Student Counseling Center waitlist a common occurrence

With finals just around the corner, there’s a waitlist of students looking to utilize the services of the Student Counseling Center (SCC) at USD.

A waitlist isn’t all that uncommon, though.

“It’s gotten to be more of the norm,” SCC Coordinator Debra Brockberg said. “I’ve been at the counseling center for six years and I’ve seen the number of clients that come in for sessions increase every single year. So, the last several years we have had waitlists. Probably at every semester at some point we’ve had a waitlist. … It’s not unusual for this time of the year.”

In fact, this is common nationwide.

“It’s not unusual nationwide,” said Prevention Coordinator Michele Turner. “Counseling centers across the nation commonly have waitlists as well.”

Though the waitlist may seem like a bad thing, Brockberg said it’s more by students’ choice. Brockberg said there are three locations on campus where students can seek help: SCC at the Cook House, a counseling center within the Education Department and one in the PSC in the Union Building.

Students who call SCC for an appointment can choose to pursue the other locations if they prefer not to be on the waitlist.

“This particular semester we’ve worked really closely with the PSC. When students are calling right now, because we have a waitlist, we ask them a series of questions to determine where they are at and what’s going on,” she said. “We are trying to work with the professionals over there to make sure that students are being seen in a timely manner, which I think is very helpful.”

Brockberg said the waitlist is usually short and students are seen within a week or two.

In the meantime, counseling center staff touch base with students waiting to see counselors to make sure their situations haven’t gotten worse. Counselors make sure to let students know that they can get in if they feel they are a danger to themselves, Brockberg said.

Brockberg said it doesn’t matter if students are taking classes online, at the University Center or how many credits they have, everyone is welcome to a free appointment.

“We have 24/7 counselors on call,” Brockberg said. “Counselors can be reached through the University Police Department. All of our counselors are told that and we want students to know that.”

The SCC offers many different programs and counseling, including prevention programs, mental health counseling and even marriage/couple counseling. Their major focus is to prevent substance abuse.

“From a prevention standpoint we have classes and presentations,” Turner said. “I do a lot of residential hall presentations regarding prevention. Classes are usually at the Cook House involving alcohol and drugs use specifically.”

The PSC does things a bit differently.

Students pay a one-time $20 assessment fee at the end of their first session, assistant Austin Hahn said. Afterwards, the sessions are free.

If students are sent over from the SCC and are on the waitlist there, they do not have to pay a fee.

However, community patients are on a sliding scale which is based on a person’s income and ability to pay. Hahn said family members of full-time students, part-time students, USD faculty and staff members and their immediate families are charged one-half of the sliding scale fee.

Hahn said the PSC doesn’t have a waitlist. The center sees a wide range of people, most of which who come in with existing problems and don’t specialize in certain areas like preventative services.

The Counseling and School Psychological Services Center, administered by the Division of Counseling and Psychology in Education, is split when it comes to payment. The counseling center is free for students and the community, but the School of Psychological Services Center also uses the sliding scale for those who use it, Division Chair of Education and Counseling Amy Schweinle said.

She said both centers offer counseling, diagnostic and mental health services, along with individual, couple and family counseling services.

There isn’t currently a waitlist for the counseling center, Schweinle said, but spots do fill up fast towards the end of the semester.

The PSC usually has a waitlist, she added.

Though the increase in students seeking help may seem like a negative trend, Brockberg said it’s far from it.

“I think we see our numbers increasing as a good thing,” Brockberg said. “I think students are becoming more comfortable in coming for counseling services. I think we try to normalize it. That’s always our goal to destigmatize any kind of issue, whether it mental health or drug abuse or stress in general.”