The Counseling Center staff are experienced mental health professionals dedicated to our students’ personal growth and development. Learn more about us by browsing the biographies below; it is important that you have confidence in your counselor and her/his ability to help you.
Director mdthompson@colgate.edu
Welcome and thanks for visiting our Counseling Center website. It has been my privilege to serve as director of Colgate's Counseling Center since 1997. I am a counseling psychologist and earned my PhD from the University of Arizona in 1987.
I enjoy working with students both in direct clinical interactions--individual and group therapy, along with having contact through educational and developmental workshops, programs, and informal exchanges. In addition to directing the Counseling Center, I serve on the steering committees for Colgate’s chapter of the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), the Shaw Wellness Institute, and our Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) bystander intervention initiative.
My areas of professional interest include acquaintance rape prevention, bereavement and loss, men's issues, dissociation and trauma, and identity concerns. The psychological theories and orientations that most heavily influence the way I work with students include cognitive-behavioral, systems, Adlerian, and humanistic approaches. All that being said, I do my best to establish genuine, respectful, and authentic relationships to help the students I work with make the changes they want so life can be more the way they want it to be.
My professional activities include membership in the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), where I will be serving as co-chair of the Elements of Excellence Committee from 2009-12. As a member of the American Psychological Association, I participate in Divisions 17 (Counseling Psychology) and 51 (Men and Masculinity).
On a personal note, my partner/spouse works as an administrator at a neighboring college. We have two wonderful daughters, one a student affairs professional at a liberal arts college, and our younger daughter a college student herself. Family life fills up most of my non-work time and is very important to me. I enjoy lots of sports, both as a participant and an observer. I love to read, listen to music, and spend time in the out-of-doors. Even though I was raised on Long Island, I've grown to love living in a small town.
Associate Director
dlafrance@colgate.edu
I have been on the staff at Colgate's Counseling Center since 2001. I enjoy working with college students and helping them through their many life experiences.
After completing my undergraduate degree at Lafayette College, I earned a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University of Indianapolis.
During my training, I worked primarily in community mental health and university counseling centers. I spent my internship year at Utah State University's Counseling Center. My therapeutic orientation is a combination of cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, and systems perspectives. Existential and humanistic theories have also influenced my work. Although I am a generalist, I am especially interested in diversity issues, college adjustment, sexual abuse trauma, women's issues, ADHD, depression, and anxiety.
I am the Associate Director of the Counseling Center and coordinate our clinical responses. I support Colgate's diversity initiatives through my work as co-chair of the ALANA Affairs committee and my membership on Colgate's National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) team. I am also involved in positive sexuality initiatives on campus.
I live with my family in Hamilton. I love country living, especially spending time outside. In my free time, I enjoy playing with my children, working in the garden, reading, walking, and spending time with my family and friends.
Assistant Director of the Counseling Center
Coordinator of Alcohol and Other Drug Services
jajones@colgate.edu
I first came to Colgate in 1988 as a student intern to complete an internship for a master's program in counseling psychology at Chapman College. After fulfilling the internship requirement, I continued part-time here while continuing to work as a clinical director of an outpatient alcohol and drug rehabilitation program in a county-based program. Gradually, I realized I enjoyed working with students more than I did dealing with HMOs and state mandates. Seventeen years ago, I moved from part-time to full-time, never regretting that choice.
Being in direct contact with students, I am continually learning. Although I'm not a prohibitionist, I am deeply concerned about individuals whose use of alcohol and other drugs isolates them from fully experiencing college. The work I do also includes helping students with relationship issues, family-of-origin issues, personal growth, and developmental issues.
Home is 12 miles south of here in Sherburne. My husband, Bob, is great dealing with the work demands of my schedule. Our son, Brian, is a physician who resides with his family in Portland, Oregon. The household is rounded out with two cats and one dog.
Originally from Virginia, I received a bachelor’s of social work from James Madison University in 1982, and a master’s of social work from Temple University in 1986. Both my undergraduate and graduate programs focused on systems theory which serves as a foundation for my work with students here at Colgate.
I enjoy working with the variety of issues our students are dealing with including body image concerns and eating disorders, depression, anxiety, grief, developmental issues, relationship concerns, and family issues. I’ve had the pleasure of helping students work through the problems associated with these significant developmental years on a part-time, adjunct basis since the fall of 1989.
Outside of work I enjoy music, walking, volunteer work, and receiving texts from my three children who are in the process of emptying the nest.
Staff Psychologist
jehakins@colgate.edu
I recently joined the Colgate Counseling Center in 2012. As a central New York native, I am very pleased to have returned to the area after several years in Florida, where I earned a master’s degree from Rollins College and a PhD from the University of Miami. I completed internship at the Florida State University Counseling Center, and a post-doctoral residency in a residential addiction treatment center.
Although I’ve worked with people of all ages, in a variety of settings, including hospitals and community mental health centers, I have a clear preference for working with college students. My primary area of interest is helping students with their own personal growth and development, while taking into consideration individual characteristics and values. Issues I find particularly interesting include stress management, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, relationships, and family dynamics. My therapeutic orientation tends toward a blend of systems theory, Adlerian, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
In my personal time, I enjoy spending time with family, friends, pets, and getting reacquainted with fun outdoor activities of all four seasons.