University Counseling Centers: Pros and Cons to Consider
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If you want to find free therapy, there’s no better place to start your search than a local college or university. Not only do most centers of higher learning provide counseling services to students for free, many of them also offer free or low-cost counseling to the public.
Not all do, though, and there are important things to know about these kinds of programs to avoid frustration. Read on to learn more about how community counseling programs at colleges and universities work and how to find out if what your local university offers might be right for you.
What Is a College Counseling Center?
There are two types of college counseling programs. One is for students only and the other is for the public.
Many places that call themselves “college counseling centers” are only for college students. Look for terms like “community counseling center,” “community counseling clinic,” or “counselor training clinic” if you’re looking for something open to the general public.
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If You're a Student, Use the Counseling Center!
College counseling programs for students specialize in addressing issues related to campus life and are provided as an essential campus service.
We encourage all students to utilize this “free” service (which is actually covered by your tuition). The short-term counseling that they offer can help you address issues like academic or personal stress or difficulty adjusting to college life. They can also help with mental health issues like mild to moderate depression or anxiety.
Most college counseling centers offer short-term counseling only and don’t treat severe mental health conditions or other issues that require long-term therapy. However, they almost always can give you a referral so you can get the right help. If you’re a college (or graduate) student and are looking for any kind of therapy, the best place to start is nearly always your college’s counseling center.
All you need to do to get started is find their contact information, reach out, and make an appointment.
What Is a University Community Counseling Clinic?
University community counseling clinics are specialty programs for the public. At these programs, student therapists provide therapy or counseling sessions for free or very low cost.
While college counseling centers for students can be found on nearly every college campus, you can only find these community programs at certain schools.
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What Do University Clinics Do?
These community counseling centers:
- Offer free or low-cost counseling to members of the local community;
- Help clients address a wide range of personal, mental health, and relationship issues;
- Are staffed by graduate (usually master’s or doctoral) counseling students who are supervised by licensed counselors; and
- Are designed to help the public and students at the same time by providing student counselors with real-world training and the public with affordable counseling.
The benefit to you is that the counseling is free or inexpensive; the benefit to the student is that they get to practice working with a real client with real needs and learn how to provide them with effective therapy.
Something that’s important to understand about these programs is that seeing a student doesn’t mean you get low-quality counseling. These clinics have many safeguards in place to make sure that clients aren’t getting sub-par services.
Every student in these programs is supervised by a licensed therapist who is also often a professor. Usually, that therapist has many years, if not decades, of experience and may even be considered an expert in their field.
So, while you are seeing an inexperienced trainee therapist, the combined experience of your clinical team may well exceed that of a therapist you’d pay to see elsewhere.
What Are University Counseling Clinics Like?
University community counseling clinics are one of the hidden gems of the therapy world. They put many safeguards in place to ensure that their services are ethical and effective. In fact, they’re designed to meet the strictest ethical standards so they can teach ethics to students.
Students discuss the latest research and knowledge with their colleagues and mentors and apply it in their work with you. They often use new and cutting-edge evidence-based methods in their sessions. They are guided by expert supervisors. And you can often get their help for free or for a very low rate.
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What Should You Expect at a University Community Counseling Clinic?
While there are differences among them, most university community counseling clinics have a few key things in common:
- Therapy is usually provided by graduate students who are pursuing a therapy degree.
- These students have usually already completed one year of the program and are therefore considered “advanced graduate students.”
- These student therapists are supervised by licensed therapists who are also often professors in the program.
- Most university counseling clinics provide more than one kind of therapy to more than one kind of client. Many offer couples and family sessions as well as individual sessions. Many see adolescents and children as well as adults.
- Most university community counseling clinics only provide short-term therapy. Some limit the counseling period to one semester, though some let clients see counselors over the course of multiple semesters.
- Most university counseling clinics are not equipped to provide crisis-level care, treat severe mental health conditions, or address issues that require long-term or intensive treatment.
- However, university counseling clinics can nearly always give you a referral if you need a higher level of care than they provide or if you otherwise can’t get your needs met by the clinic. In fact, they’re often a great place to get a referral, given the university’s level of community involvement and their extensive knowledge of local resources.
The most important thing to expect from a university counseling clinic is ethical, evidence-based care. It is very important to the university and the students to do everything they can to honor and meet your needs as a client.
Whether a university clinic is the right choice for you will depend on whether you’re comfortable with seeing a student and being part of their learning process. It will also depend on whether you think you need more than a few months’ worth of therapy.
Again, though, it doesn’t hurt to reach out to one of these programs; you’ll probably either find out it’s a great fit or get a referral to another great local resource.
What Are the Downsides of Going to a University Counseling Clinic?
While there are many potential benefits, there are drawbacks to going to a university community counseling clinic as well.
Not everyone has the patience to work with a student who is still learning how to be an effective therapist. While eager students can still give you good therapy with the help and guidance of their supervisors, they might have to try a few things before they do. The time this process takes means it isn’t for everyone—including people with severe symptoms or conditions.
