Manual

** Introduction **
This manual has been developed to ensure the policies and procedures as practiced by the mental health clinicians at Broome Community College are formalized. It is our hope that this manual will be helpful to both the counseling service providers as well as staff and faculty when there are questions about the operation and policies of personal counseling services. This document does not supersede the policies and procedures of Broome Community College. Many of the policies found in this document were paraphrased from other campus and State University of New York publications. If there are questions about Broome Community College or University of State of New York policies, please refer to the original publications. The can be found at:

** University Counseling Center Mission Statement **
It is our mission to provide free and confidential personal counseling services to students at Broome Community College to promote the psychological wellbeing and personal effectiveness our students and to enhance their personal and academic functioning. As personal counselors we assist students in overcoming personal, emotional, and psychological issues that may negatively impact their ability to reach their academic goals and to make the most of their educational experience. We educate students about mental health and wellness issues and assist students in acquiring the skills, attitudes, and resources necessary to both succeed in the college environment and pursue satisfying and productive lives.

** Overview of Services **
Individual counseling assists students in resolving issues that cause emotional distress and interfere with personal goals and academic success. Issues students often address include: o Educational and academic goals  o Personal, family, relationship concerns  o Difficulty with alcohol, other substances or food  o Sexual, physical, and emotional abuse  o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Management of emotions such as anxiety, depression, grief, and anger <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Study skills and strategies <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Traumatic experiences <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Racial and diversity issues <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Sexual identity issues <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Groups are offered at various times during the year depending on the need and vary in length from 4 to 12 weeks. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-tab-count: 1; msotabcount: 1;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Self-Development Workshops <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Personal development workshops provide opportunities for individuals to learn about topics related to personal growth. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend free scheduled workshops. Psycho educational Groups <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Groups offering information and help for students who have a particular mental health issue like depression or anxiety Personal Growth Groups <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Managing Relationships <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Feeling confident and worthwhile <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Managing feelings of depression or anxiety <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Personal Counselors are available to provide consultation services to faculty and staff to assist in their work with students. Counselors provide mental health education training and consultation to faculty on how to assist students with problems that affect the learning process and how to respond to crisis situations. Consultation on learning styles, adjustment to college, human relations issues, and other mental health topics is also available. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Classroom presentations on mental health, personal development, and academic skills topics are available. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> A Certified Distance Counselor can meet with you for an intake appointment and determine if your particular problems or concerns make a good candidate for counseling via email and chat.
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Individual Counseling **
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Group Counseling **
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Consultation Services **
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">eCounseling **


 * The personal counselors provide the following core services on a non-fee basis: **

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; msobidifontsize: 10.5pt;">** 1. Direct Clinical and Counseling Services 2. Consultation and Educational Programs 3. Administrative Activities 4. Training Programs**

__ Eligibility for Direct Clinical Services __
To be eligible for direct counseling and psychological services, an individual must be a Broome Community College student. An individual who is: Admitted to one of the schools at BCC (matriculated student), or registered in one or more credit courses at BCC (non-matriculated student

Matriculated students who are between semesters, including the summer semester, and are pre-registered for classes the following semester are assumed to be students continuing their degree program and are eligible for counseling services. Staff will review the status of students not registered for the following semester, and may seek the approval of the Chair or VPSA if there are special circumstances for students who are not registered for the following semester or who are no longer students. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Times New Roman; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt;"> **__ Intake Process __** <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Times New Roman; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt;"> Students may make an intake appointment by calling Counseling Services at (607) 778-5210 or by visiting the Academic Services Suite at SS210. A member of the support staff will make an intake appointment for the student. During the initial intake session, the student may discuss with the intake counselor the concerns that brought him/her to the UCC. At the conclusion of the interview, the counselor will attempt to summarize the chief issues expressed by the student and present strategies that might be helpful. If therapy is indicated, the counselor may suggest individual or group therapy. If an off-campus mental health practitioner is better suited to provide the type of assistance required by the student, the intake counselor may make a referral to an off-campus practitioner. The counselor may follow up with the student or the community provider to ensure a completed referral. Referred students will be encouraged to contact the intake counselor about the outcome of the referral or for additional referral information. Based on an initial counseling session, students may be seen individually for short-term counseling, which includes but is not limited to personal, educational, relationship, family, substance abuse, and social problems. Clients usually remain with the same counselor for as many sessions as deemed appropriate. The provision of counseling and the specific number of sessions are based on the student’s needs, the seriousness of the student’s presenting problems, and the availability of the therapist.
 * // Possible Procedure? //**
 * // Prior to the intake appointment, students complete a confidential demographic information form and confidentiality of records form (as per FERPA/ and professional standards_). The secretary enters the student’s name and telephone number into a database and assigns the student a unique identification number. The secretary creates a new client’s folder with his/her initial paper work is given to the intake therapist before the intake session. Wouldn’t THAT be nice.   //**

