Mission Statement:

The Kalamazoo College Counseling Center supports the mission of the College in preparing its graduates to “better understand, live successfully within, and provide enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world.” We are committed to assisting students in overcoming personal, emotional, and psychological issues that may negatively impact their ability to reach their academic goals and to live successfully at K and in our richly diverse and complex world. We are committed to assisting students in acquiring the skills and strategies requisite to becoming responsible decision makers, effective problem solvers, and enlightened leaders.

Mission Statement Objectives:

• Provide a wide range of services in order to best meet student needs, including individual and group therapy
• Maintain a standard of excellence in the provision of services
• Assist students in mastering the developmental tasks appropriate to their maturation level
• Educate student and other college constituencies about the emerging issues relevant to college student mental health through outreach, training, and psychoeducational programs
• Coordinate and maintain training programs for psychology trainees
• Serve as consultants to the college community

Diversity Statement:

The staff members of the Kalamazoo College Counseling Center value awareness and understanding of everyone’s difference and similarities. We recognize that prejudice, discrimination, and oppression are detrimental to all people and we strive to take personal responsibility for educating ourselves and being culturally responsive in our work with students. We pledge to provide an open and trusting environment in which all students feel valued, safe, and respected.

Number of Visits:

Because of the high demand for counseling services at K, the Counseling Center is unable to offer unlimited sessions to all students. Students will receive individual counseling under a customized clinical care model, which means the amount of sessions needed to address the student’s presenting concern will be determined during the initial intake session. The average total number of appointments attended by K students is about 3 sessions. The customized clinical care model does not include consultation appointments or group counseling sessions. If a student’s issues are determined to require long term therapy or specialty treatment, a therapist will help facilitate a referral to professionals in the community with that expertise, i.e., a student with an eating disorder or a student with substance use concerns. In addition, students seeking ADHD or learning disability assessment will be referred to a clinic or psychologist in the community.

Please note that our desire to care for and support each student in the most appropriate way is our highest priority. Session limits enable us to prioritize keeping counseling services accessible to all students in a timely manner. Most issues that arise during the college years are conducive to a short-term therapeutic model. At K College, the majority of individuals seeking services from the Counseling Center have requested services for an average of 3 sessions per year.

Students are welcome to utilize the Counseling Center services at any time while they are a student at K and many students return at different times during their college career to seek counseling support. The Counseling Center offers a range of groups and we have found that many students are able to get their counseling needs met by attending one of our therapy or support groups. Students are welcome to attend group sessions as desired. Students are also welcome to use our on-campus crisis services as needed.

No-Show Policy:

Please know that we have a no-show policy. If you “no-call, no-show” for two consecutive weeks you will not be given additional appointment times at the K College Counseling Center for the quarter. If you would like counseling services but have not given notice for missing your counseling appointment, please contact our case manager, Haley Mangette, at haley.mangette@kzoo.edu for community counseling options.

Confidentiality:

The fact that you are seeing us and the content of our session is confidential information. We do not give this information out—even to faculty members, coaches, parents, or RAs—unless you give us your consent. Typically, that consent involves filling out a short, written form that indicates with whom we may communicate and about what. There is an exception to this policy of strict confidentiality. It involves those situations where we believe that you are unable to continue functioning, are a threat to yourself or the safety of others or inform of us others in potential danger (e.g., current abuse of children or vulnerable adults). In those cases, we are ethically and legally bound as psychologists and counselors to inform persons who can help reduce the risks of harm. Most often, those people are family members and/or the residence hall staff. The Dean of Students is also informed of these very serious situations.

Sometimes our student interns will tape-record sessions for their learning process. This is always done with permission from the client first. All session notes and tapes are kept in a confidential file in the Counseling Center which is only available to the Counseling Center staff.

Fees:

As long as you are enrolled as a student at Kalamazoo College, you are eligible for free counseling at the Counseling Center.

Cancellations:

If you wish to cancel an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible as our schedules are typically very full. Twenty-four hour notice is best for us, but emailing or calling at the last minute is preferable to not letting us know.

Email/Social Media:

Counseling Center staff may not check their email every day. In the event that you are in a crisis, email and/or social media are not an appropriate way to contact the Counseling Center staff. Please call our 24/7 Crisis Support Line at 833.646.1526 in order to speak to an on-call licensed mental health professional.