Counseling Center- Services Offered

A Guide to Making Referrals and Requesting Services
In recent years, the Counseling Center has been receiving increasing numbers of requests for counseling, emergency intervention, consultation, training, and workshop facilitation. In an attempt to respond to such requests in a timely manner, we are offering the following suggested guidelines for utilizing our Center's services and resources. (Details about the nature of our services can be found in our Center's general informational brochure or on our web page (www.bgsu.edu/offices/sa/counseling). Additionally, our brochure entitled, "Assisting Emotionally Troubled Students: A Guide for Faculty and Staff" provides suggestions for identifying and referring students with emotional concerns.)

Referring Students for Counseling
Any student who is enrolled at BGSU is eligible to receive our services. On-going counseling is by appointment only.  However, initial appointments/consultations can occur during our walk-in hours or be scheduled, whichever is easier for the student.  

In referring a student to our Center, please take the following steps:

Emergency Sessions
During regular office hours, students in crisis may be seen the same day in an "emergency session." If you are confronted with a student in crisis and wish to refer him or her for counseling, please call our office prior to the student's arrival to provide us with some background information. We will gladly consult with you about how to make the referral and discuss whether immediate intervention is necessary. Additionally, whenever possible, inform the student in crisis that you are sharing information with us. If emergency situations should arise outside of office hours, students may be referred to the Link Crisis Hotline (419/352-1545).

Seeking Professional Consultation with Our Staff 
Although our office provides counseling services only to BGSU students, we are available to consult with staff about concerns that may arise-particularly concerns that pertain to the welfare of students. Staff members are invited to call our Center and request consultation with one of our professional staff. However, unless the matter is of an urgent nature, staff may not always be available for immediate consultation. If no one is available to provide consultation at the time of your call, you will be invited to leave a message with our secretary or on our confidential voice mail system. When leaving a message, please include the following information:

• Your name, position and office
• How you can be reached
• Times that you will be available
• The general nature of your request

Our staff will strive to return all such calls in a timely manner-generally within one to two days. (If the situation requires immediate attention, please state this in your message.)

Requests for a Workshop, Presentation or Training Session 
Our staff members are frequently asked to provide training activities or educational workshops for various groups-e.g., student organizations, residence halls, classes, etc. To assist our Center staff in responding to such requests, we have an "outreach team." This team is comprised of graduate students from select programs (i.e., College Student Personnel, Higher Education Administration and Clinical Psychology); all team members have past experience in public speaking and undergo approximately 10 hours of outreach training in our Center. These graduate students are available to provide workshops on a variety of topics such as stress management, assertiveness and test anxiety.

If you should wish to request that our staff or our outreach team provide a program for a class, living unit, office or organization, we ask that you please submit your request at least 2 weeks in advance of the program. Please make your request in the following manner:

Call our secretary at 419/372-2081 to inform her that you are planning to offer a program and would like to have one of our staff serve as a facilitator. At the time of this contact, please attempt to provide the following additional information about your planned program or workshop:

Our secretary will use this information to complete a request form, which she will forward to our Center's Outreach Coordinator. A staff member from our office will then re-contact you (generally within one week); this staff member will notify you of whether we have someone available to facilitate your program and will also discuss with you specific equipment and room arrangements needed for the session.

In those instances in which we do not have a staff member available to assist you with your program, our staff will be happy to explore options with you-e.g., options for locating a qualified speaker elsewhere or for our providing a speaker at another time.

In the event that you choose to schedule a major training activity, an extensive outreach program, or a series of workshops, please consider including our staff in the initial planning of your program. We would be happy to help!

Written by:
Craig J. Vickio, Ph.D.
Psychologist
Counseling Center
Division of Student Affairs
104 College Park Building.
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
(419) 372-2081