How Do I Get Started In Accessing Mental Health Counseling Services?

Visit our health centers on either campus during operational hours (listed below) to obtain, and/or submit a Student Psychological Services Intake Packet. You can also download this packet from our website at: www.santarosa.edu/for_students/student-services/student-health-services/download-forms/forms/sps-intake-packet.pdf.

Once the packet is submitted, a staff member will contact you by phone to discuss appointment options for your first visit.

If you would like to talk with a therapist that day, please come to our drop-in hours, listed below. If your schedule does not permit, please come at other hours.

If you are in crisis and need immediate attention, please stop by our offices any time we are open and clearly let the staff know that you would like to be seen right away.

Service Locations and Hours of Operation

General Information About Student Psychological Services

Student Psychological Services (SPS) is a program designed to serve SRJC students who are experiencing stress or other emotional difficulties. Frequently, these difficulties affect a student’s academic performance or their ability to function effectively in social, academic, or work settings. To assist students in overcoming these challenges, we offer individual, couples, and group therapy to SRJC students that are enrolled in credit courses. Overall, we provide more than 2000 counseling hours each year for students on the Santa Rosa and Petaluma campuses.

SPS provides counseling to assist with such problems as panic or anxiety, depression, grief and loss, identity struggles, relationship difficulties, substance abuse, eating disorders, or test anxiety. At SPS students find a safe and positive place to address their difficulties. They learn to feel better in general and develop more self-esteem. Many find they are able to function more effectively in relationships and to focus and perform more successfully in their classes.

SPS services are provided free of charge, as the Health Fee paid each semester by credit-enrolled students supports the department’s services. Free access assures there are no financial barriers to receiving needed services.

Individual, Couples and Family Therapy

Individual and Couples Therapy is typically short-term. Often students come in for a single Drop-In session, but on-going therapy that usually lasts for six-to-eight sessions is also available. Research shows that the quality of the relationship between the student and therapist, not necessarily the length of therapy, is most important in allowing people to make desired changes in their lives. SPS also offers referrals to on-going therapy in the community in cases where the student or therapist feels that the issues are more appropriate for longer term therapy.

Drop-In Services

Students can access SPS for immediate and more critical needs for a single session through a Drop-In appointment. (See below for procedures to access Drop-In.) Students experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency should call 911 or go to an emergency room.

Group Therapy

SPS offers group therapy that focuses on different topics each semester. For some issues and some students group therapy is more effective than individual therapy. Group therapy allows difficult personal issues to be addressed in a safe and supportive group environment. Groups form throughout the semester and usually end the week before finals.

Groups for the current semester are located on the Current Events page.

Psychiatric Consultation

SPS is pleased to offer psychiatric consultation for students seeing SPS therapists. (Drop-in clients and past SPS clients are not eligible for this service.) Our psychiatrist works closely with the treating therapist in assessing the student’s psychiatric needs. Students pay for medication at the pharmacy of their choice. (SPS does not pay for medications or offer samples.) Consistent with the short-term model of treatment, SPS clients are referred to community psychiatrists for long-term follow-up.

Student Psychological Services Staff

SPS graduate and pre-doctoral interns provide most of the therapy to students. These interns are supervised by staff licensed mental health providers. SRJC's Student Psychological Services program is certified by the California Psychology Internship Council (CAPIC) and the Bay Area Practicum Information Collaborative (BAPIC). We also have a licensed Spanish-speaking therapist, as well as a professional therapist who provides drug and alcohol counseling.

Confidentiality

Everything you share with an SPS therapist is kept confidential, including the fact that you received therapy. There are, however, important exceptions to therapist/client confidentiality:

• When the client is a danger to themself or others, the therapist is legally obligated to ensure your safety and the safety of others.
• The therapist has a legal obligation to report any suspected child, dependent person, or elder abuse.
• Therapists may discuss cases with their SPS supervisor as part of their own learning process. In such instances, the supervisor is bound by the same rules of confidentiality that apply to the therapist.

Aside from these exceptions, information about you cannot be released to anyone outside of Student Health Services without a written Release of Information form signed by you. No one, including family, friends, faculty, or even your community physician, can see a student’s record or even know that the student received treatment unless the student authorizes the SPS therapist to release this information.

For additional information or questions, please contact Susan Quinn at squinn@santarosa.edu.