Counseling And Psychological Services (CPS) offers a variety of counseling services for personal, academic, social, or family concerns. These counseling services include: individual or personal counseling, group counseling, couples and family counseling, crisis counseling, and behavioral stress reduction services.

General Information

Eligibility

All currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students at the University of California at Santa Cruz are eligible to utilize on-campus counseling services free of charge. Students who are UC Extension students are not eligible for CPS services.

How To Make An Appointment

Appointments can be made in the following two ways: The quickest way to make a first time appointment is to either visit our Central Office at the Cowell Student Health Center Building in Room 105 or call at (831) 459-2628 and you will be assisted by one of the Front Office staff. The CPS Central Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The other way to make an appointment with a specific CPS staff member is to call that staff member directly - see CPS Staff. It is the prerogative of the CPS staff member to either accept the referral directly or to redirect the request to the CPS Central Office.

Confidentiality

Information that you communicate to a CPS therapist is confidential. The fact that you are seeing a CPS therapist does not appear on any academic records. Your identity is kept confidential from anyone outside our agency. Please note, however, that in a professional counseling agency, confidentiality means that psychologists consult with each other as well as Health Center providers as needed regarding any of their clients. We are also required to keep data on who we see, their year in college, their ethnicity, etc. This statistical information is necessary for our yearly funding.

Your right to confidentiality is protected by law. However, there are certain circumstances regarding life threatening situations in which confidentiality may not be protected. These situations are child abuse, suicide, homicide, and cases involving individuals who are gravely disabled and unable to care for themselves. In such cases the CPS staff member may be legally required to report to other outside agencies (where appropriate) information obtained during any CPS counseling visit. Except in these situations, information communicated to Counseling and Psychological Services cannot be released without a student’s permission. If you would like further information on this subject, your CPS Staff Member will be glad to provide it for you.

E-mail Policy

E-mail is not an appropriate medium for contacting CPS Staff Members for personal counseling. Unfortunately e-mail is not always confidential and can not be guaranteed to be an effective or timely means of communication. In order to contact CPS staff please call the central office or the individual psychologist's office.

Counseling Services

Individual Counseling

One-on-one short term counseling is available to UCSC undergraduate and graduate students free of charge.

What is counseling and how can it help?

Counseling is a process by which you can learn to make better decisions, improve your personal skills, develop increased confidence, and gain a better understanding of your needs and the needs of others. Counseling can also help individuals deal with emotional and behavioral problems. It is very important to develop a trusting relationship with your therapist so you can feel comfortable discussing your feelings and issues with them. Outcomes of counseling can include gaining a better understanding of yourself, developing plans to make changes in your behavior, and skill development. It is important for you to be an active participant both during your counseling sessions and outside of counseling so change and growth can occur.

Number of Sessions

CPS provides brief therapy. How long your therapy lasts depends on discussions with your therapist about your specific concerns. If your concerns require longer term therapy than we can provide, you will be given referrals to appropriate off campus resources.

Groups

Counseling and educational groups are available throughout the academic year and are advertised each quarter. Groups provide opportunities for students to explore personal issues with peers in order to develop awareness, insight, and interpersonal skills. Many students who seek our services have difficulties that involve other people in one way or another, and because of this we believe group therapy is one of the most effective types of services we offer. Participants in groups can benefit from the mutual support and learning that occurs from interaction with others who have similar concerns or similar experiences.

For most of our groups you must be referred by a CPS therapist. In addition, most of our groups will include an individual contact first with the group facilitator to ensure that the group will be appropriate to the student’s needs and to prepare the student for the group experience. This contact will give the student an opportunity to decide if the particular group is a good choice for them.

Types of Groups

CPS offers a variety of specialized groups each quarter. Here are some common groups that we offer:

• Depression
• Women’s Group
• Eating Awareness Group
• Mind Over Mood
• Graduate Student Women’s Group
• Anxiety
• Stress Less - Feel Better
• Understanding Oneself and Others

Current CPS Groups and Workshops

For information and guidelines relating to groups see Information and Guidelines on Groups.

Couples Counseling

Couples counseling is available to UCSC undergraduate and graduate students. One member of the couple must be a UCSC student.

Crisis Services / Crisis Response

Crisis services are available between 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Individuals who are severely distressed can call (831) 459-2628 for assistance or come to the central office in the Student Health Center.

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