From The Counselor’s Desk…
What IS Counseling?
Did you know there are counseling services available at
UAF? Do you know where the counseling
center is? Do you know what we do? Do you know how to access services? What even IS counseling?
As counseling staff at UAF, we want you to
know of our services and make the counseling process as easy and inviting as
possible. In honor of the start of a new
semester we would like to share with you a brief overview of what services are
available, to whom they are available, and how the counseling process works.
Am I eligible for counseling services?
If you are a registered student at UAF and taking at least 6
credits during the semester, you qualify for health and counseling services!
Our services are included in your $150 health services fee which is automatically
assessed at 6 credits of in-classroom courses. If you are taking mostly
online courses instead of classroom courses, your fee is not automatically
assessed, but you can still choose to pay the $150 health services fee so you
can come for counseling or medical services. Each student is eligible to
receive up to five counseling sessions per semester.
So how do I reach you?
The Student Health and Counseling Center can be reached at
907-474-7043 and is open Monday through Friday from 8-4:30pm. Please call to schedule an appointment. When
you call in, our front office staff will have a counselor reach out to you for
triage the same day or, very rarely, the next day. Our last appointment slot is
at 3:30pm. Typically, students are able
to be seen the same week they call or the following week, depending on the
counselors’ schedule. Should you be
experiencing a mental health crisis and need to speak with a therapist after
hours or on the weekends you can still call the main number (474-7043) and
press “1” to reach an after-hours licensed therapist.
And where are you exactly?
Student Health and Counseling is located in the Whitaker
Building, which is the same building as the Police and Fire Departments. We are located on the second floor.
What happens when I get there?
Counseling can be a daunting process. It can help to know what will happen when you
arrive and how counseling looks, generally.
When you come to the Student Health and Counseling Center, you will
first check in at the front desk and complete some initial paperwork. This will tell you of your rights as a
counseling client, as well as explain our services a bit more. You will then take a quick survey of how you
have been feeling the last two weeks (this gives your counselor an idea of how
you might want to focus your time.) We
offer what is called “short-term, solution-focused, brief therapy,” which means
we will work with you to identify what goals you would like to work on during
our time together (up to five sessions) and will focus our efforts on those
specific, identifiable goals.
The first stage of therapy is called the INTAKE. The intake phase is for information
gathering. During intake, your counselor will ask a lot of questions about your
history, both familial and academic, your alcohol/drug use, sleeping and eating
habits, your strengths and what activities you enjoy. She/he will also ask what your goals are for
therapy, if you have any psychiatric history and if you are having thoughts of
suicide or homicide. These are important
questions that are asked of every student.
The TREATMENT PLANNING phase occurs when you and your
counselor decide what changes you want to make and what type of help would best
help you reach your goals. Your
counselor will make recommendations of what you should do. This is a collaborative process and your
input is highly valued! If your
counselor is unable to help you adequately, she/he will make a referral to an
appropriate source in the community.
The hardest part of counseling is the CHANGE phase. This is where you work to accomplish the
goals you set in your treatment plan.
Your counselor will be there to help you through it, but remember,
ultimately only you can change yourself.
Just as you cannot change other people, your counselor cannot change
you, no matter how well he/she is trained.
TERMINATION occurs when you have made sufficient changes and
have met your counseling goals. There is
no timeline for termination – sometimes just one session is all that is needed
to reach a solution, sometimes it takes five, and sometimes longer term therapy
is needed. Every situation is different
and your counselor will work with you to determine what is best for you.
I know this seems like a lot, but it is not as intimidating
as you might think. We are here to help and
want you to know you do not have to do this alone.
Sincerely,
Kiana Carr, LMFT
Student Health and Counseling Center
1788 Yukon Drive
474-7043