Written by Joe Hsu
When you encounter issues with stress, relationships, or culture shock, you would probably seek help from people such as your peers, parents, friends, or colleagues. However, another great option would be the counseling center. The UCI Counseling Center is located next to the Division of Career Pathway close to the Hill (the side where a Starbuck is located) and the Student Center, and its service costs are included in your registration fee. As a result, there is no additional cost in utilizing the resources. It welcomes people to ask for help for a wide range of questions, ranging from “Intense feelings and thoughts make it difficult for me to concentrate, study, and focus” to “I try, but I’m unable to find the love I want” (more examples can be found here https://counseling.uci.edu/services/).
Counseling Services at U.S. universities are being extensively used by students. One report shows that about 20% of students at Cornell University utilize the counseling service each year (for details, see here: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2019-04-08/how-to-look-after-mental-health-as-an-international-studentin-the-us). Here at UCI, staffs in the counseling centers are well-trained to address many different issues encountered by students. Besides, counselors are from diverse backgrounds and speak many different languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Hindi, and more. As a result, UCI students also use this service a lot. Once when I tried to seek the counseling service, I was told that the next appointment was not available until a few weeks later. Thus, I would suggest you give it a try if you ever encounter an issue during your years at UCI that cannot be resolved easily.
The main purpose of the counseling center is to provide short-term services, which last about 10 sessions or the length of a quarter. Usually, one will first schedule an appointment for an initial assessment, either in-person at the Counseling Center or through phone at (949) 824-6457. In this session, you will first fill out a detailed questionnaire asking all aspects of your emotional health, not just on the challenges that you are facing. Subsequently, a therapist will go over the same form with you, as well as learning more about the challenges that brought you to the counseling center. This assessment will enable the therapist to get a more comprehensive understanding of the issues that you are facing.
For the subsequent sessions, the therapist will try to utilize different approaches to help you address the issues and develop strategies with you to address them. You can also ask questions to help clarify some of your questions and concerns. Between sessions, you will be able to exercise those strategies and provide feedback to the therapists to assess what needs to be changed to be more effective. These steps will repeat throughout your counseling sessions, and hopefully, by the end, your issues will be addressed, or at least you will know how to face them effectively.
On the other hand, the Counseling Center also provides other types of services. If you are having some issues with your significant other, you can try the relationship therapy offered by the center. Through the process, you would work with your therapist to assess if the service could meet your need or if seeking specialized help is more appropriate. Another resource is the group therapy or support session, in which people with similar challenges can come together and share their struggles, while also offering support to each other. Through this process, they can realize that their challenges are not unique, and they can learn from their peers and be encouraged by them.
What if you have sudden emotional distress and need help as soon as possible? Well, the counseling center also gets you covered. During the normal office hour (8 am-4:30 pm), urgent care is available and you can simply access it by calling or directly visiting the counseling center, and telling the receptionist that you need to talk to a therapist for critical incidents. Outside of normal hours, you can call the counseling center (949-824-6457), and select “option 2” to be transferred to a crisis support line. However, if the situation is much serious than expected, it may be necessary to call 911, 1-800-273-TALK (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), or directly go to a local hospital for immediate attention. For more info: please visit the following web link: https://counseling.uci.edu/
There are many advantages to seeking a counseling service. However, due to the current pandemic, some of the services will be affected. Because of the legal restriction, the counseling center could only provide services for people who are physically in California. Fortunately, there are other resources available that you can utilize. One of them is an online counseling service, including TAO (https://thepath.taoconnect.org/local/login/index.php) and 7 cups (https://www.7cups.com/). If you need more help, you could utilize the student health insurance and request off-campus referrals for a therapist outside California or the US. Finally, if you have an urgent need and are in the US but outside of California, you can look into the website (https://www.covidmentalhealthsupport.org/get-help-now), and search for helplines that you can access from your states.
References:
[1] Counseling Center website (https://counseling.uci.edu/)
[2] Online article: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2019-04-08/how-to-look-after-mental-health-as-an-international-studentin-the-us
[3] Internal presentations from staffs in the counseling center
[4] Personal experience