FAQ

Counselling Sessions

How much does it cost?

  • It's Free! Counselling, Career Counselling, workshops and group sessions are available free of charge to all currently registered students.
  • If you no-show or cancel your appointment with less than 24 hours notice, a $10 fee will be applied to you student account. Please contact us as soon as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment.
    • If you are feeling unwell or have cold/flu symptoms, please contact counselling.services@uleth.ca to change your appointment to Zoom or to rebook. You will not be charged $10 for the first late cancel/reschedule due to illness. If you attend in-person and are unwell your counsellor may ask you to reschedule to protect the health of fellow students and our staff.
  • If you are a community member or alumni, please see the community resources page for services available to you.

Am I required to go to counselling?

  • No. Our approach to counselling is collaborative and unless there is an immediate safety concern, we do not see mandated clients.
  • If you are unsure if counselling is right for you, please come to Walk-in-Wednesday in the fall and winter semesters. You can access 2 walk-in appointments per semester. Appointments are available from at 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and are first come, first served.
  • If walk-in-Wednesday is not appropriate for your needs, Counselling Services will help connect you with additional supports.

What if I’m looking for a mental health diagnosis?

  • Counselling Services does not provide mental health diagnosis. If you are seeking a mental health diagnosis, please connect with your family doctor, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist or the U of L Health Centre.

What if I’m already seeing another counsellor?

  • If you are already connected to a counsellor outside of the U of L (private practice, AHS Community Clinic, etc.), we are not able to provide you with services as we would be duplicating services. We invite you to join our Wellness Workshops and Groups Counselling offerings during the year.
  • Counselling Services is available to current students who do not have an ongoing relationship with a counsellor.

What should I expect from the Intake Process?

  • You will speak with one of our Intake Coordinators (Registered Social Workers), who will review your intake forms and self assessments, ask you some questions about your goals for counselling, and match you with an appropriate mental health and/or addictions service.
  • They may also ask typical assessment questions about your symptoms, mental health medications(s), previous mental health supports, and/or drug and alcohol use.

What should I expect from the first counselling session?

  • You can expect to do most of the talking.
  • Your counsellor will probably ask brief, clarifying questions and make interpretive comments.
  • They may also ask typical assessment questions about your symptoms, medications(s), past counselling, or drug and alcohol use.
  • The counsellor will evaluate your situation, help you establish specific goals, and identify possible strategies for making change.

What will my counsellor expect from me?

  • It is up to you to determine what you want out of the counselling experience.
  • You need to be an active participant, honest about yourself and ready to fully participate in the sessions.
  • It is expected that you will work collaboratively with your counsellor to establish goals and tasks for therapy, and that you be willing to work towards those goals by completing mutually agreed upon tasks.
  • You cannot attend sessions while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If it becomes apparent that your judgment is impacted by drugs or alcohol, your counsellor may end the current session and ask you to come back.

Who will I see?

  • All our counsellors are highly experienced and well-trained generalists who are committed to their own professional development. You may see a Registered Psychologist, a Provisional Psychologist, a Clinical Social Worker, or a Graduate Practicum Counsellor. We are a teaching facility, and our Graduate Practicum Counsellors are supervised by another counsellor on staff.

What techniques will my counsellor use?

  • Our counsellors use many different types of therapies. We have training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Process-orientated therapy, Solution Focused therapy (SFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Feminist Therapy, EMDR, Positive Psychology and Mindfulness based approaches.
  • Your counsellor may suggest a variety of techniques, some of which may seem strange to you. If you have any questions or don't feel comfortable practicing certain exercises such as certain relaxation techniques, it’s important that you tell your counsellor. You have the right to stop any exercise at any time during any session.

How should I feel after a session?

  • Although your counsellor will be supportive, they also should challenge you. As you begin to process new ways of thinking you may feel annoyed, tired or upset. Other times you may leave a session feeling much lighter. Change can be difficult in the short-term, but it's usually positive in the long-term. If you have any concerns please talk to your counsellor.

How long is a session?

  • The length of individual sessions and the duration of counselling depend largely on your specific needs, but generally last for 45‐50 minutes.

How long will I need to be in counselling?

  • We offer short-term counselling. Your counsellor can help assess the amount of support you need.
  • Individual sessions are usually scheduled every three to five weeks but you and your counsellor may decide to meet more or less frequently depending on your individual needs.
  • If long-term counselling is required, we can refer you to an outside agency. For more information please see our Community Resources page.

What if I know my counsellor personally?

As a professional, your counsellor is part of an association that has rules about the types of interactions they are allowed to have with clients. A counsellor cannot

  • Be your therapist if they are related to you or if they are your friend
  • Be your supervisor, teacher, or evaluator while engaged in counselling with you
  • Have any kind of romantic or sexual relationship with a former or current client, or with any people close to a client
  • Have any other kind of business relationship with you besides the therapy itself
  • Give or receive gifts from clients except tokens with personal meaning to the therapy process.

Please inform our intake workers if you believe you know one of our counsellors personally.

What if I don’t like my counsellor?

