Mental Health and Counseling Services

Counseling Center

The Counseling Center supports and enhances student health and wellness by providing holistic and comprehensive mental health services. The Counseling Center strives to assist students by assisting with problem resolution, enhancing coping skills, providing support during times of crisis, enhancing personal growth and supporting academic success.

Mental Health Services

Individual and Couples Therapy

Our primary focus is on short-term, goal-oriented therapy. We believe counseling is a collaborative effort which involves the development of a unique, confidential helping relationship. Our role as counselors is to help you gain insight into your situation, strategize solutions, and develop valuable coping skills that will allow you to more effectively manage the challenges of college and life. As a client, your role will be to form a partnership with us, identifying specific goals for yourself and helping us help you find solutions. Couples are welcome for therapy. However, both members of the couple must be SUNY Plattsburgh students.

Group Therapy

Group therapy focuses on developing insight, changing behavior, and improving relationship skills. In the group setting, students struggling with similar concerns can share feedback with each other and learn new ways of coping. Group members typically meet weekly for 45-60 minutes with one to two group facilitators for the duration of scheduled groups. Groups can change from semester to semester based on student and staff interests. To inquire about current groups please call 518-564-3086. All calls are strictly confidential.

Crisis Service

If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency or are in immediate danger, call 911.

Day-Time Crisis Services

Day-time crisis services are available at the Counseling Center, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm during the academic year (except when campus offices are closed for the holidays). We are located in the Health Services Building behind the Book Store.

Examples of reasons to be seen for a mental health crisis include:

• You are having thoughts of suicide
• You are having serious thoughts of wanting to harm or kill someone else
• You are seeing things or hearing things that others do not see or hear
• You are not able to take care of daily living skills (e.g., eating, sleeping, bathing, etc.)

After-Hours Crisis Services

After hours and on weekends, students in need of mental health emergency services should contact University Police at 518-564-2022, dial 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room. In Plattsburgh, the nearest emergency room is located at University of Vermont Medical Center-Champlain Valley Physician’s Hospital (UVMHC-CVPH), 75 Beekman Street, Plattsburgh, NY 12901.

Consultation/Referral

A consultation is a first time appointment with a counselor. You will be asked to arrive 15 minutes early to complete paperwork for this appointment. You will then have the opportunity to meet with a therapist for a 45-50 minute initial consultation. During this appointment you will provide information about your presenting concerns and history relevant to your presenting issue(s). You and the therapist will then determine a plan for moving forward. For issues that might be better served by on-going longer therapy or therapy beyond the scope of our Center, a referral to a community provider might be explored.

School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMHS) are mental health service provider programs licensed by the NYS Office of Mental Health, which operates on-site within a school facility. 

Students who are referred to the satellite clinic for services will receive an initial assessment by a NYS licensed Mental Health professional to determine if the student is experiencing a mental health condition that warrants further services. If services are needed and consented to, a student can receive clinical services on-site at the school. 

Psychiatric and medication services, if appropriate, are available to students off-site, at our clinic’s main office in Morrisonville, New York. 

The goals of SBMHS are to create consistent treatment, ease of access, crisis intervention, and symptom stabilization. We strive for consistency and quality of care for students, as well as improved communication between school and mental health providers.    

Behavioral Health Services North:BHSN Self-Referral

How to Self-Refer for BHSN School-Based Services at SUNY Plattsburgh:

1. Call BHSN at 518-563-8000 and ask for Makayla Duquette, the Intake Coordinator.
2. State that you are a student at SUNY Plattsburgh and would like to set up services with counselor, Sarah Yancey.
3. Please be prepared to state your insurance information, demographics (date of birth, address, phone number), description of presenting concerns, and any past history of mental health services.
4. If Makayla is not available, please leave a message with your name, phone number, and that you are interested in school-based services at SUNY Plattsburgh. She will return your call as soon as possible.   

Outreach

Counseling staff are available to provide interviews, training and educational outreach on a variety of mental health topics. Requests for interviews and outreach should be directed to the Assistant Director of Counseling at [email protected] at least 10 business days prior to your event. Please also understand that in regard to trainings and programs, during certain times of the year the clinical demands of our students take precedence. If we cannot meet your request, we will make attempts to assist you in considering alternative options. Additionally, we do work collaboratively with the Title IX office in supporting programming for sexual and relationship violence.

Confidentiality

All contacts with the Counseling Center are treated with the utmost confidentiality. In general, mental health ethics and law protect the privacy of all communications between a client and a counselor, and a counselor can only release information about you with your written permission.

Due to legal and ethical guidelines, there are certain situations in which all counselors will break confidentiality and are obligated to take action to protect a client and others from harm. These situations include the following:

• Your counselor has any cause to believe that you are at imminent risk of killing yourself or someone else.
• If your counselor believes that a child, an elderly person, or a member of a vulnerable population is being abused or neglected, he or she will be required to file a report with the appropriate state agency.
• In the event of a legal proceeding, a judge may order your counselor to testify and/or turn over your counseling records if the judge determines that the case demands it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources