Greetings from your friendly, neighborhood Counseling Center!  In these times of uncertainty and crisis, our center is here to provide support and services to every member of our community.  Our diverse staff of psychologists, social workers and licensed professional counselors invite you to engage and encounter through all of our services.

Check out this blog each week for useful tips, updates on programming, or thoughts from our staff.  Today's topic:  Answers to some of your questions about counseling services in the age of COVID-19.

How will the Counseling Center provide services during the Fall 2020 semester?
For the safety of all of us, the Counseling Center will provide therapeutic services and outreach programming through virtual platforms during the Fall 2020.  Individual and group therapy will continue to be offered, via Healthcare Zoom, a HIPAA-protected platform.  To set up an initial consultation, please call our patient representatives at (504) 314-2277 or log into the Campus Health Patient Portal to schedule an appointment.  In most cases, your first appointment can be scheduled that same day. You will be contacted by the clinician prior to the appointment with a Zoom link and helpful information.

How is therapy different on Zoom?
Our clinicians strive to make the virtual therapy experience as close to  the in-person experience as possible.  However, there is no replacement for person-to-person interactions.  The biggest challenge with Zoom or any virtual platform are potential technology issues.  Be sure to let your therapist know if you are experience technology problems--if you can't hear them clearly, or you missed something they said, for example.  Your clinician  may do the same.  Clarity of communication is essential to therapy, so sometimes we may need to be more explicit than we would have to be in person.

What other services does the TU Counseling Center offer?
In addition to therapeutic services, the Counseling Center offers a broad range of community engagement opportunities including workshops, training, and regular webcasts.  For more info check out our webpage: TU Counseling Center