Counseling Services

To schedule an appointment:

• Call 941-487-4254 & press option 1.  (You may leave a message on our voicemail if we are unable to answer or if it is after business hours. We will get back with you at the earliest opportunity.)
• Stop in during regular working hours, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM. 
• Online scheduler

Appointments for individual and relationship counseling sessions typically run 45-55 minutes in length.  You and the clinician will determine how often to meet, with sessions often being weekly or every other week.  We ask that you arrive on time for your appointment, with the required paperwork being completed before your appointment time.  Once you arrive, staff will check you in and your therapist will greet you once they are available.  

If you cannot make a scheduled appointment, it is your responsibility to call to cancel or reschedule.  If you forgot you had an appointment, call as soon as possible to reschedule.  

If you miss your counseling appointment and do not call to reschedule, you may be charged a fine and there is no guarantee that your therapist will have another available appointment time.  If this occurs, you can choose to be placed on the waitlist and reassigned; you may also use our CWC crisis hotline if it is needed, at 941-487-4254 option 2. 

If you are experiencing symptoms of an illness, such as the cold or flu, contact your counselor to request a virtual session or call us to reschedule your appointment.

Required Paperwork for Intake and Follow Up Sessions 

There is required paperwork that must be completed for counseling and clinical case management appointments, whether it is an intake appointment or a follow up session.  You will receive an appointment reminder with the link for your paperwork via your school email address; if you did not receive the link, notify office staff when you arrive for your appointment.  

It is best for you to complete your paperwork on the day of your appointment, before the time of your scheduled session.  If you are unable to complete your paperwork before your appointment, we may direct you to complete this as a part of your scheduled appointment or we may reschedule your appointment for a different day and time.

During the initial assessment, the clinician gathers information regarding the student’s concerns, history, and background. The clinician will then make recommendations regarding how best to meet the needs of the student. The decision about which type of services being recommended are based on many factors, including the students’ current concerns and needs, counseling history, scheduling considerations, and availability of resources.

If the clinician determines that the student would benefit from individual counseling offered through Counseling Services, they will schedule a follow up counseling session for the student to begin working on their concerns.

Sometimes, a student would be better served by a combination of interventions on-campus, such as group counseling, campus programming, or a club; as such, recommendations for these will be made during the initial assessment.  In other cases, a student’s needs may exceed the abilities of the center and the student would benefit from an off-campus provider, at which time the student will be provided with appropriate referrals to address their concerns, and if needed support services to help navigate setting up these services.

Individual counseling is a collaborative process in which the clinician and client work together to reach goals. Our clinicians use evidenced-based approaches to help our clients learn new coping skills, discover patterns in relationships, and try new ways of being. Our counselors approach treatment non-judgmentally and within an empathetic relationship.

Relationship counseling is available to any students engaged in a relationship who are seeking to improve communication and problem-solving skills within the relationship.  Relationship counseling can also be helpful to those ending their relationship, to support and plan to part ways in a healthy manner.  In relationship counseling a counselor will meet with all students, together.

While relationship counseling often involves romantic or intimate relationships, relationship counseling can be done with partners, spouses, roommates, or friends.  In order to engage in relationship counseling at CWC, all of the people in the relationship must be currently enrolled New College students.

The 24/7 Crisis Counseling Hotline is available 24/7.  If you need to speak with someone immediately, please call 941-487-4254, option 2.

Clinicians are available from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, to assist with urgent situations, emergencies, or mental health crises.  You may walk-in for an appointment; we will make every effort to see you if a counselor is available.  

If we cannot see you same-day, we will schedule an appointment and help connect you with immediate resources, such as our 24/7 Crisis Counseling Hotline to use in the meantime.

If you are experiencing an extreme mental health emergency, medical emergency, or other life threatening or emergency situation, call 911.  You can also call Campus Police at (941) 487-4210 (x4210 from campus phones), or use the blue light emergency phones available throughout campus and on the Mighty Banyan Safe app.  Situations for this may include, but are not limited to: suicidal thoughts or actions, homicidal thoughts or actions, a serious accident, thoughts of committing dangerous acts, concerns about alcohol poisoning or drug overdose, being the victim of sexual battery (rape), domestic violence, or other crimes.

A victim advocate is available to provide confidential crisis intervention, options, and advocacy to anyone who is the victim of a crime.  You can reach out 24/7 and the victim advocate will respond out as soon as they are able.  The victim advocate will make every effort to respond-same day if it is feasible.  To contact the Victim Advocate, text or call 941-504-8599 and leave a message.

Clinical Case Management is a part of Counseling Services, intended to help students overcome obstacles while empowering them to embrace their growing autonomy.  Clinical Case Management provides supportive, practical assistance, and referrals to help students meet their needs and create opportunities for success. Information shared during a Clinical Case Management appointment is confidential.  With a student’s permission, the Case Manager can work closely with other departments on campus to ensure that students have the tools they need to succeed.

The Interactive Screening Program is an anonymous screening tool related to stress, anxiety, depression, and other problems that can interfere with academic, social, and personal functioning.  After you submit the questionnaire, one of our experienced clinicians in Counseling Services will review your responses.  The clinician will then contact you over the Interactive Screening Program’s secure website, which allows for messages to be exchanged between you and the therapist while your identity remains protected.  

Click here to access the Interactive Screening Program

Clinical training for students pursuing academic mental health programs, such as psychology and social work, are available through internships and post-doctoral fellowships.  Training consists of individual and group supervision, mentoring, and professional development.  We emphasize profession practice, evidence-based treatments, practitioner responsiveness to client concerns.  Clinical experiences include intake and assessment, individual counseling (brief and longer-term), crisis intervention, group therapy, and treatment team.  Client concerns may include life stressors, psychopathology, trauma, sexual violence, substance abuse, disability adjustmen, personality disorders, career development, and more. 

