Kansas State University

Counseling Services

Kansas State University

232 English/Counseling Services Building

Manhattan, KS 66506

 

785-532-6927

785-532-3932 fax

counsel@k-state.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of counseling is provided?
The mission of Counseling Services is to provide short-term assistance in areas of decision-making, crisis intervention, problem-solution, adjustment, or matters of personal concern that could interfere with a student's academic success. We offer individual and group counseling services for a variety of issues including stress management, communication and assertiveness skills, depression, anxiety, coping with crises, sexual concerns, time management, biofeedback, and more. Couples counseling is also available but those needing family therapy for themselves and their children are referred to the community.

When time-limited service is not sufficient to meet the student's needs, the counselor will then determine if any extended care can be managed within the time and service availability of this agency or if referral alternatives within the community would be more appropriate.

  Does CS-KSU provide career counseling? Yes! We provide career assessment and interpretations and will assist students in addressing career difficulties and decisions in group or individual sessions as needed.

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Do you provide couples or family therapy? Couples counseling may be provided as long a one member of the couple is a registered K-State student; sometimes couples may be referred to the community for more extensive treatment needs. If a partner is not registered as a student and individual therapy is recommended for the partner, the partner will be referred for that individual service to resources in the community. Because our agency does not work with children, couples wanting/needing family therapy that would include their children would also be referred to resources in the community. Further questions about couples work can be answered by a contact with a CS counselor by calling our office at 785-532-6927.

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Are there services provided besides individual counseling? Yes! For example, we offer groups and workshops, stress management training, performance enhancement training for athletes, presentations to student groups or classes on campus, career workshops, and consultations to students/faculty/staff. And of course, the education provided by our website's helpful topics section. In addition, our staff teach courses, provide clinical training, and are involved in a variety of campus committees as a service to the campus community. Also located at our office is the AODES office, a program that provides education about alcohol and other drugs on campus.

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Are you staffed by professionals or students?
The staff at CS-KSU are trained professionals and consists of licensed psychologists, masters-level therapists/counselors, performance enhancement specialists and other professionals. In addition, this agency is a doctoral psychology internship site accredited by the American Psychological Association. As such, we also have on staff several psychology interns who are in the last stage of their doctoral program in professional psychology; this is comparable to the residency status of a physician-in-training. Our interns are selected each year from all over the country during an intensive application and interview process and, once here, receive ongoing clinical training and supervision.

Occasionally, the agency may also have 1-2 graduate students from the Counseling & Educational Psychology department , the Psychology Department or the Marriage & Family Therapy graduate programs at K-State. Trainees are assigned tasks at the level of their training/experience and are closely supervised as part of their learning process.

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Are there limits to services you provide?
Sometimes a student's mental health needs require longer duration, more intensive or more specialized forms of treatment than we provide in a short-term facility. In these situations CS-KSU may provide some assessment with the student and will facilitate referrals to off-campus mental health providers. This is essential because CS-KSU is not a 24-hour, comprehensive mental health agency.

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What kinds of problems do students present when they come to CS-KSU?
Information from the agency's 2003 Annual Report shows that 68% of clients report depressive symptoms and 63% indicate stress or anxiety concerns. Seventy percent of clients report concern in relationships, a majority of which are around family matters. Grief or loss reactions were present with 23% and health concerns with 13%. (note: a client may have identified more than one problem area.)

Making decisions or resolving problems of specific situations are common points of entry for many students. The following is a list of common problems presented in the last year: stress/anxiety, situational problems, relationship issues, developmental issues, depression, academic skills, educational/vocational choice, physical problems, abuse, grief, suicidal feelings, personality problems, substance abuse, eating disorders, ACOA/Codependency, Legal Problems, Sexual Assault/Rape.

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Are there charges for the service?
Enrolled students may receive up to 4 individual therapy sessions per fiscal year (July 1-June 30) at no charge. Sessions 5-10 will cost $15/hour, sessions beyond 10 cost $25/hour. Group sessions, therapy groups, workshops, biofeedback training sessions cost $7.00 per session after one free initial session. The office can be contacted for information about additional fees for testing and other services.  If you do incur charges, CS-KSU does not send out monthly statements; you may access your account statement online on our main page by selecting "My Counseling Services Account." 

