Counseling Services

The counseling team at the Health and Wellness Center provides free and confidential mental health services and resources to all Fisher students.

As professionals with experience working with college students, the counselors at the Health and Wellness Center can help to address a wide variety of mental health and personal concerns. All students have access to confidential crisis, counseling, and consultation services. We will do our best to ensure that your needs are met, whether through our short-term treatment services, self-help options, referrals to off-campus providers, or other resources.

Support Through a Trauma Response

In the immediate aftermath of a trauma, it is important to seek support from trusted people in your life, recognize the feelings for what they are and not judge our response or the response of others, and practice good self-care.

Recently, as a campus community, we have likely all been impacted by what could be described as an unexpected and scary event that occurred on campus. Here are some points to understand and remember:

  • Going through very stressful, frightening, or distressing events is sometimes characterized as emotional or psychological trauma.
  • It is not for anyone to decide for you what you may or may not find traumatizing as the impact of the trauma is an individual and unique experience for each of us.
  • Trauma can include events when you feel frightened, under threat, unsafe, trapped, powerless.
  • Traumatic events can be isolated incidents that we hear about or witness or can involve being in a community that has been impacted by a traumatic event.

Trauma can affect us in the following ways:

  • Shortly after exposure to the event, we may feel hyperarousal. This is also called feeling on edge or feeling that we are still in danger, even if the immediate danger has passed.
  • If people are feeling on edge, they may find it challenging to sleep or if they sleep, they may not feel well rested.
  • Some people experience an intensity of emotions. This can range and there is no “wrong“ way to feel.
  • Trauma can also create feelings of grief and guilt.

Being aware of these signs and symptoms can make us better prepared to manage them. 

Please continue to review the information included on our pages to know how you may reach out to get support. 

Short-term Individual Counseling

College is a time of transition and growth. It is typical to experience situations that may necessitate additional support. One-on-one counseling in a supportive, non-judgmental environment is a great way to work through any problems or stressors you may be experiencing. Your first appointment typically lasts 30 minutes. You and the counselor will explore and clarify the concerns that prompted you to seek counseling.

For more information, refer to our What to Expect from Counseling page. 

If this is your first time seeking counseling, you can utilize a resource provided by the Jed Foundation: What is therapy and will it work?

Scheduling a Counseling Appointment

To connect to counseling at the Health and Wellness Center, please complete the “Counseling Request Form” located in the Patient Portal under "Forms."

After you complete a request form the Health and Wellness Center will be in contact with you during our regular business hours to make recommendations and provide options for your care.

Health and Wellness Center Staff do not maintain 24-hour access to our medical records and cannot respond in real-time. We review requests during our regular business hours M-F 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

  • If you need medical or mental health care and it is an emergency, please call 911 or safety and security at (585) 385-8111.
  • If you need help or assistance during normal business hours please contact Health and Wellness at (585) 385-8280.
  • If you need help or assistance after hours please consider calling 911 for any emergency needs or you can reach out to Safety and Security at (585) 385-8111. 

Medication Management (Psychiatric Services)

If you require medication to manage a psychological disorder and/or mental health symptoms, the Health and Wellness Center employs a part-time psychiatric nurse practitioner who schedules tele-psychiatry visits over a confidential Zoom platform two days per week (Thursday and Fridays) during the academic year.

Note: New appointments for psychiatric services are generally NOT available over summers and other breaks.

To access our psychiatric services, you must first be evaluated by a counselor in our office, who will facilitate the referral to the psychiatric nurse practitioner. If you have questions about this service, please call the Health and Wellness Center at (585) 385-8280 or send an email to healthcenter@sjf.edu.

Referrals to Outside Services

Below are some situations where we may refer you to extended or different services than we can provide at the Health and Wellness Center:

  • Serious and persistent mental health disorders that require intensive monitoring and treatment
  • Recent or chronic suicide attempts
  • Chronic non-suicidal self-harm
  • Active psychosis
  • Active eating disorders that present significant medical complications
  • Substance or alcohol dependency

Note: In general, we are unable to provide long-term or unlimited counseling, even if you do not require specialized treatment or expertise. Similarly, we are unable to guarantee that you will be able to be seen on a weekly basis through our office. If you request or require this level of care, we will be able to refer you to the services best able to help.

Additional Support and Services

Alcohol and Other Drug Education

Students needing specialized or intensive services related to substance use disorders may be screened through the Health and Wellness Center counseling team. If specialty care is recommended, students will be referred to off-campus programs to meet their needs.

For more information, please visit Alcohol and Other Drug Education.