# College Counseling



## jugador409 (Nov 29, 2003)

If anyone here is seeing a counselor at school, do you have to wait two or three weeks in between sessions? I'm told that they're busy and can't guarantee weekly meetings. I suppose that's true but it just seems really ineffective. By the time the next meeting comes along, its hard to recall what happened during that time lag that I wanted to discuss.


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## mind_games (Nov 30, 2008)

I went to counselling at uni and the appointment times depended on how busy they were (greater demand during school times and least demand during school holidays). Also we only get 8 free sessions per year, so it made sense to space the visits out. 

As for you I'd suggest keeping a journal so that you can keep track of the events you want to discuss. It may be hard to remember and update your journal, but the whole counselling thing does require you to put in some effort in order to get the best benefit. Also a couple of weeks gap allowed me to think and put some of the things I'd discussed during a session into practice. 

I hope it goes well for you. It definitely helped me and its worth a try.


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## TorLin (Nov 14, 2006)

if your paying for health services, seeing a counseller visits can be free. check with your payment, and health services building to see.

i know for myself, when i was attending college I saw a counsellor at school grounds. it was only cause i was strugging with my depression and some home issues, and i got to visit that counsellor about 7 times during my term. It was enough, each session was like an hour. a lot of talking i did. it felt good.

look into it.


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## rachelynn (Sep 12, 2008)

I haven't seen a counselor at a school, but I have had counseling in the past, where I could only go in once a month. I didn't like it, it does seem ineffective...my only thought is to write down stuff you'd like to talk about, but that always didn't work too well for me, because the feeling wore off...


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## jugador409 (Nov 29, 2003)

rachelynn said:


> I haven't seen a counselor at a school, but I have had counseling in the past, where I could only go in once a month. I didn't like it, it does seem ineffective...my only thought is to write down stuff you'd like to talk about, but that always didn't work too well for me, because the feeling wore off...


Thanks for the advice guys. Rachel, that's exactly right. I'll encounter a situation that seems like a big deal and gets me wound up completely during that week but when it comes time to go to therapy those feelings are no longer there. That makes it hard to discuss those feelings with the counselor. But I'll try writing everything down so I can get more out of the next session.


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## n1kkuh (Jul 11, 2008)

I had a college counselor, it maxed out to 10 sessions and it helped but I so wish I had another 10 sessions to go along with it. If you have a school psychiatrist and are interested in taking medication maybe you should also try looking into that.


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## Kimaris (Jan 20, 2009)

My college is pretty good with things like that. We have free weekly meetings with a psychologist/psychiatrist. We are generally have around 11 meetings per semester and beyond that they'll refer you to someone else.


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## Rune (Mar 11, 2009)

I've noticed people seem to have varied experiences with college counseling services. 
For me, it's been a godsend, since I can't afford treatment. I go to hour-long therapy sessions weekly and visit the psychiatrist there when necessary, and he always prescribes me things that are really cheap. (under $10) The visits are always free, but I think we have a limited amount per semester. I think it's pretty generous though, so I'm not worried. I even talked on the phone with my therapist for half an hour the other day when I had a panic attack, and he helped calm me down.

But yeah, for the long waits I would also recommend a journal.  It really helps.


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## Fairyxo (Jan 28, 2009)

Why not just go to the Doctor's and ask about seeing a psychiatrist? It should be free, it is here


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