One free consultation session may also be possible for a those not currently registered at K-State but who are planning on attending soon or those needing information/referral to resources in the local community.

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Will students have to wait?
Our philosophy is to get students in contact with a counselor in a timely manner. Once a currently registered student has completed the application information online or in the office, a counselor will make a brief contact (in person or by phone) to assist in determining the appropriate service, help the student obtain an appointment, or make recommendations about resources in the community if pertinent to the student's needs. Usually an appointment at CS-KSU can be found within a few days of that brief contact. Of course, students in crisis, are seen as soon as possible that same day by a crisis on call staff person.

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How private and confidential is contact with CS-KSU?
Information shared in therapy at the Counseling Services at Kansas State University is held in strict confidence and applicants for service are given an information sheet that describes this at the time of their first contact.

This agency maintains records that are separate from those held at the Student Health Center or any other agency on the K-State campus. Confidentiality means that what a client discusses in sessions and any written records of contact with this office does not go on the student's academic record, into the student's medical charts, and will not be disclosed to any other office or individual unless the person has signed a written release for this to occur. Our overall goal is to make this a place where people will feel safe to talk about personal concerns.

There are, however, some exceptions to confidentiality. Counselors are required to release certain information in situations in which there is potential harm to the person or danger to others, in instances of child or elder abuse or as a result of a court order. While these types of events are extremely rare, it is important to note that these possibilities exist.

In addition, files may be reviewed in the process of agency accreditation visits by professional review teams; all materials are handled confidentially and no materials with identifying information will leave the agency without obtaining specific release to do so. Files are retained for 7 years past the date of last contact and are then shredded.  Any questions about confidentiality can be directed to our office for further details if needed.

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What is Counseling Services email policy?

Because e-mail is not a secure or confidential medium, we cannot guarantee that any e-mail that you may send to us will remain confidential. While we consider your communications private and do not disseminate information about you without your permission, our university administration reserves the right to monitor e-mail usage and so others might therefore see the text of your message. Please see our email policy for additional information

Do you have Self-help materials?
We have developed several brochures on common topics of interest to many University Students. Our copyrighted "Help Yourself" Series is available in paper format in our foyer at 232 English/Counseling Services Building; a person can stop by and pick up a copy of any topic of interest. These helpful topics are also available at our website.

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Will staff give talks, presentations or brief workshops to organizations, classes or campus office groups?
We are glad to take requests for presentations and ask that requests be made at least two weeks ahead of the needed date. If we are unable to meet the request, we will try to suggest other options or resources to help meet your needs.

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 Are evening appointments available?
Our regular office hours during the academic semesters are Monday & Thursday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m - 5 p.m. During school breaks, including summer, our hours are Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.  If your schedule requires appointments beyond our regular hours, we recommend you contact mental health providers in the community.

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What about parking near the Counseling Services Building?
Parking is a perennial problem on campus. We try to be helpful by offering limited parking near our building for our clients. There are a total of eight parking spaces clearly designated for Counseling Services clients: four are at the side of Seaton Hall/studio building as a person is driving towards the circle driveway on the south side of the English/Counseling Services Building while four are closer to the driveway entrance to the English/Counseling Services Building.

These limited number of spaces are to be used ONLY by clients during the brief time that they are in an appointment at the Counseling Service.
Clients are not allowed to park there at other times of the day, so if a client drives onto campus for an appointment and leaves the car there to go over to the library or to a class, he/she will likely get a parking ticket. Also, there are several handicapped parking spaces near the building and there is a substantial fine given for illegal parking in one of those spaces without the appropriate sticker. The receptionist at the Counseling Services can only validate a parking ticket for the time that a person was actually in the office for an appointment and cannot validate a parking ticket for illegal parking in a space designated for a handicap sticker.

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Is the building accessible?
Yes! There is an elevator available near the driveway entrance that will provide easy access to our reception area and offices on the second floor of the English/Counseling Services Building. Also, the restrooms on the second floor are accessible for wheelchairs as are all the offices at the Counseling Service.

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