About
Personal Counseling
Personal counseling services at the
center are free to students at the college. All services here are confidential--no
information about clients is provided to anyone, either outside or within
the college, so your counseling here is completely private (except for
rare instances involving serious danger to self or others).
Client information form
When you make your first appointment here,
you are asked to complete a client information form. The information
you provide on this form is used only for our counseling records. It
is never provided to any other office or person. We are required to
keep these records by standards of professional counseling practice.
These records help us to know whether we have your permission to contact
you if we need to reschedule an appointment, to have basic information
on file if your counselor is unavailable or if you come back in the
future and cannot remember whom you spoke with here, to help us evaluate
our services, to know how many students are being served, and so forth.
Intake
assessment
The
first step in helping you is to determine exactly what kind of counseling
you need. Everyone who seeks counseling here receives an intake assessment
interview. You will be asked about what brings you here for assistance,
about your background, and so forth. Some people have a preference to
work with a counselor of a particular age, gender or ethnicity. You
will have an opportunity to express your preferences, if any, during
your assessment session. While we may not always be able to accommodate
your preferences, we will try to do so.
Based on the information you provide, specific recommendations
will be made. Often a counseling group here at the center is recommended.
Sometimes individual counseling is indicated. Some individual counseling
is available here. Usually, students who need more than a few sessions
of individual counseling or who need specialized services are referred
to low-cost, local counseling clinics or individual professionals.
A referral file for services is maintained based on
qualifications, service specialties, fee range, location, etc. Your
counselor may suggest specific services for you. You are also encouraged
to consult the referral file yourself if you wish. See the receptionist
in 0203 James for help. See our info sheet on Choosing the Right
Counselor or Therapist for You.
Do normal people need counseling?
It is a common misconception
to think that only seriously ill or 'crazy' people need counseling help.
Studies show that over eighty percent of people can benefit from counseling
at some time in their lives. So, it is normal to need counseling when
special concerns or difficult feelings arise. Most people have a problem
with anxiety, depression, stress, relationships, etc., at some point.
What happens in counseling?
Generally, you will meet with
a professional counselor regularly for about forty-five minutes (ninety
minutes for groups) at the same time once each week. At these meetings,
you will discuss your concerns with the counselor.
The goal of counseling is to learn about our habits
and patterns of feeling and behavior and how they cause us problems.
We can then learn new habits and patterns which will be more successful
for us. Although it seems strange to think that we might not know ourselves
completely, experience has shown that many of the problem-causing habits
and patterns are things we have done all our life and are so automatic
that we don't even think about them as learned or optional behavior.
Counseling provides a special setting in which we can
learn about ourselves. This can help us to be more effective in our
relationships with others and with ourselves. It takes time, helpful
observations and support to recognize and change our ways of living.
What happens if I miss a meeting?
It is important to attend
each meeting from beginning to end. Regular meetings are important to
the effectiveness of counseling. If you become ill or have a conflicting
obligation and must miss an appointment, you should call your counselor
as far in advance as possible to reschedule.
How can I contact my counselor?
Call the center receptionist
at 718-951-5363. They will connect you or take a message or reschedule
your appointment if the counselor is not available. Usually, counselors
cannot be interrupted while they are working with someone, but your
counselor will return your call.
Note your counselor's name: _____________________________________________
Recording of counseling meetings
Some counselors may ask
your permission to record your meetings with them. Usually, this is
so that they may review the meeting later in order to understand how
to improve their counseling skills and how to help you better. Sometimes
they may review the meeting with other members of the staff here in
order to get their advice about their work with you. We have found that
service is improved by counselors being able to learn from their work
here in this way.
All recordings are destroyed within a month. No recording
is ever used for any other purpose. No recording is ever made without
your written permission, including an explanation of the specific purpose
for which it is made. You are not required to give your permission for
recordings, but we hope that you will do so in the interest of receiving
the best possible service and improving service for others. If you do
not give your permission, no change will be made in the service you
receive.
Rev. 12/19/99
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