Communications Center

Face to face therapy requires the client and therapist spend time close together, which puts them at risk for transmitting COVID-19. Providing therapy by telephone or secure video conference, known as telehealth, allows therapists to provide services without the risk of transmitting COVID-19. While masks can be helpful in limiting the spread of COVID-19, they also make it hard to read facial expressions which interferes with therapy. Because of this, the Counseling Center will provide services via telehealth during the Fall 2020 semester.

First Appointments
During students’ first appointment at the Counseling Center, called Personal Planning Appointments (PPA), they will meet with a therapist via secure video conferencing or phone. These appointments can be scheduled by contacting the Counseling Center (765-285-1736). Personal Planning Appointments will focus on understanding the student’s needs. The therapist and the student will work together to identify resources that can be helpful to the student. The resources will be written up on the “My Action Plan” (MAP) and provided to students to ensure students have access to the resources they need. Resources on the MAP may include any of the following services.

Individual and Group Services
The Counseling Center will offer individual therapy and group therapy via secure video conferencing or phone to support student mental health and to promote resilience. Due to state licensure laws, students must be located in Indiana in order to receive therapy servcies.

Psychiatry
To better meet the needs of students who require medication to treat their mental health concerns, the Health Center has hired a full-time psychiatrist. This will allow many more students access to medications. Because of this increase in staffing, psychiatric services will no longer be offered at the Counseling Center. All students who need psychiatric services must be seen at the Health Center.

Prevention and Support Services
The Counseling Center will continue to offer a variety of virtual prevention services to students to support their mental health and promote resilience. The Counseling Center will continue to offer psychoeducational workshops, support groups, and therapy groups via telehealth. The Counseling Center will also continue to provide outreach and training on topics important to students and faculty such as managing anxiety, coping with depression, healthy relationships, stress management and developing resiliency. In addition, to address the impact of COVID-19 on students’ mental health, the Counseling Center has developed the “Coping with COVID-19” series that includes sessions on coping with the financial impact of COVID-19, grief and loss related to COVID-19, and the social impact of COVID-19.

Online Self-help Resources
Over the past few years the Counseling Center has worked hard to develop self-help resources that can be accessed 24 hours per day. These resources include behavioral health apps such as WellTrack (https://bsu.welltrack.com/ also available from the App Store and Google Play), online behavioral health screening tools and video recordings of our most popular psychoeducational workshops. Many of these videos are available to students 24 hours a day on the Counseling Center’s website (https://www.bsu.edu/campuslife/counselingcenter/outreach).

Urgent Services
The Counseling Center will continue to offer appointments for students who are experiencing an immediate mental health concern. These appointments will be offered using telehealth. Because the Counseling is providing services online, any students that need urgent mental health services do not need to come to the Counseling Center. Instead students should call the Counseling Center (765-285-1736) and we will arrange for a meeting with a therapist via secure video or telephone.