Frequently Asked Questions

If you are experiencing a true mental health emergency, dial Campus Safety at 410-337-6111 if you are on campus, or 911 if you are off campus. To speak with a mental health counselor (24/7) for an urgent concern or crisis, call 855-236-4278. Additionally, the Student Counseling Center does offer urgent appointments that can be scheduled within 3-5 business hours. Students needing to be seen urgently should call 410-337-6481 to request an urgent appointment.

Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm.

To schedule an appointment, please complete the appointment request form and a clinician will contact you within the next 24 business hours.

Currently, the Student Counseling Center’s clinicians are only able to provide psychotherapy to individuals located within the state of Maryland. We encourage all students interested in counseling services to complete the appointment request form.  A clinician will then follow up with a phone call to confirm your clinical needs and verify your current location and assist you with locating resources if you are residing outside of the state of Maryland.

Teletherapy refers to providing psychotherapy services remotely using telecommunications technologies, such as video conferencing.  One of the benefits of teletherapy is that the client and clinician can engage in services without being in the same physical location. This can be helpful when unable to meet in person, for instance, during the college’s online-only instructions period. Teletherapy, however, requires technical competence on both our parts to be helpful. 

Teletherapy can only be utilized through dual/synchronous video which will occur exclusively through Zoom video conference platform that that is both compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and is HIPAA secure. 

Here are some tips (pdf) on how to create a private space for therapy.

Unfortunately, no. Please see "What is Teletherapy?"

The Student Counseling Center provides care for primary mental health concerns including: adjustment to college, stress management, interpersonal relationships, identity development, anxiety, depression, building self-esteem, assertiveness training, alcohol- and drug-related issues, issues of oppression, and issues related to trauma, including sexual assault. For more information about the specific specialties of our practitioners, please visit the Counseling Center Staff page.

Full-time undergraduate student and students enrolled in the pre-med past-baccalaureate program may be complete an intake to determine if Student Counseling Center is an appropriate resource to tend to mental health needs.

Nope--Counseling sessions are free of charge for students.

Yes. In accordance with legal and ethical standards for psychologists and counselors, all counseling sessions with students over 18 years of age are confidential with a few exceptions. Without written consent, counselors cannot disclose whether a student is in counseling.

There may be times when it is clinically appropriate for a counselor to speak to a student’s former or future provider(s), a staff member, or another person specified by the student, regarding treatment.

No. Short-term counseling services are available to undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students regardless of their insurance coverage if it is deemed that short-term counseling can effectively meet the student’s needs.

Generally, counselors meet with students once a week at most, for 45-50 minute sessions. On-campus counseling is intended for short-term purposes only (about a semester). The number of sessions vary based on the needs of the client, time in the semester, and demand for services.

For students who would like more frequent sessions, long-term support, and/or who have chronic mental health concerns and have been seeing a counselor regularly before coming to college, we highly recommend seeking an off-campus community provider. For listings of local providers, please visit https://goucher.theshrinkspace.com/. Those struggling to get connected with an off-campus provider may contact the Student Counseling Center for referral support.

Clinicians cannot provide psychotherapy to individuals whom are actively engaged in a course of therapy. However, students may still access the 24/7 After Hours Line (855-236-4278), urgent appointments, and psychoeducational outreach events.

Not at all. It can be just as helpful, if not more so, to seek counseling treatment just when you are starting to feel that you could use some assistance. You don’t need to wait until there is a big problem to talk to a counselor.

We don’t recommend this. If you will be joining the Goucher community as a new student, anticipate what your needs may be as you make this transition. While often exciting, this transition may also be stressful. If you have had the ongoing support of a counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist in the past, please note that you will likely benefit from continued support at least during the first semester. In these instances, it is recommended you establish a relationship with a provider in the community.

We encourage you to identify a provider before you arrive to ensure you have access to therapy in your first weeks of classes.

For help finding a provider, please see the https://goucher.theshrinkspace.com/

 If you are unsure and would like your current provider to discuss treatment with a Goucher counselor, please contact the Student Counseling Center to initiate a Release of Information so your current provider can speak with us and determine if on-campus treatment will fulfill your needs.

Transitions can be challenging for anyone and it is normal to experience some level of difficulty around such a major life change. The following may find complicate the transition:

• Past struggles with transitions
• Lower self-confidence or ineffective coping skills
• Difficulty making friends
• A hometown romantic partner
• Undeveloped study, self-management, and organizational skills
• Ambivalent feelings about being at Goucher College (or college in general)

• Social withdrawal
• Marked changes in appearance/hygiene
• Excessive self-criticism
• Tearful phone calls outnumber others
• Talk of hopelessness
• Excessive fatigue or lethargic mood
• Extreme increases in energy and/or rapid speech
• Inability to think and concentrate
• Dramatic changes in grades
• Reference to suicide or self-harm, vague or not

• Stay in touch
• Encourage independence and using local assistance
• Be realistic
• Be prepared for change
• Encourage assertiveness
• Be aware of roommate conflicts
• Don’t panic!
• Don’t let students wait long to ask for help

If you are immediately concerned about the safety of a student, please call the Office of Campus Safety at 410-337-6111. If you have a general concern about the student's wellbeing, you should call the Office of Residential Life at 410-337-6424 and/or the Office of the Dean of Students at 410-337-6150. Due to the limits of confidentiality, it is not helpful to call the Student Counseling Center to discuss concern for a student as counselors will not be able to speak about a student without a release form. The numbers listed above are the best way to communicate with the college about your student's well-being.