Counseling Appointments

Please arrive 10-20 minutes before your first scheduled appointment to complete our initial paperwork.

When you come in for your first visit, you'll be seen for a brief (20-30 minute) intake appointment with a counselor. Your counselor will:

• Provide info about what to expect form the counseling process.
• Discuss your issues and concerns.
• Develop a plan to best meet your needs, which may include:
  • Referral to a counselor on our staff for individual counseling
  • Referral to group counseling
  • Referral to a mental health counselor or service off campus
  • Info about and/or referral to other campus services.

Students seek out counseling services for any number of concerns. If you're unsure if your concern is appropriate for counseling, please don't hesitate to schedule a brief intake appointment to explore options. Some common concerns that students present with include: 

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Relationship difficulties
• Family concerns
• Self-esteem
• Body image
• Academic difficulties
• Grief
• Alcohol/drug use
• Sexual assault
• Choices about major or career plan
• And more.

UWRF Counseling Services are free for currently enrolled students. If you wish to see a mental health provider off campus, counselors can help facilitate with that process. You'll need to check with your insurance for coverage.

All counseling records are kept confidential and are not part of university records. With only rare exceptions, no information is released to anyone outside Counseling Services, including other university offices, faculty, staff or parents without your written consent. Exceptions to confidentiality include life-threatening situations (i.e., when someone is deemed to be an imminent danger to themselves or others; or in cases of child abuse) or appropriate court order. In these cases, counselors may disclose information to protect you or others from harm or to comply with legal mandates. Counseling Services staff members may share information with each other for the purposes of consultation.

Individual counseling sessions are typically 45 minutes and group counseling sessions are typically 90 minutes. Counseling Services employs a brief counseling model and counseling sessions are often goal-oriented in order to meet your needs in an efficient and effective manner. On average, students meet with an individual counselor three to four times. In some situations, referrals to outside agencies may be considered if longer-term counseling is necessary or specialized services are recommended.

The Counseling Services staff consists of certified and trained mental health professionals with backgrounds in psychology, counseling and social work. Each counselor has a different counseling style and varies in their technique, however, you may expect that your counselor will:

• Listen and take your concerns seriously.
• Help you remove barriers to achieve your personal goals.
• Maintain the highest ethical and legal standards of counseling practice.
• Answer your questions directly and honestly.

• Attend your sessions regularly and take an active part in them.
• Be as open and honest as you can.
• Be open to trying new or different approaches to dealing with your concerns.
• Apply what you have learned in your sessions to your daily life.
• Talk openly with your counselor about your progress (or lack of progress) in counseling.

Counseling Services contracts with MHealth FairviewClinic in River Falls and students may meet with a general practitioner or psychiatrist to discuss options for medication when appropriate. You can call the clinic directly (715-425-6701) to schedule an appointment for a Mental Health Medication Evaluation. You can also get support from your counselor or the intake counselor to set this up with the clinic.

Alcohol and other drug assessments are available for currently enrolled students through Counseling Services. These are free, unless court-ordered or mandated by Residence Life. If those circumstances apply, then a fee will be charged.