During the Community Meeting held in the McNeil Room this past Friday, April 20, some mistaken notions regarding the Counseling Center’s policies and procedures were expressed. I would like to correct these notions.
The first mistaken notion is that if you call the Counseling Center to refer someone, you have to tell us your name, and that we will have to share your name with the person you are concerned about. In fact, while we prefer that you let us know who you are so that we can continue to work together to see that the person gets the service needed, we do not require it. We do need a behavioral description of what makes you concerned about the person. If you do give us your name we only let the person know your name if you tell us it is ok to do so.
Another mistaken notion is that if you tell us that someone is a potential suicide risk, he will end up being placed on an involuntary leave of absence. In fact, only a very small percentage of students who are at some level of suicide risk are placed on an involuntary leave of absence. This will only happen if the student continues to remain at a high risk of suicide after we have intervened, and he does not want to take a leave. Even if he has made a serious attempt at suicide our goal is first to ensure his safety (which may require a brief hospitalization) and then to work with him on campus after the level of risk has decreased. For most people the time period of being at a high risk is short, and they can be successfully helped while continuing to be enrolled after the period of high risk has passed.
Another mistaken notion is that if someone is placed on an involuntary leave, his tenure as a Rensselaer student is history. The fact is that we want the student to return to us and successfully complete his education here. Coming back requires documentation of having been in treatment and no longer being at a high level of risk. Anyone who has ever wanted to come back has done so after having completed the required treatment. We then continue to give them support when they come back.
Finally, there is the belief that it is impossible to get an appointment at the Counseling Center without having to wait two or three weeks. The fact is that every day there is at least one appointment time set aside for anyone who is in crisis and has to be seen that day. If there is more than one person in crisis, we will adjust schedules to make sure those in crisis are seen that day. We need to be told, however, that the student needs to be seen right away and why that is the case. If the situation is not a crisis, there may be a wait of a week or two if the student is not flexible about his schedule. The wait is often not because there is not a slot open at the Counseling Center, but because the student, understandably, does not want to miss a class to take the slot that is available the soonest. In an attempt to enable students calling for their first appointment to be seen as soon as possible we are also setting aside some time each day that is strictly for intakes. We welcome suggestions for ways to have students seen sooner. Some college counseling centers address this by limiting the number of sessions a student can have in a given semester or academic year. While this does free up appointments, it would seriously limit our ability to provide adequate service to the students who need it the most.
I would also like to remind people that our availability is not limited to office hours. If a student is in crisis at a time the Counseling Center is closed, a counselor who is on call can be reached by calling Public Safety (ext. 6656) and asking them to contact the counselor.
Joe Albert
Director, Counseling Center
