Individual counseling services are available at WRAC during the Fall and Spring semesters. Counseling is provided by advanced graduate students who are doing their practicum at WRAC. Counseling services are confidential, and offered at no cost, to UI students, employees, postdoc scholars, and the public.
To request counseling services, please email wrac@uiowa.edu. You will be asked for some basic information, including how the counselor can contact you directly to set up your initial appointment. All information you provide will be kept confidential.
Our 2024-25 Counselors
Claire McCall, M.A.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Doctoral Student, Counseling Psychology
Claire McCall is a PhD student studying Counseling Psychology at The University of Iowa. Claire tailors her approach to the individual and prioritizes psychological safety. She draws from acceptance and commitment therapy and person-centered therapy while also recognizing how systemic issues influence individual experiences and opportunities. With experience in school, university, and hospital settings, Claire aims to understand how a person’s identities, interests, and personal history come together to inform their current mental health.
Prateek Oberoi
Pronouns: they/them
Master’s Student, University of Iowa Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Education: I am working towards a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In addition to the foundational classwork, my electives and extracurriculars focus on trauma, sexuality and gender, disability and chronic illness, and couples/family therapy.
Clinical Interests: I foster a counseling environment that is flexible and creative, in order to meet each individual’s unique needs. I take a person-centered, client-led approach to build therapeutic relationships that are free of judgment and full of empathy.
My intentions are to facilitate safe exploration and healing of clinical issues such as trauma, chronic health, anxiety, depression, relationship troubles, and struggles with core identity, regardless of whether these issues are recent or chronic.
Together, we will explore your strengths, values, goals, as well as the patterns and obstacles which are preventing you from reaching those goals. I hope to equip my clients with the tools to contextualize their struggles within broader societal systems and communities, and to encourage goals based in pro-social liberation.
Multicultural Interests: I collaborate with clients to make the counseling space as accommodating as possible. I hope to create a welcoming space for: Neurodivergent individuals, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals in all stages of life and transition, BIPOC, and disabled/immunocompromised/at-risk individuals *.
* To reduce risk and promote safety for at-risk individuals seeking care, this provider takes precautions to mitigate spread of airborne disease, including wearing a high-quality mask and using an air purifier with every client.
Michael Thornburg-Suresh, B.A.
Pronouns: he/him
Doctoral Candidate, University of Iowa Counseling Psychology
Education:
B.A. in Psychology as well as Sociology, Austin College
Doctoral Candidate in Counseling Psychology Program, University of Iowa
Clinical Philosophy:
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
- James Baldwin
In my +5 years of being a psychotherapist, I have learned that there is nothing more powerful and healing than having a genuine, real relationship with another person. Throughout my career, I have treated many adults who came from diverse walks of life and carried various forms of psychological suffering along their journey. From college students feeling lost while starting a new chapter in their lives, to retired war veterans struggling with severe trauma during their final moments, my ambition is to understand people’s life experiences, heal their pain, and help guide them toward a life that is personally fulfilling. Thus, I firmly believe that people are entitled to be themselves and that no matter what we face in life, we all deserve the chance to go through it together and never alone.
Multicultural Statement: As a biracial person that grew up in an Eastern household within a Western society, I can confidently say that the world can be a confusing place. Navigating between two unique cultures has led me to believe that people's worldviews (e.g., the way we think, feel, and act) are not just informed by their personal experiences, but also by how the world has historically treated their identities and inherited culture(s). Therefore, in this weird world we share, I am committed to empowering all people to discover themselves, pursue who they want to be, and thrive in life by changing ridiculous, oppressive systems into supportive and encouraging communities.