IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, SHARE YOUR WORRIES, AND REACH YOUR ACADEMIC GOALS

Confidential Short-term Counseling
Stress, associated with a highly demanding academic life at a critical developmental period, sometimes results in complications, which you can manage through professional psychological counseling.

The UCC is proud to offer free-of-charge services with certified professionals, where you can receive short-term, individually tailored, confidential counseling sessions.

The UCC counselors establish a supportive environment within the University, wherein seeking assistance is not only accepted, but also actively encouraged. Our counselors ensure the creation of a safe and confidential space where you can explore your current challenges and facilitate personal growth. If your needs go beyond our counseling services, they will help you find the external support convenient to your specific needs.

Confidentiality is a cornerstone of our ethical practice, ensuring utmost privacy and trust for all individuals involved:

• Any information you share within the UCC and/or during counseling sessions is private and confidential.
• No record of your visit to the UCC will appear on your academic transcript or record.

The counselor is nonetheless allowed to break confidentiality in the following case:

• to alert individuals who are in a position to prevent harm, such as emergency contacts, medical personnel, law enforcement, and the person who may be in danger if they have a reasonable belief that the student may pose a physical or emotional threat to themselves or others.

UCC counselors otherwise respect your right to professional confidentiality without transmitting information to any third party, whether or not related to USEK.

To preserve confidentiality and avoid compromising therapeutic counseling, UCC staff do not accept friend or contact requests on any social networks (such as Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn) from USEK students.

Psychoeducational and Awareness-raising Programs
Our counselors assess situations or events that constitute a risk to a student’s mental health, suggest possible solutions, demystify mental health issues, especially for students and faculty, and help develop, implement, animate, or evaluate programs with the following objectives:

• Prevention of violence and harassment
• Conflict resolution
• Promotion of social inclusion and sense of belonging
• Development of healthy lifestyle habits
• Prevention of addictions (such as alcohol/substance abuse and smoking)
• Intervention or postvention following a critical event (such as suicide)

Preventive interventions function on a specific supervisory structure aimed at informing and educating, among others.

Crisis Intervention and Orientation
The UCC does not provide individual counseling if you are currently under therapy elsewhere, except if crisis interventions are needed.

Confidential counseling services at USEK are free of charge. However, in the case of severe mental health conditions, psychiatric treatment or psychotherapy may be needed off campus, upon referral.
 
When can I reach out to UCC?
We are here to support you if you are experiencing one or more of the following behavioral changes, among others:

• Inability to cope with daily activities and life events
• Apathy or depression
• Changes in sleeping/eating patterns
• Mood fluctuations
• Agitation
• Loss of interest
• Anxiety/fear
• Alcohol/substance abuse
• Anger, hostility, aggressivity, or violence
• Social withdrawal/isolation
• Hearing/seeing/feeling things
• Mental confusion
• Strange or unusual ideas, actions, or plans
• Suicidal thoughts
• Communication issues
• Cognitive difficulties related to studies and academic requirements
• Physical/sexual/verbal abuse
• Concerns related to your sexual orientation/gender identity