Beginning today, GW students have more options for accessing mental health counseling through the University Counseling Center (UCC).
The UCC will now offer three treatment plans for the 2011-12 academic year:
• Short-term counseling for up to six sessions at no cost.
• Time-limited treatment (up to 12 visits per year) with fees charged after the sixth session. UCC’s base fee will be $60 with sliding scale fees as needed.
• Brief crisis management at no cost followed by referral for longer-term treatment.
“It’s a great opportunity for students,” said John Dages, UCC director and a psychologist. “Psychologists at UCC are very enthusiastic about being able to increase accessibility by offering a number of no-cost counseling services. The university is very supportive of these initiatives, and we are excited to move in this direction.”
Dr. Dages said UCC’s short-term, solution-focused counseling model is the most common model used on college campuses. The number of sessions needed is determined between the student and the counselor based on clinical need.
Dr. Dages said students typically do not need long-term counseling and “respond well to short-term counseling.” For students who need longer-term care, Dr. Dages said they will be assisted through the center’s “well-designed” referral system.
“The nice thing about this model is that it is treatment focused,” he said. “From our first assessment, the model focuses on what the student needs in terms of clinical care. We can start determining what a student needs fairly quickly based on a thorough psychological assessment.”
The center has also added student account billing as a new payment option for special assessments and time-limited treatment after six sessions. Dr. Dages said approximately 25 percent of students who use the center receive reduced fees for individual counseling. Individual and group counseling sessions are offered at no cost for students who are on GW’s health plan.
The center will also offer more accessible hours on a limited basis for students who need earlier or later appointments.
“This pilot program will be monitored closely throughout the year, keeping a close eye on the various factors that help the university to maintain the high level of service that our students have come to expect,” said Senior Associate Dean of Students Mark Levine.
These initiatives were implemented after months of research. Dr. Dages reviewed counseling center models at approximately 20 market basket universities and spoke with GW students and student organizations, including The Student Association and Active Minds, as well as members of the Parent's Association Advisory Council, to determine how the center can best address the mental health needs of the GW student body.
Student Association President John Richardson said changes to the center’s fee scale have long been a popular issue with students. Mr. Richardson and Executive Vice President Ted Costigan have been in discussion with the administration for several months about these new initiatives, and Mr. Richardson said they are pleased with the center’s increased accessibility.
“This really showed the power of our student representation; it’s about partnering with the administration to move things forward, the things that make our school better,” he said. “The administration needs to be applauded for being so responsive.”
Dr. Dages said news of the center’s changes has been well received by students.
“We’ve been critically examining different ways to reduce fees and make UCC more accessible to students,” said Dr. Dages. “Student groups were raising really important issues, and we listened. We really wanted to give this responsible and careful consideration.”