Consultations/Referrals
Consultation with faculty, staff, and administrators within the university provides opportunities for information sharing, collaboration and the generation of options for distressed students.
Professional counselors have extended their services by developing a strong referral system locally, on and off campus. Referrals can be made to any department or office on campus for financial aid, tutoring, academic advising, and other matters. Further, there is a close liaison with the Student Development Office, residence hall directors, the University Health Center, the Speech and Hearing Clinic, the Rehabilitation Office, the Veteran's Affairs Office, the Women's Center, the Campus Ministry, and other divisions of the university.
[Faculty/Staff Referral Guide - Microsoft Word format]
Consultation
Psychological consultation can be helpful in a very broad range of work-related or care-related situations requiring problem solving. Consultation is a two way interaction - a process of seeking, giving and receiving help. Consulting is aimed at aiding a person, a group, an organization, or a larger system in mobilizing resources to deal with problems and make changes. There is always an agreement that the goal of the consultation contact(s) is to make an improvement in some specified way. The term improve can mean many things, and therefore there are many approaches to consultation and a great many interventions that can be useful.
The following is a short list of examples when psychological consultation occurs at California University of Pennsylvania:
-A psychologist helps Residence Life staff deal with a very upset residence hall student
-A counselor/psychologist and a professor discuss what might help an underachieving student.
-Counselor/psychologist assists in developing training for Residence Life Staff on a psychological topic, e.g., "Effective Communication"
-Counselor helps a student who is concerned about a roommate who may have serious emotional or drug and alcohol problems
-Psychologist consults with a student about a problem he/she is having with a professor, landlord, a roommate, a parent etc. This student does not want to participate in on-going counseling for their problem. A one-time consultation is requested.
-Psychologist develops a survey to assist a group or organization identify its major concerns/needs and then then develops recommendations
-Counselor meets with the family and a student who may need mental health/psychiatric services off-campus
-Counselor/psychologist is interviewed by a student seeking additional information about a career in psychology or counseling
-Student is completing an assignment and wants psychoeducational information or a psychologist’s /counselor’s perspective
-Psychologist/counselor works with a team of other faculty members, staff and students to produce a video tape or workshop material on a topic that has a psychological learning component.