# nau.guru > Independent, confidential counseling and psychological evaluation for Northern Arizona University students, faculty, and staff, in person or by video. This site belongs to Arizona Behavioral Health Associates, P.C. (Psychotherapy.Com). nau.guru is run by Psychotherapy.Com, the Flagstaff practice of Arizona Behavioral Health Associates, P.C. We are not part of Northern Arizona University, Campus Health, or any department, which is the point: your records stay with us. The same clinicians see clients across the state; you can read about that on our Arizona services page. ## Psychological Services for the NAU Community University life produces its own kinds of pressure. An undergraduate is managing the first real independence of adulthood; a graduate student carries a research program and a teaching load at the same time; faculty and staff work inside departments small enough that everyone notices everything. We provide counseling and psychological evaluation shaped around those circumstances. This is a private practice rather than a campus service, and for many people that separation is the deciding factor. Our office at 710 N Beaver Street is a walkable distance from NAU, so an appointment can fit between classes, and secure video is there for the weeks when getting across town is not realistic. ## Counseling and Testing for the University Community These six areas come up most often in our work with undergraduates, graduate researchers, and academic staff, and we treat each as continuing care rather than a check-in. - **Anxiety, Stress & Social Phobia.** Performance anxiety, seminars, presentations, perfectionism that never quite pays off: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is used to address the avoidance underneath all of it and to make a workable week possible again. - **ADHD & Academic Evaluations.** A formal psychological and academic evaluation provides the documentation Disability Resources (DR) generally requires, along with an independent answer about attention, learning, and which accommodations would genuinely help. - **Depression & Mood Disorders.** A new campus can be isolating and a long program can grind. Treatment rebuilds routine first, then examines the conclusions low mood draws about ability, belonging, and whether any of it is worth finishing. - **Mindfulness & Burnout Prevention.** Burnout is a loss of meaning more than of energy. For stretched graduate students, faculty, and staff, we look at workload, recovery, and the internal standards that turn rest into something resembling failure. - **Identity Exploration & LGBTQ+ Support.** These are the years when a great many people work out who they are. Sessions offer a culturally aware space to think that through at your own speed, apart from the immediate reactions of roommates, peers, or family. - **Couples & Relationship Health.** Academic life strains relationships in specific ways: a partner in another time zone, a summer spent apart, two careers running on separate academic clocks. Couples work here stays practical about all three. ## Working Around an Academic Calendar The semester dictates a great deal, and we plan around it. An evaluation sought for accommodations is scheduled with the relevant deadlines in mind, and a course of therapy is paced to survive finals, breaks, and a summer away. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is our main framework because it produces skills you can apply during a hard week rather than insight you can only admire. There is no quick fix in this work, and progress depends heavily on what happens between appointments. Where a plan should involve a prescriber, a campus office, or a physician, we will say so. ## Your Care Team Two clinicians see clients from the NAU community: a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a Licensed Professional Counselor who also handles intake. Della S. Lusk, Ph.D., is our Clinical Director and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist whose practice spans more than twenty-five years. Her background includes expert-level experience providing therapy for the widest range of issues and populations. She conducts psychological and academic evaluations, including testing relevant to attention and learning when accommodations are being sought, and she provides ongoing therapy. Alethea Braun-Dunagan, M.A., LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor who completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Northern Arizona University and has lived in Flagstaff for many years. She counsels students and staff on anxiety, stress management, relationships, and university transitions, and offers new clients a complimentary 20-minute video consultation. ## Confidentiality and Your Records We are an independent practice, so your clinical record is held here and not within the university. Information is not released to professors, advisors, administrators, or Campus Health without your written authorization. If you would like to know precisely how confidentiality works and where its legal limits lie, ask at the first appointment and we will go through it with you. Students who travel home out of state are a familiar situation here, and authorization for a telehealth session follows your physical location at the time of that session rather than your permanent address. Dr. Lusk practices under PSYPACT®, and counseling across state lines falls under the Counseling Compact; each publishes its own current list of participating states. Tell the office your dates and we will confirm what is possible before you go. ## In-Person and Telehealth Options The office at 710 N Beaver Street is close enough to campus to walk to, which makes an appointment between classes realistic. Secure video covers the rest: an illness, a snowed-in morning, a semester spent somewhere else entirely. Plenty of clients use both across a single year without interrupting the plan. ## Continuing Care Away From Flagstaff Going home for the summer or a winter break does not automatically mean therapy stops. Because authorization depends on where you are sitting during the session, ask our office about your destination and we will check it against the participating states beforehand. ## Getting to the office We are at 710 N Beaver Street, BLDG 4, in the Flagstaff Doctors’ Village. Dedicated parking lot from Leroux Street; on-street parking on Beaver and Sullivan Streets. Across the street from Stop 30 (Stop Code 68) on Mountain Line's Blue Route (Route 2). The Blue Route (Route 2) meets Route 10 at the Downtown Connection Center. Separate entry and exit doors. ## Common Questions From the NAU Community ### Will the university know I am in therapy? We are a separate practice, and your record stays with us. Nothing goes to NAU, Campus Health, or your academic department unless you authorize it in writing, and we would talk through what any particular release contains before it was sent. ### Can you provide testing for Disability Resources (DR) accommodations? Yes. Dr. Lusk conducts psychological and academic evaluations of the kind university disability offices generally ask for when considering accommodations related to attention, learning differences, or a psychological condition. Which components are needed depends on the question being asked. ### What will an appointment cost? Our rates are sent in a fee agreement when you schedule an appointment. Our office discusses any out-of-network queries with you ahead of a first appointment. Phone (928) 774-7997 and the staff there will run through the numbers, so it is not something you have to raise with a clinician. ### What if I go home to another state for the summer? Care can often continue by video, and it depends on where you will be. Authorization follows your physical location during a session, and PSYPACT and the Counseling Compact each publish the participating states; the PSYPACT list is at psypact.gov. Give the office your dates and we will check. ### How do I get started? Telephone the office and ask for a consultation. Ms. Braun-Dunagan, our intake specialist, will talk with you about what you hope to work on, send the fee agreement beforehand, and arrange a first appointment with either her or Dr. Lusk. ## Getting started Call the Beaver Street office to arrange a consultation for counseling or an evaluation. We will ask what you are hoping to work on, send the fee agreement in advance, and look for a time that sits outside your class or teaching schedule. ## Payment Our rates are sent in a fee agreement when you schedule an appointment. Please check with your insurance company regarding your out-of-network benefits. As a courtesy, we will submit claims on your behalf upon request, and any reimbursement will be sent directly to the insured. Call (928) 774-7997 or email info@psychotherapy.com. ## Contact - Phone: (928) 774-7997 - Email: info@psychotherapy.com - Practice: https://psychotherapy.com/