Counseling Center

The Counseling Center works with Gustavus students to enhance their personal development and academic achievement. At times, students experience personal, relational, social, or academic difficulties which they cannot fully resolve on their own, and find it helpful to talk to a professional counselor about their concerns. In order to help students with such difficulties, the Counseling Center provides a variety of confidential services.

Confidentiality

It is the policy of the Counseling Center to keep students' concerns confidential. Information is not released to anyone outside the Counseling Center staff without written permission from the student. The only exception may occur in life-threatening emergencies. This policy follows the ethical guidelines of the Minnesota Board of Psychology, and the legal requirements of the State of Minnesota.

Appointments

If you wish to make an appointment, please drop by the office or call ext. 7027. Appointments are usually available within one week, and are scheduled for up to 50 minutes per session. However, in an emergency, a student will be seen as soon as possible. Appointments are not scheduled over semester breaks or in the summer.

What to Expect During Your First Visit to the Counseling Center

Practice Guidelines

• All students will normally be offered 12 sessions of therapy per year
• Students who miss a scheduled appointment and do not reschedule within five business days, or who miss two scheduled appointments in a row are assumed to no longer be interested in services and will have counseling automatically terminated
• Cancellations of scheduled appointments may count toward the 12 session limit at the therapist's discretion
• Students referred to off-campus resources will be provided with transitional services

Triage Policy

In times of high demand for services and case loads for therapists are at capacity, students may not be able to get an appointment for ongoing counseling in a timely fashion. Should this occur, the Counseling Center will set aside time to offer students an appointment for a triage session.

Triage sessions will be used to make a quick assessment of the student’s presenting issues and help the student think through problems solving strategies and put coping strategies in place.

The student will be provided with appropriate referrals to on-campus or off-campus resources and/or the student will be offered the next available opening.

The triage policy is not intended for, nor does it replace, crisis response. Crisis is defined as a student who has active suicidal ideation and who is feeling unsafe and/or a student who has been sexually assaulted within the last 72 hours. The Counseling Center will continue to make time to respond crisis as they arise.

Referral Guidelines

The Counseling Center is committed to maintaining an appropriate balance between meeting the needs of individual students and the needs of the college community as a whole. Given the demand for clinical services, the nature of the college calendar and limits to the specialized care we may be able to provide, the Counseling Center will normally offer students a limited number of individual therapy sessions. At the same time, we recognize that an individual student’s needs or the needs of the college may demand that we be flexible in the nature and amount of clinical services that we provide.

The purpose of the referral procedures and guidelines is to

• Provide guidance, ensure consistency of clinical practice and hold Counseling Center staff accountable in balancing the needs of the community with the needs of the individual student
• Enable clear communication of clinical practice to the larger college community
• Provide a record of accepted practice for new staff and interns

Emergencies

If an emergency occurs after business hours, please contact a Collegiate Fellow, Head Resident or one of the following offices:

Office	Address	Phone number
Campus Safety		507-933-8888
Emergency		911
Sioux Trails Mental Health Center (24 hour phone)		1-800-247-2809
St. Peter Police		507-931-1550
St. Peter Community Hospital	1900 North Sunrise Drive	507-931-2200
St. Peter Clinic — Mayo Health System	622 Sunrise Drive	507-931-2110
Immanuel-St. Joseph Hospital Behavior & Mental Health Unit		507-345-2620
ISJ- Behavior & Mental Health Unit Crisis Line		1-800-233-9929
South Central Crisis Center		507-389-6783

Staff

Name	Title	Phone
Heather Dale	Director of Student Health Service/Interim Director of the Counseling Center	507-933-7156	profile
Stacey Gerken	Staff Psychologist	507-933-6067	profile
Lisa Rinehart	Staff Psychologist	507-933-6125	profile
Rachel Slater	Staff Psychologist	507-933-7146	profile
Ann Friederichs	Administrative Assistant	507-933-7027	profile
Thad Shunkwiler	Intern		profile

Training/Internship Opportunities

If interested in a practicum/internship site please contact:

The Counseling Center
c/o Stacey Gerken
800 West College Avenue
Johnson Student Union, Room 204
St. Peter, MN 56082

Phone: 507-933-7027

Email: sgerken@gustavus.edu