FAQ

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We are located in Skiff Hall (Room 100), 163 South Willard Street, Burlington, VT 05402. Skiff Hall is the yellow brick building on the corner of South WiIllard and Main Street.

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During the academic year, our hours are Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

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New to Counseling

If you have never used our services before, please log in to the Student Health Portal and request an appointment.

Existing Clients

If you have used our services before and would like to schedule an appointment with someone you have previously met with, you can contact the clinician directly via e-mail, or make a note of who you would like to meet with when you request an appointment via the please Student Health Portal.

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Upon entering the counseling center for your first appointment, you will likely be greeted by a receptionist. Please tell the receptionist your name and who you're scheduled to see. The receptionist will help you get started on the intake paperwork, unless you have already completed it online. If the receptionist is not at the desk, a staff member will greet you and help you get started

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Once the intake paperwork is completed, your counselor will introduce themselves, show you to their office, and begin your first counseling session. During a first session, your counselor will explain what to expect from counseling, listen to your concerns, and, before the end of the session, develop a follow-up plan with you.

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The first questions will probably involve the concerns that led you to the counseling center. Your counselor may also ask about your immediate symptoms and experiences and inquire about the specific details. Subsequent questions will cover a wide range of different issues that will help your counselor better understand what you are going through. Although your counselor may ask many questions during the first session, the main focus of that meeting will be to try and build rapport.

Examples of questions that may be asked on your first visit:

  • What brings you in today?
  • How long have you been experiencing your difficulties? When did they start?
  • Is there anything that you think triggered or caused your difficulties?
  • Have you ever received any previous mental health treatment? When, and with whom, and what did it involve? What worked well for you, what could have been better?
  • Do you have any significant medical issues (current and/or past)?
  • Does anyone in your family have a history of mental health issues? Who are they and what do you know about their treatment?
  • What seems noteworthy about your personal history? Has most of your life been good, complex, traumatic? What has your relationship been like with parents, siblings, and other significant people?
  • What's been your experience in school; academically and socially?
  • Are you questioning or exploring any aspects of your identity (gender, sexuality, etc)?
  • What's been your experience with substance use (current and past)? Is there anyone in your family with a history of substance abuse?
  • What strengths are helping you? What coping skills or strategies have worked well in the past?
  • Who is supporting you with dealing with the issues your are experiencing currently?
  • What are your hoping to get out of counseling? What goals do you have for yourself?
  • Is there anything else about your background, culture, or identity that you think is important for me know?
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All degree-seeking students are eligible for counseling services free of charge.

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Individual Counseling: A counselor will meet with you one-on-one for 30 or 50 minutes to explore personal issues of concern or importance.

Group Counseling: Typically two counselors will co-facilitate a discussion with a small group of students who have expressed a common issue. Groups might be centered around family stress, disordered eating and body image, concerns related to gender, or anxiety and depression. Group members share experiences, learn different perspectives, and provide each other with support. Groups typically meet once a week for 6 to 8 weeks and sessions may run between 1 to 2 hours.  

Consultation: Formal and informal collaborations with faculty, staff, students, parents, and family members who seek advice and information on issues of concern to them. Most commonly, consultation affords faculty, staff, students, parents, and family members the opportunity to develop strategies on how best to help or guide students who may be experiencing distress or mental health challenges. Consultation with a counseling center staff member may involve an in-person meeting or a phone conversation.

Outreach and Education: Includes a wide variety of services such as facilitating workshops, conducting screening days, crisis event responses/debriefing, liaison relationships with departments and organizations on campus, attending/being present at campus events to reduce stigma/support other departments, interviews, tabling, social media, psychoeducational materials (printed as well as web-based), and community campaigns.

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Due to the increase in vaccinated individuals and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in the state of Vermont, the counseling center will return to in-person sessions in the Fall 2021 semester. We recognize that offering tele-health appointments was beneficial to many and reduced barriers to accessing care, as such, once you've completed your in-person intake appointment and have been assigned a long-term counselor, you and your counselor can discuss whether switching to tele-health counseling is well-suited for your care. Reasons may include accessibility concerns, if you are ill and need to stay home, or if you cannot commute to your appointment. We hope to work collaboratively to find the best form of care for you.

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The Counseling Center provides short-term individual therapy with a limited number of sessions per semester. Although there is a session limit, only a small portion of students reach the session limit each semester, less than 5%. Most students are able to address their concerns within 6 - 7 sessions per semester.

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Due to the substantial increase in demand for services over the last decade, the Counseling Center instituted session limits for individual therapy beginning Fall 2018. Session limits mean we can prioritize keeping the Counseling Center accessible to all students throughout the year in a timely way. The Counseling Center reserves the right to offer additional appointments to students who have significant financial need and cannot afford off-campus counseling, and in cases where it would be therapeutically detrimental to terminate counseling, such as a recent loss or traumatic event that has occurred.

The session limit does not include emergency appointments, consultation appointments, and group therapy appointments. After reaching the session limit, students will be offered appropriate referrals for care in the community. Students continue to be welcome to use emergency and crisis services as needed.

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Please email or call your counselor directly to cancel or reschedule. As counseling services are in high demand at Champlain, students who miss 3 individual counseling appointments in a semester will be placed on a waitlist for additional appointments. Students are always eligible for crisis services. If notification of a missed appointment is received at least 24 hours prior to the appointment, it will not be counted toward the session limit.

