Policies & Procedures
Mandatory Counseling Fee
The Mandatory Counseling Fee was instituted by the Associated Students of the University of Nevada and the Graduate Student Association for the purpose of addressing the dire need for more counseling help for our students. The $30.00 per semester fee is required of all student accounts taking six credits or more. When a student first comes to Counseling Services for an appointment, reception staff will check to make sure the student has paid the fee.
The Counseling Services staff will do an initial screening to determine if the requested service is within the scope and range of the services offered by the Counseling Services. At all times Counseling Services will attempt to make sure that students requesting help are assisted to find the best form of counseling or treatment to meet their needs. On occasion the student requesting help will be referred to other agencies or services that can best service the student.
Brief Therapy Model
Services at our Center are primarily intended to help students with short-term concerns, rather than long-term, intensive psychological needs. This generally means that the most a student will meet in individual, group, or couples therapy is for one semester. During an early visit with your assigned counselor, you will work on establishing goals for counseling and the approximate number of sessions you will attend. If on intake, you and your counselor determine that it would be beneficial for you to be seen longer than one semester, referrals to community providers and other additional resources may be made.
Cancellation/No Show Policy
Any cancellation of scheduled appointments should be made 24 hours in advance. Should you miss two successive appointments, this may be grounds for discontinuation of services.
E-mail Contact
Because e-mail is not a secure or confidential medium, we do not utilize e-mail to communicate with new clients.
For clients who are currently working with our therapists, e-mail may be one of the ways available to you to reach your therapist (this will be discussed by you and your therapist). However, because we cannot guarantee that any e-mail that is sent will remain confidential, we discourage the use of e-mail contact outside of simple questions related to scheduling.
While we check our e-mail during the regular office hours, you need to know that your e-mail message may not be received immediately. Therefore, e-mail is not recommended as a method for contacting Counseling Services in an emergency. If time is of a particular concern for you, please phone the office 784-4648, instead or refer to what to do in a crisis.
Confidentiality
Counseling is a highly personal matter and Counseling Services recognizes the need to assure all students of the highest possible level of individual privacy and confidentiality . Counseling Services is independent of all academic and disciplinary areas and does not share counseling information with other offices or agencies unless requested by law or with a signed request from the client. Counseling services adheres to the highest standards of confidentiality and record keeping as expressed in State law, HIPAA requirements, and the ethical standards of the of the professionals providing counseling within the service. At the time of initial intake each client will be asked to read and sign the notice of privacy which is a thorough explanation of the process and limits of privacy.
Download: Notice of Privacy Practices [PDF - 27 kb]
Diversity Statement
Counseling Services, as part of the Division of Student Services, commits to helping students succeed in a diverse global environment. We ensure that all programs, services and office environments are welcoming and able to assist any person regardless of his or her race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or ability. As such, we are dedicated and adhere to the principles and actions set forth in the Student Services Diversity statement: http://www.unr.edu/stsv/vpstsv/documents/diversitystatement.doc.