Upon completion of the initial evaluative or intake session, the counselor is required to record the clinical data tht was gathered and summarize an initial disposition. **__ Individual Counseling __** Typically, a student in individual counseling is seen on a weekly basis for approximately one hour. The determination of the interval between sessions is decided by the therapist and the student. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Times New Roman; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt;"> **__ Groups __** Counseling Services provides group therapy, psycho-educational groups, and support groups as the need and interest of students arises during the academic year. Group membership is determined by the staff conducting the group. Group screening interviews are usually required to determine the appropriateness of the group for the prospective member. Group folders may be kept together by group name in the current client files. **__ Referrals __** Some students may need to be referred for a medical evaluation. The clinician may refer the student to a primary health care provider in the community, to his/her hometown provider, or BCC Health Services. //If a referral is made to BCC Service, t//he clinician will contact Health Services to provide referral information. The the clinician may share written referral information, marked confidential, either by directly delivering it, or via campus mail to the Director of Health Services. The intake counselor may also find it helpful to the student to contact the University Health Service Office before her/his appointment. Faxing the referral information, or mailing to off-campus providers with problem description and clinical information, is possible only if student has signed the appropriate authorization forms.
 * // Do we want specific policy/procedures around special needs, i.e. sexual assault, eating disorders, etc????????? I don’t think it’s necessary, but they did. //**

For counseling issues, referrals to off-campus mental health practitioners are generally made for clients who are unlikely to benefit from time-limited therapy, or require more intensive monitoring than can reasonably be offered by BCC Counseling Services. The criteria are listed below. Counselors need to use their best clinical judgment and seek individual or peer consultation when determining whether to refer, where to refer, and how much follow-up, if any, is necessary by the counselor to ensure that some intervention has taken place. When possible, counselors should provide clients with three or more referral options. Criteria for Referral Off-Campus __ Note: __ No one criteria will be used for the referral of a client, but a combination of factors are taken into consideration. It is important to remember that providing an intake assessment, forming a clinical decision, and making a referral is the provision of service, not the refusal of service. Clinical assessment through an extended intake may be necessary to gather sufficient information to make a decision for referral or termination. You may present the case at staff meeting, speak to the Chair or Vice President of Student Affairs, to consult about this referral option before speaking to a client about the issue. It is important to be mindful that it becomes more difficult to limit services if appropriate boundaries are not placed on type of treatment offered. Once a referral is made and the client is transitioned to the outside service they are not to be scheduled or placed on a wait-list without approval from the clinician. (Note: Sometimes referring someone directly at the onset is more therapeutic than taking them on directly. One can avoid abandonment issues and other ethical issues.)
 * 1) Client is likely to involve other staff due to case management difficulties such as emergency care, etc.
 * 2) Client does not appear motivated to change, evidenced by…
 * 3) Client is likely to need therapy more than once per week.
 * 4) Client is likely to need 24-hour coverage.
 * 5) Client is unable to perceive a problem that could be adequately treated within a time-limited framework.
 * 6) Client and therapist are unable to arrive at mutual therapeutic expectations.
 * 7) Client appears unable to form a relationship.
 * 8) Client’s issues require expertise or resources not sufficiently available at the UCC.
 * 9) Client’s needs are judged to be of a long-term nature, i.e. more than a calendar year.
 * 10) Client has clearly not profited from previous counseling services.
 * 11) Client is likely to require hospitalization during therapy.
 * 12) Client has longstanding pathology (e.g. severe personality disorder).
 * 13) Client will not participate in assessment, including personal history assessment.
 * 14) Client is not able to maintain prolonged periods without therapy that is inherent in the academic calendar of a university counseling center (e.g. three weeks during winter recess or summer break.
 * 15) Client who is unwilling to complete required paperwork or provide information on their history may not be seen beyond the intake.
 * 16) Clients who will not sign the informed consent form may not be seen beyond the intake.
 * 17) Conflict of interest exists with either the client or the counselor.

If a referral is made, efforts will be made to assure that the student possesses health insurance, either individually, as dependents on their parent's insurance, or through the College. It will be the student’s responsibility to determine if the practitioner she/he is referred to can accept their insurance. Since there are vast differences in insurance program coverage, students having questions regarding a practitioner’s ability to accept a specific insurance, should be instructed to check with the community provider and/or their insurance representative. Undergraduate and graduate students insured through the University’s plans should be directed to consult with their insurance carrier regarding reimbursement. For the University insurance policy, we may be required to sign a referral form; this assists the student with reimbursement. See front desk for appropriate form. (Student will send form in to insurance carrier.)