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Not all types of counseling problems are best dealt with at the Counseling Center. Students with mental health issues or conditions rising above the level of those addressed by short-term therapy, treatment for severe psychological disorders, court-mandated treatment, or highly-specialized treatment may be best treated by off-campus resources. We also encourage students to continue working with their current psychiatrist, physician, or a mental health provider at home for continuity of care and for access to support when not at Champlain College.

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If a student requires longer-term or more-intensive psychotherapy or specialized care the Counseling Center cannot provide, we will make a referral to a clinician in the community who can provide that care. If you are referred to a clinician in the community, you will need to use your health insurance or pay out of pocket for that care. We work with local providers to find ones that have openings and that work with the student's insurance. There are several resources in the community that lower fees for students who cannot afford counseling or that see students regardless of ability to pay. Students are also informed about the best ways to get transportation to off-campus appointments. We will make every effort to make sure that referral fits your clinical and practical needs. If the referral is not working for you, for any reason, you are encouraged to contact the clinician at the Counseling Center that you initially saw to discuss your options.

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Students come to the Counseling Center for a wide variety of reasons. These might include relationship problems, academic anxieties, concerns about gender or sexuality, feeling unusually sad, irritability, sleep problems, eating problems, difficulty paying attention, feeling lonely, suicidal thoughts, worrying too much, and adjusting to college life.

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Champlain College Counseling Center staff are ethically and legally required to ensure all counseling interactions are kept confidential. No record of counseling is included in a student's academic file. Exceptions to confidentiality may occur in the case of court-ordered requests for records, mandated counseling, if a student is a danger to themselves or someone else, or where staff are required by law to report current child abuse or elder abuse.

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If you are experiencing a mental health emergency please contact 911, Campus Public Safety (802)865-6465, or go the emergency department at the nearest hospital.

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Whereas isolated behaviors may not indicate a problem, students in a state of distress may exhibit a pattern of behaviors including (but not limited to) any of those listed below.  

Academic Indicators 

  • Decline in attendance or stopped attending.
  • Significant decline in grades or quality of work. 
  • Continual requests for extended deadlines or other special consideration. 
  • Excessive dependency on faculty. 
  • Sustained erratic performance. 

Mental/Emotional Indicators

  • Tearfulness.
  • Expressions of concern from another student. 
  • Withdrawal from social interactions or isolates self. 
  • Alcohol or drug abuse. 
  • Death or serious illness of friend or family member. 
  • Extreme shyness/lack of social skills. 
  • Change in ability to focus, loss of memory, confusion. 
  • Signs of eating disorder.

Physical Indicators

  • Decline in personal hygiene/appearance. 
  • Visible change in weight. 
  • Excessive fatigue. 
  • Appearing sick or ill. 

Safety Indicators

  • Preoccupation with death. 
  • Self-injurious or self-destructive behavior. 
  • Suicidal or other emotionally distressed content reported through course work or classroom discussion. 
  • Exhibiting disruptive or bizarre behavior. 
  • Unprovoked anger or hostility.  

Students not in immediate danger but experiencing a mental health emergency might fall into one or more of the categories below:

    • Is experiencing significant, acute, emotional distress or anxiety.
    • Does not feel they are able to cope or be in control of a situation.
    • Is communicating thoughts about suicide or self-harm.
    • Is experiencing hallucinations and/or hearing voices.
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Campus mental health is the responsibility of all of us. It is vital to reach out to others, particularly those who are isolated or engaged in self-destructive activities. If you have a concern about a student who is displaying behaviors that may interfere with their ability to be successful, or if you are concerned that a student's behavior or well-being are negatively impacting those around the them, please let the Student Care & Response Team know.

You can refer a student by completing the form linked here.  If you are with a student who is experiencing a mental health emergency, it is acceptable to stay "in role" as a staff or faculty member. Be compassionate, but do not take on the role of counselor. You can refer the student to the Counseling Center by emailing counselingcenter@champlain.edu. The student can also speak with someone immediately by calling (802) 865-5745. This crisis line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It may feel necessary to walk them to the Counseling Center. When you arrive, please let the staff person at the front desk know the student would like to meet with the crisis counselor on-duty. If the crisis counselor on-duty is free, they will meet with the student immediately. If they are assisting another student in crisis, they will meet with the student as soon as they are able to. Please note the Counseling Center is a safe place; you are welcome to wait with your student, but you are under no obligation to do so.Due to confidentiality requirements, it may be difficult to "close the loop" and directly inform you what occurred following your student referral. In most cases, the Counseling Center can confirm your concern has been received, but cannot confirm or deny if the student has agreed to crisis or ongoing services.

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In most cases, the answer is no.

Although all of us in the Counseling Center recognize and appreciate how ESAs and housing accommodations can make a positive difference in one's mental health and wellbeing, we will only in rare circumstances provide the necessary documentation for students seeking these accommodations.

We may consider providing documentation if:

  • You have met with a Champlain College counselor for more than one semester.
  • You do not have a community provider (doctor, therapist, or other licensed clinician) who could provide documentation.
  • All other options to improve your mental health have been reasonably considered/tried.
  • You meet the DSM-V criteria for depression, anxiety, or another clinically significant diagnosis and your symptoms cause significant impairment in your ability to function successfully while at school.
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The Counseling Center partners with the Student Health Center for psychiatric medication management. However, psychiatry services on campus and in the surrounding community are extremely limited and we do not have the capacity to manage all students' medications. We suggest you schedule follow-up appointments with your home healthcare provider well in advance to correspond with school breaks and other visits home. If your home healthcare provider would like to be in touch with the Student Health Center directly to provide additional support, we are happy to do so, provided we have a signed release on file.

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