Frequently Asked Questions

Many people assume that all we do is provide counseling, but the CWC is a multiservice campus resource that provides individual, group, and couples counseling, consultation, crisis support, wellness programming, education and outreach to the campus population.

Our team is made up of licensed and pre-licensed master’s level clinicians, one master’s level intern, an administrative assistant, and a work study student. If you’re interested in applying for this position, feel free to reach out!

There are several ways to make an appointment. You can reach out to us via email at cwc@norwich.edu, you can call our office number at (802) 485- 2134, or you can stop by our office and speak to someone in person. We do have some availability for walk-in appointments, but that time cannot be guaranteed, so making an appointment ahead of time will ensure that you can talk with someone when it’s convenient for you. Our assistant will provide you with paperwork to fill out prior to your appointment, which will assist you in getting your needs met as efficiently as possible. We ask that you read this paperwork carefully and come to your appointment prepared with any questions you may have about the process.

We are on the fourth floor of the Kreitzberg library. Take a right when you get off the elevator, and our door is right there. Our assistant will be ready to help you with whatever you need. Our office is open from 8:00am until 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. If you are experiencing an urgent mental health concern that can’t wait until the following business day, you can reach our on-call counselor at (802) 793-3093. Although we are happy to assist with a crisis, we ask that you do not use this phone number for scheduling or other administrative concerns.

It is a misconception that you must be experiencing a crisis or have a mental illness to receive counseling support. In fact, we encourage all students to give counseling a try while they are at Norwich. We see students for a wide variety of reasons, mainly to do with changes in mood and behavior, stress, relationship and family concerns, adjustment to college, working through some identity questions, issues related to eating or body image, or even just to have someone to talk to. We also have a licensed alcohol and drug counselor on staff for folks who may be in recovery, questioning their alcohol or drug use, or have a loved one struggling with addiction. There is no wrong reason to talk to a counselor!

If you filled out your paperwork prior to your appointment, your counselor should have some idea of why you’re here. They will ask you to elaborate on the reason for making the appointment, and will also ask other questions about your health, family, academics, and other personal history. You can share as much or as little as you’re comfortable with, but the more information we have, the better able we are to cultivate a meaningful treatment plan for you.

We have some students who come for one appointment, some who come regularly for their entire four years, and others who come and go throughout their time at Norwich. We do not have a limit on the number of sessions a student can attend while enrolled, and each student’s length of treatment is decided upon as a collaborative effort between that student and their counselor

As a client of the CWC, your information stays private, with few exceptions. We do not communicate with faculty, residence life staff, commandant staff, parents, or any other folks about your services without your specific permission or under extreme circumstances. The limits of confidentiality include: imminent risk of harm to self or others, intent to destroy property, abuse or neglect of a child, elder, or otherwise vulnerable adult, or in the case of a court subpoena. We make every effort to involve clients in any breach of confidentiality we may need to make, and the cases in which we do are rare. Our records are kept in a system that is separate from that of other departments on campus and are only accessible by CWC staff. You may sign a release of information if you’d like us to communicate with any party outside our office. Even with a release, we are dedicated to giving as little information as we can to satisfy the purpose of the release, in order to protect student privacy to the best of our ability. We will also make every attempt include the student in this communication as appropriate.

Counseling, in and of itself, will not interfere with a future career, but there are some diagnoses that may disqualify one from military or federal service. At the CWC, we do not automatically diagnose students with mental health disorders and we do not bill insurance, so the only documentation of your counseling history is within the secure CWC electronic health record system. We do discuss diagnosis with students as appropriate and refer to other community providers when needed. If a student is exhibiting concerning behavior that is observed by others, it may interfere with future goals, which is one of the reasons we encourage students to come see us before it comes to that.

Like any relationship, it’s essential that there is trust and understanding in the counseling relationship. If, at any time, you feel that your counselor is not the right fit for you, we welcome students to request to see a different counselor. This can be done by discussing with your counselor directly or by speaking with our administrative assistant, center director, or any CWC staff member. If you ever feel that your counselor has behaved unethically, please contact the director of the Counseling and Wellness Center or Human Resources to make a report. We take student safety and privacy very seriously and we are committed to providing a healthy environment in which students can trust that they are receiving professional and competent care.

We love our jobs as counselors, but we also love to connect with students outside of the counseling office. We offer a variety of programming that is tailored to what our students need at any given time. We love to craft new programs from your ideas, so please reach out to us at any time with your thoughts. To keep up with what we’re offering, follow us on Facebook or Instagram. Some of the things we currently offer are:

• Yoga 
• Therapy dogs 
• Acupuncture 
• Light therapy 
• Wellness workshops open to the NU community 
• Access to WellTrack App- Interactive Self-Help Therapy tool 
• One-time consultations with individuals or groups 
• Couples Counseling 
• Group Counseling x.24/7 Crisis Support while students are on campus 
• Teletherapy if appropriate 
• Targeted workshops with student groups, sports teams, classes, etc. 
• Mental Health, Wellness, and Suicide Prevention training for Residence Life staff, Corps leadership, Commandant Staff, Faculty, etc.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our team quickly transitioned our services to be 100% remote, which allowed us to use phone or video technology to have virtual sessions. There are limits to teletherapy in that students we are seeing must be physically located in Vermont or a state that allows for cross-state teletherapy to be conducted. Additionally, teletherapy may not be the most appropriate mode of treatment for several reasons. Appropriateness is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. We are happy to be able to offer occasional teletherapy sessions in lieu of in-person therapy for existing clients who are ill or injured or otherwise would need to reschedule their appointment. Again, this is discussed and decided upon between each individual client and counselor.

We do not, but we are happy to help you find a provider who is able to prescribe and work together to help formulate a comprehensive treatment plan that includes medication management alongside counseling with us.

We do not provide specific assessments for the sole purpose of diagnosing and evaluating for appropriateness of accommodations. However, we will work with the Academic Achievement Center on behalf of an existing client, and with permission, to assess for functional limitations associated with the student’s mental health diagnosis. This is a collaborative process between student, counselor, and the AAC. There is no guarantee that our involvement in this process will result in the student’s desired outcome.

In addition to wellness programming for students, we also provide regular training for student leaders, faculty, and staff, as well as any other training as the need arises. We engage with commandant staff, faculty, parents, and student affairs staff when appropriate (and with student permission) to help support students however we can. Just to reiterate, we do not divulge any information about students without permission, unless we are legally and ethically mandated to.