of experience providing counseling for college students. Colleen Maguire Jackson, PhD, HSPP, has provided a range of clinical services to students at Purdue University for the past 15 years. After completion of her doctoral degree, she held positions at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) as a staff therapist, coordinator of alcohol and other drug services, training director, and assistant director. Dr. Maguire Jackson also previously provided mental health services to Purdue veterinary students, interns, residents, veterinary nursing students, and graduate students at a CAPS satellite office that was located in Lynn Hall from 2006 to 2012, prior to the College’s creation of an in-house, full-time therapist position.
Dr. Maguire Jackson said she is passionate about promoting the wellness of professional degree students who seek to better themselves through growing their minds and spirits. “I take a holistic approach in supporting students’ development as they adjust to the rigors of veterinary medicine, which often challenge even the best practiced self-care regimes,” she explained. Dr. Maguire Jackson brings expertise in the treatment of depression, anxiety, relational distress, grief, personal and professional adjustment, stress management, substance abuse, and identity development.
Dr. Maguire Jackson also said she greatly enjoys working with a wide range of students through a lens of cultural humility, building upon students’ strengths and empowering all of their identities. Her philosophy of mental wellness honors an understanding that everyone needs help sometime and counseling can be one of many paths toward more balance and self-compassion. In her free time, Dr. Maguire Jackson enjoys quiet time and travel with her family and dog. She maintains her own wellness through the practice of mindfulness, prioritizing time for relationships, life-long learning, and engaging in meaningful work as a therapist.
Dr. Maguire Jackson’s office is in Lynn 1245 (the same office used by the former therapist, Dr. Luana Nan). You can contact her by phone at 765-494-9759, email at cjackson1@purdue.edu, or feel free to drop-in when her office door is open. Dr. Maguire Jackson’s arrival this week completes PVM’s therapist team, as she joins Catherine Lawhorne, who started as the College’s new part-time therapist January 13, and has an office in Lynn G158E, across from the G167 classroom. Information about how to schedule appointments will be available on the Counseling and Wellness Services website. Please help extend a warm PVM welcome to both of our new therapists!