Counseling Services

• Office hours, confidentiality
• Services
• Types of counseling appointments
• Request an appointment
• Online screenings
• Links to outside resources

About Huntingdon Counseling Services

Huntingdon College Counseling Services provides professional counseling services that enable students to improve their mental and emotional health so they are better able to excel academically, professionally, and personally.

Office Hours

Counseling Services is located near the front entrance (Drum Theater entrance) of the Cloverdale Building on the Cloverdale Campus. Counseling Services is open for appointments Mondays through Fridays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with some flexibility. HCCS observes holiday and vacation days as designated by the College.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an essential part of our counseling process. All aspects of your participation in counseling services at HCCS, including the scheduling of appointments, content of counseling sessions, and any records that we keep, are confidential. There are limitations of confidentiality, which include:

• If the client voluntarily completes and signs a release of information form specifying exactly to whom specific information can be released.
• If Counseling Services believes, as a result of information shared, that the client is in imminent danger of doing harm to him/herself or others or is in imminent danger him/herself.
• If Counseling Services believes, as a result of information shared, that abuse of a minor child or a vulnerable adult is occurring, HCCS is required by law to report such a situation to the State Department of Human Resources or to a similar agency in another state.
• In the highly unlikely case that a court subpoenas the counselor’s records related to a client involved in a legal case, the counselor might be legally required to surrender them. (The counselor has never been required to do so, but the possibility does exist.)

Services

Eligibility

HCCS provides mental health services to currently enrolled full-time Huntingdon College students. Full-time students are those students, aged 17 years or older, enrolled at the main campus of Huntingdon College located at 1500 East Fairview Ave., who are enrolled in 12 or more semester hours, or who are enrolled in less than 12 hours but are enrolled in all available hours supporting the progression to graduation, or who are enrolled in less that 12 hours but who are in their terminal term of enrollment, or who are enrolled in less than 12 hours but are current residential students.

Consultation

Any eligible student may come for a one-time consultation to learn more about counseling and to determine if counseling is appropriate for him/her. In a consultation, the individual is informed about HCCS policies and signs an Informed Consent form and a Privacy Practices form. If he/she would like to begin counseling, the individual will proceed with an intake.

Intake

Counseling officially begins with an intake. In an intake, the client completes paperwork, discusses with the therapist his or her goals for counseling, and is evaluated to determine if treatment at HCCS is appropriate. Please allow 90 minutes for an intake appointment.

Counseling

Huntingdon College Counseling Services offers individual, couple, family, and group counseling, to assist students in meeting their emotional needs and personal goals. Counseling involves creating a safe, therapeutic relationship between the therapist and client. The therapist listens without making judgments in order to understand the client and what s/he wants to accomplish in counseling. The therapist helps the client set and work toward achieving goals. Each client may utilize up to 10 counseling sessions per academic year. Issues that can be addressed in counseling include (but are not limited to): depression, anxiety/stress, relationship issues, academic difficulties, grief/loss, anger management, substance abuse, self esteem, adjustment problems, sexual identity issues, eating disorder/body image issues, and abuse/trauma. Counseling sessions normally last 50 minutes. You do not need to be in crisis to benefit from Counseling Services.

Types of Counseling Appointments

Please review the following and indicate on your Counseling Appointment Request Form which type of appointment is appropriate for your needs. The HCCS counselor understands that each situation is unique and cannot be described fully in this document. A feeling of emergency or crisis is defined by the client. HCCS will respond according to the potential client’s description of the urgency with which she/he needs to be seen.

Level 1: Emergency Appointments

If you feel you are at immediate risk of taking your own life or the life of someone else, or if you have taken recent steps to end your life, your appointment is considered an emergency appointment. HCCS can assist you in contacting campus security, (334) 324-6565, or calling 911.

Level 2: Urgent Appointments

If you feel you are not at immediate risk of taking your own life or the life of someone else, and you have not taken recent steps to end your life, but you are dealing with a personal crisis that needs rapid attention from a mental health professional, your request is considered urgent. HCCS will assist you in receiving necessary resources. Common issues addressed in urgent appointments include suicidal or homicidal thoughts without immediate intent to harm self or other recent sexual assault.

Level 3: Standard Appointments

Standard appointments are designed to assist clients with gaining access to Counseling Services or other campus services as needed. A standard appointment may or may not occur on the day you request an appointment, depending upon availability. Typically, standard appointments occur within one week of a request. Concerns that bring clients to standard appointments include:

• anxiety/stress
• eating and body image concerns
• depression
• academic difficulties
• self esteem issues
• trouble adjusting to college life
• relationship problems/break-ups
• alcohol or drug use
• panic
• recent loss of a loved one

Your Decision

After considering the descriptions of Emergency, Urgent, and Standard Appointments provided above, please indicate on your appointment request which type of appointment is appropriate for your situation.

Request an Appointment

On-site appointments are pre-paid through student fees and are no extra cost to the student.

Request a counseling appointment by completing the Counseling Appointment Request Form. Hard copies of this form are available in the Counseling Office and can be completed and returned to the office. You may also call the office at (334) 833-4302 to make an appointment.

Online Screenings

Huntingdon’s Office of Student Health Services and Office of Counseling Services conduct several screenings each year to assess students for such wellness concerns as mental health, alcohol use, drug use, eating disorders, and other behaviors that can lead to health risks. Some of these assessments are collected through anonymous questionnaires, others through online screenings.

Huntingdon’s Online Screenings are confidential and anonymous. Screenings are available for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, and eating disorders. Following completion of a screening, you may request referral for external counseling or treatment and/or be evaluated by the Office of Counseling Services.

Mental Health Resources