Counseling and Consultation (C&C) provides primarily psychological/psychiatric evaluations and time limited counseling and psychiatric services. These services are designed to support students in achieving their academic goals. The process of counseling temporarily may increase stress, and may affect the student's activities at work, in school, or in relationships. During the initial meeting, called a Personal Consultation, the counselor will assess the student's current needs and will determine whether those needs can be met at C&C. In cases in which C&C services are not considered appropriate, the clinician will provide referral information regarding mental health resources either on campus or in the community.

C&C Staff
At C&C students meet with a member of our multidisciplinary staff of psychologists, counselors, social workers, psychiatrists, and psychiatric nurse practitioners who are well-prepared to work with university students. Graduate students in psychology, counseling, and social work also provide counseling services under the close supervision of a licensed/certified clinician.

Fees
Personal Consultations are provided to students at no charge. If a student receives ongoing counseling, the next three sessions are provided at no charge. All psychiatric services are fee-based. At the time of the Personal Consultation appointment, students are provided a fee schedule explaining costs for subsequent sessions. For students choosing to pay C &C service fees at the University Cashiering Services, there is a remote possibility that the student's identification number and the identification code for C&C charges may be recognized by an employee of University Cashiering Services as indicating that the student has received unspecified services at C&C. For students choosing to pay C&C service fees by having the ASU student account billed, the following entry will appear on the student's ASU statement: "Misc. student services."

Crisis Intervention
In an emergency when C&C is not open, students may contact EMPACT Suicide Prevention Center, Inc. by calling the dedicated ASU student Crisis Hotline at (480) 921 - 1006.

Staff Consultation
In order to provide quality care, C&C clinicians may consult with or receive supervision from another member of our professional staff concerning the service we are providing. For the purposes of supervision, clinicians-in-training are required to videotape all counseling sessions. Taping only occurs with the full knowledge and written permission of the client.

The Limits of Confidentiality
For individuals who are 18 years or older, all information shared in counseling is privileged and treated confidentially according to Arizona State Law. For individuals less than 18 years of age, one assessment session can be provided. Further services require a parent's or legal guardian's signature on the "Parental Consent for Services for Underage ASU Students." Information about counseling or counseling records will not be disclosed without the written permission of the client except in cases of imminent harm to self or others, child/dependent abuse, court order, subpoena, or where otherwise required by law. Further, for individuals who are seeking services as a couple, a case file will be created for the purpose of documentation of the services received. Documentation of individual counseling sessions will not be included in the "couples" file.

Missed Appointments
If it is necessary to change or cancel an appointment, students are asked to contact C&C 24 hours in advance. After two consecutive no-shows or late cancellations, a student's services at C&C may be terminated. In such a case, the student will be provided with a referral to services elsewhere.

Research and Evaluation
Information about the characteristics of the students who utilize C&C services and the services students have received is maintained in a secure, electronic database. This information is gathered for the purposes of program evaluation, and, in selected situations, research studies. Data is only provided in summarized form and will not identify individual clients.

E-mail policy
Given that E-mail is never fully confidential, it is C&C policy not to use E-mail for communication of any kind with clients.

Client Rights
Students receiving services at C&C have the right to

• treatment regardless of race, religion, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation.
• receive information about the assessment and therapy methods being used, and the training background and credentials of the clinician.
• refuse treatment at any time.
• file a grievance about services with the C&C Director.
• review treatment records in the presence of a clinician, unless in the opinion of the clinician the information would be harmful to the client or to the client's progress.
• request and be granted a change in assigned clinician. The request may be made to the assigned clinician or to the C&C Associate Director.

If you have any questions or are not sure that you understand any of these policies, please feel free to discuss your concerns with a counselor.