Hobart and William Smith Colleges

The HWS Counseling Center is here to assist and support students with managing their Mental Health and Wellness goals.

Hours

Our on-campus clinic hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1:15 p.m.-5 p.m., with some additional hours available on the weekends.  We also provide an on-call service so that students can reach a licensed counselor after our campus office is closed. Additionally, we partner with a third-party clinical service, Mantra, that provides counselors who are available outside of our clinic hours at night and on weekends (for more information, click here.

On-Call connection for after 5 p.m. and on weekends: (315) 781-3388 (choose option 1)

We strongly encourage students, their families, and other supports to have a candid discussion about expected or desired care/treatment needs prior to coming to school.

This is especially relevant for students seeking evaluation for ADHD or Autism Spectrum symptoms as we do not offer assessment/diagnosis or comprehensive treatment. We are not specialists in these areas and it is recommended that students seek such evaluations or have established treatment in place prior to coming to school.

If a student is interested in obtaining off-campus services outside of our clinic, we are happy to provide assistance and information.

If you are a New York resident, you may also be able to continue to receive treatment services through your existing providers via Telehealth. Clinicians residing outside of New York but who are licensed to practice in New York, are also eligible to continue to meet via Telehealth. Parents and students are encouraged to speak to current treaters to see if this is a possibility so that effective, existing, treatment relationships do not have to be interrupted with the transition to college. We can provide a private space, if needed, for these meetings.

Services

We provide initial consultation and screenings; short-term individual, relationship, and group counseling; consultation related to mental health concerns; crisis intervention and response; and referrals to other on- and off-campus support programs and services. Our model of care is flexible and we tailor our services, including referrals to other campus offices, to the individual needs of the student.

All enrolled students are entitled to an initial consultation, and options for future services will be discussed in your first appointment. Our range of services will be reviewed, and we will recommend the most clinically appropriate service from what we offer. Most students are seen for eight or fewer sessions of intervention, but students may access us as needed across their academic years on campus. There are no session limits for Individual or Group Counseling, and we normally schedule students every two weeks to maximize our availability to all students. This can flex if a student needs additional support. Session lengths can vary from 15 minute check-ins to 30-45 minute appointments.

Psychiatric Evaluations and Medication management

Students may be referred for a medical or psychiatric consultation when it appears that they might benefit from a medication. Medication in addition to counseling can be helpful when someone is experiencing depression, anxiety and other psychological issues. The Hubbs Health Center (HWS campus health service) partners with a licensed psychiatrist, Dr. Stephanie Achilles, who is available to conduct assessments and to provide treatment. Psychiatry services are provided free of charge to enrolled students. For more information about psychiatry services at HWS, please click here.

Limitations of Our Services

Our responsibility is to accurately assess and meet the needs of all HWS students.  However, there may be some specific limitations to what we can offer. While many of our counselors have specialized training and skill in a variety of clinical treatments, a college counseling center approaches services from a Generalist perspective. That is, we can help most students with managing their mental health symptoms and Wellness goals. However, there may be instances where the recommended best care is to refer a student to a provider who specializes in the treatment of a disorder/set of symptoms or to make a referral to a more comprehensive or specialized level of care (i.e. Inpatient Hospitalization or an Intensive Day Program). Examples of this include:

• Symptoms of moderate to severe Eating Disorders where medical oversight and nutritional counseling and supervision are required or the student’s medical health is potentially or imminently jeopardized.
• Psychological symptoms related to a medical condition that are best addressed by a medical or neurological specialist.
• Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that requires specialized clinical interventions such as immersive exposure therapy.
• Substance use/abuse/addiction that interferes with a student’s ability to engage not only in their academic responsibilities but that requires a higher level of treatment (such as Medical Detoxification or Rehabilitation).
• Complicated Symptoms of psychosis, mood instability, behavioral impulsiveness, or sensory impairment that substantially prevent a student from exercising reality-based judgement, exhibiting and maintaining safe self-care, or that potentially jeopardize a student’s own safety or the safety of others.
• A pattern of recurrent self-injury or maladaptive coping behavior that substantially interferes with attendance to academic or social goals or that disrupts the campus community in some manner.
• Severe and persistent thoughts that constitute imminent risk of harm to self and others

In cases such as these, we can offer crisis response and /or an initial assessment of symptoms and then work with the student, and often with their family, to identify an off-campus provider, crisis intervention, or program that best meets the clinical need.

Emotional Support Animals

The HWS Counseling Center does not provide letters of support for ESA requests. Such letters should be obtained from medical or therapy providers with whom the student has an established relationship, as a thorough assessment of disability and accommodation need is required.  For more information please contact our Office of Disability Services at (315) 781-3351 or email at ctl@hws.edu.

Please contact us at 315-781-3388 or at  counseling@hws.edu with any questions. We are always happy to consult with parents and students about what support is best.