It's important to feel safe with your counsellor so if you realize you're not comfortable with your counsellor, or aren't getting what you need from the counselling process, you have a right to request a referral. Ideally you will be able to talk to your counsellor about what therapeutic methods would be a better fit and they can transfer your file to another counsellor who may be a better fit for you.

Likewise, your counsellor has a right to feel safe in their work and can ask that your care be transferred. This can occur if the counsellor believes their personal values, experiences or reactions will interfere with their ability to provide you with the best care possible, or if their physical safety is at risk.

If you have serious concerns about your counsellor and believe that your counsellor will be unwilling to listen and respond, or that they have behaved unethically, you can contact Counselling Services at (403) 317 2845 to discuss your concerns. We take feedback and client concerns very seriously and will try to respond with care and respect.

What if I see my counsellor on campus?

  • Because your counsellor is concerned about protecting your confidentiality, they will not approach you if they see you in the hallway or in the community. This practice is meant to protect your confidentiality.

Confidentiality

Is it Confidential?

  • As professional counsellors, we are bound by strict rules of confidentiality. As a result, we rarely provide detailed information about a student’s situation and cannot confirm if they are a client with our office.
  • We cannot speak to your friends, parents, teachers etc. without your permission. If you would like us to share information with other people, such as an academic advisor or doctor, you must give us written permission.
  • You have the right to change your mind and revoke that permission at any time.

When is it not Confidential?

Your counsellor and our intake workers are legally bound to break confidentiality if they have reason to believe:

  • You are in imminent danger of harming yourself
  • You will harm another person
  • A child is being abused, neglected or is a witness of abuse
  • A dependent adult is being harmed or abused
  • If your record is subpoenaed

What if you need to contact me?

Before your first appointment you will complete our intake form. On that form you can indicate if it's okay for our office to contact you via phone or email. If it is, we may contact you in these ways.

  • Phone - If our intake workers are phoning you, their names and numbers may appear as "private" on your phone. If your counsellor is contacting you from their direct line, their name and extension number may appear on your phone.
  • SMS- Appointment reminders and information related to any changes to your appointments will be communicated via SMS if you consent to receive SMS communication from our office.
  • Email - Please be aware that email is not completely confidential. Any email received or sent to your counsellor will saved and kept in your file.

What is a Release of Information Form?

By signing this form you are authorizing Counselling Services to release information about you or your situation to a specific recipient.

  • To another agency for referral purposes
  • To your counsellor to enable them to discuss your situation with another individual or agency
  • To a Lawyer or Law office for legal proceedings.

Important: We are not able to provide records for immigration applications or appeals. Please connect with the International Student Advising team for support with immigration and study permit applications.

Note: Other agencies may not be bound by or adhere to the same confidentiality standards as U of L Counselling Services. If you have any concerns about the nature of information being shared please discuss it with your counsellor. You have a right to see any letters written by your counsellor before they are shared with other agencies or departments.

Your File

How is my information stored?

Counselling Services utilizes an electronic record system called Titanium Schedule designed specifically for postsecondary counselling centres. This system is stored on a designated secure internal server accessible only on office computers of staff at University of Lethbridge Counselling Services. Computers are locked in offices and are password protected.

When you complete the intake documents, a file will be created on Titanium. Your file will include:

  • Your intake forms
  • All consent forms
  • Assessments/tests (e.g., CCAPS)
  • Reports written or received (e.g., psychiatric)
  • Between session communications (e.g., emails, phone conversations)
  • Copies of any letters written on your behalf
  • Session notes
  • Consultation/supervision notes
  • Case file from previous counselling contact if you are a returning client. Please note, if you are a returning client, your former file will continue to exist as outlined in your previous informed consent document.

You have access to your file and may request it at any time. It is important to note that up to 30 days are required for processing file requests.

How Long do you Keep My Information?

  • A file is officially closed when:
    • You and/or the counsellor agree you don't need to attend sessions anymore.
    • If, following initial contact with us, we have not heard from you for a period of 30 days.
    • You are referred to external supports and are no longer a client of Counselling Services.
  • Files are shredded/ permanently deleted after 10 years.

Academic Regulations

What is a Letter of Support?

Sometimes students experience extreme extenuating circumstances which are beyond their control and impact academic performance. In these situations, your professor or advisor may refer you to Counselling for a "letter of support" for accommodations due to a personal problem. Counselling Services has moved away from providing individualized personal Letters of Support for students; however, we recognize and honor the need for advocacy letters. Therefore, we created the Student Declaration of Extenuating Circumstances: a self-reporting advocacy letter in lieu of personal letter writing.

The counsellor's role in this process is to work with the student to:

  • Explore and assess the student’s personal and academic situation
  • Explore all options available to the student
  • Decide if they deem that the student’s request for a letter of support warrants consideration.
  • The counsellor will then provide a link to the Student Declaration of Extenuating Circumstances webpage, where students can complete the form and email it to counselling.services@uleth.ca for review.

Please see our Advocacy Letters for Students page for more information.

To learn more about the various types of academic accommodation please refer to:

University of Lethbridge Calendars ACADEMIC REGULATIONS

Please note: We are unable to make changes to your academic record. If you need support with program planning, course selection (including course registration, withdrawals, and incomplete requests), please contact your Academic Advisor.