For more information, inquiry on availability of placements, or to apply, contact Dr. Keith Kokseng, PsyD, [email protected] or Concetta Holmes, MSW, LCSW, [email protected]

Counseling Services is committed to providing quality support and services to our clients.  If you ever have any concerns about your experience, we encourage you to speak with your therapist or contact the Program Director of the Counseling and Wellness Center.  

This overview of general policies and practices for Counseling Services will help you become familiar with our process.  Copies of ethics codes, relevant laws, and administrative rules of the professional licensing boards are available upon request.  Our clinicians can also discuss any questions or concerns you may have in more detail during your sessions, so that you have the information you need to gain comfort and familiarity when interacting with our counseling process.  

Research and Quality Assurance

Your feedback about our services is essential.   After your treatment has been completed, you may receive a brief questionnaire, which can be completed anonymously. This is used for program planning, service evaluation, and to assess service needs. Information for an annual report of services is routinely compiled, and the data is reported in group averages with no individually identifying information. 

Referrals to Outside Providers

If we determine that your counseling treatment needs require resources beyond our scope of practice, we will assist with a referral to those resources.  When this occurs, our staff will work with you to locate appropriate resources in the community to suit your needs.  Students are responsible for paying the costs incurred for services and treatment provided through outside agencies. 

Unsafe Behavior and Denial of Services

We reserve the right to deny counseling services to individuals whose behaviors or situations would not allow for effective care by our clinicians.  We also reserve the right to deny counseling services when the client’s behaviors would interfere with a counselor’s ability to effectively engage the client in treatment.  Examples of this may include, but are not limited to: abuse or misuse services, noncompliance with treatment, frequently missed appointments, attending session under the influence of alcohol or drugs, presenting to an in-person session with flu/cold/illness, when treatment needs are beyond the scope and capacity of the office, and when violent or threatening behaviors occur in session, towards staff, or within the Counseling and Wellness Center.  In any of these instances, where needed, students would be connected to other local treatment options and community referrals.  

Minors

If you are under 18 years of age, be aware that the law may provide your parents or legal guardian the right to examine your treatment records. Before giving parents or legal guardians any information we will discuss the matter with you, if possible, and do our best to handle any objections you may have with what we are prepared to discuss.

Professional Records

The laws and standards of our profession require that we keep Protected Health Information (PHI) about you in your clinical record. 

Your clinical record includes information about your reasons for seeking therapy, a description of the way in which your concerns affects your life, your diagnosis, the goals for treatment, your progress toward those goals, your medical and social history, relevant personal information shared by you, your treatment history, results of clinical assessments (including raw data), any past treatment records, and copies of any reports that have been received or sent to anyone. Clinical records are maintained for seven years. 

Your clinical records are not part of your academic records.  Clinical records are Protected Health Information, covered by federal HIPAA laws and also under additional state laws.  Clinical records are maintained for seven years, per Florida law.  For additional information, please refer to the Notice of Privacy Practices. 

This summary is designed to provide an overview of confidentiality and its limits, however it is only an overview.  For more detailed information, you can request our Notice of Privacy Practices and we encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your therapist.  

Information shared by you in assessment, counseling, and clinical case management sessions will be treated with the strictest confidentiality. Your therapist may seek consultation with other Counseling and Wellness Center staff members in the furtherance of your treatment, in order to best serve you. In addition, administrative staff will need access to protected information for such purposes as scheduling and quality assurance. All staff members have been given training about protecting your privacy and have agreed not to release any information outside the Counseling and Wellness Center without the permission of a professional staff member.

Counseling services engages in the training of graduate and undergraduate students from mental health professions, such as psychologists and social workers who are working towards graduation and are not yet licensed in Florida. Licensed clinicians provide supervision to these counselors-in-training, which may include discussion of your treatment and clinical record. Your therapist may ask your permission to record sessions for confidential supervisory and training purposes as they engage in their training. Recordings are placed on a secure external hard drive, are not connected to any online network, and are kept in a locked cabinet and erased at the end of your treatment.  The purpose of these recordings is to help the counselor-in-training as they become professionals in the field.

In most other instances, your information will not be disclosed to anyone without your written permission. A copy of our release of information form is available from the counseling staff.

Limits to Confidentiality

There are some situations where we are legally and ethically required and permitted to disclose information either with or without your consent.  These situations include:

• If the therapist believes you present clear and substantial danger of harm to yourself or others.  In these situations, therapists will take protective actions, which may include contacting family members, seeking hospitalization for you, notifying any potential victim(s) and notifying law enforcement.
• If your therapist has reason to believe that a child or a vulnerable adult is being neglected or abused, the law requires that the situation be reported to the appropriate state agency.
• If a client files a complaint or a lawsuit against a therapist, we may disclose relevant information regarding the client in order to defend the therapist.
• If you are involved in a court proceeding and a court order is issued that requires us to provide information about your treatment.  If you are involved in or contemplating litigation, you should consult with your attorney to determine whether your clinical record may become a part of such proceedings.
• If a government agency is requesting the information for health oversight activities or national security.

Email Communications & Confidentiality

Lastly, please note that email is not a secure form of communication and is not recommended as a primary method of contacting your therapist for any treatment related concerns. Unless your therapist and you agree otherwise, please call to leave a message and talk with the counseling staff if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Note that any communication you have with a therapist outside of our counseling session may be documented in your treatment record.