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Drawbacks to University Community Counseling Clinics
It’s important to consider the pros and cons before seeking therapy from a university student. Some of the drawbacks of going to a university community counseling clinic include:
- Most university clinics only offer short-term therapy. Even if you find a program that lets you continue your therapy for more than a semester or year, the student you’re working with will eventually graduate and you will need to be transferred to a new therapist.
- Most university community counseling clinics are not open when university students are on break. Clinics that provide more than a semester’s worth of counseling will let clients resume seeing their counselor when their counselor returns from break.
- It may be obvious that your student therapist is still learning. They may need to consult with their supervisor before giving you feedback on an issue they’re uncertain about. While you benefit from their supervisor’s expertise, there’s a time delay in getting it. This can mean you wait an extra session for feedback or guidance.
- Going to a therapy office located on a college campus can be a logistical challenge. The building where you’re headed may or may not have good parking nearby and there may be a lot of student activity going on around you on your way there.
- Due to high demand, slots at university counseling clinics fill up quickly. It can be difficult to get into one and you may have to be put on a waiting list first.
Ultimately, whether dealing with the downsides of a university community counseling clinic is worth it for you depends on what you’re looking for, how meaningful the benefits are for you, and if those benefits make the drawbacks worth it.
We should also note that some of these programs record your sessions so that your student therapist can review them with their supervisor later. This allows students to receive extremely close supervision and helps ensure that your sessions are effective, ethical, and productive. These recordings are stored under the highest security, cannot be seen by people outside of the program, and are usually deleted within a set period of time.
If you go to a center that records sessions and it makes you uncomfortable, you should talk to them about your concerns. Some clinics may be willing to let you opt out of having your sessions recorded, while others will offer you a referral elsewhere if this is a requirement of their program.
What Are the Benefits of Getting Therapy from a University Student?
There are many hidden—and not-so-hidden—benefits of seeing a less experienced therapist.
They’re usually enthusiastic and driven. They have access to expert guidance. And if you’ve ever gone to a therapist who seemed burned out or cynical, seeing a student can be a breath of fresh air.
There are so many benefits, in fact, that we’ve written a whole other article about them. The tips box below provides a summary of why it might be worth it to see a less experienced therapist—and why you might even prefer it.
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Potential Benefits of Seeing a Student
Benefits of seeing a student therapist include:
- Student therapists tend to be highly motivated, passionate, and driven. You’re unlikely to get a student therapist who seems burned out or cynical.
- Student therapists want to prove themselves and tend to work extra hard to try to help you—sometimes too hard. One of the things they are learning is how to provide the right balance of give and take in the therapy relationship.
- What student therapists lack in experience is made up for by the fact they are supervised by a highly experienced therapist. You benefit from the expertise of their supervisor as well as from the passion and innate ability of the student.
- The student therapist you see is part of a clinical team of mentors and colleagues who work together to come up with solutions for clients. The team approach and educational setting mean your case is given a lot of importance and attention.
- Student therapists read cutting-edge research and learn the most up-to-date, evidence-based therapy methods. If you want someone with the latest perspectives on therapy and mental health, you can’t do much better than a student who is actively studying them.
Keep in mind that there are as many differences among student therapists as there are among experienced professionals. You’ll still want to try to find someone whose personality and approach are the right match for you.
Of course, while some people are attracted to the atmosphere, mission, or other elements of a community counseling clinic at a university, the reason most people go to one is their low cost.
In our opinion, most of the downsides of these programs are minimal relative to how much you can save by going to one. They are ethically bound to do what they can to help you and give you good therapy even if you are seeing a student who’s still learning.
How Much Does It Cost to Go to a University Counseling Clinic?
Every university community counseling clinic is independent, and their rates vary. However, nearly all of them charge a significantly lower rate than what private practice therapists in the same area charge.
Of the programs we’ve added to our database, most are either free or charge an extremely low fee—as low as $5, $10, or $15 a session. For the clinics with sliding scales, their highest rates are often where other local therapists would start their sliding scale. For example, they may cap their rates at $50. And most people will pay much less than that top rate.
In all cases, university counseling clinics consider your willingness to work with a student as part of the value exchange. You accept being part of a student’s learning process in order to get a low rate.
Who Shouldn't Go to a University Counseling Clinic?
If university counseling clinics sound appealing to you, there are very few reasons you shouldn’t reach out to one and give it a try. Even if it ends up not being a good fit, you can usually get great information and referrals from the clinic staff.
That said, there are a few cases when a university community counseling clinic probably won’t be able to meet your needs.
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Don't Go to a University Clinic When...
- You are in crisis and need immediate help.
- You are looking to build a long-term relationship with a therapist.
- You have a severe mental health condition and need intensive treatment.
- You are seeking a specific type of therapy method the school doesn’t offer.
While university community counseling clinics can accommodate many requests, they can’t always accommodate all of them. While we don’t think it hurts to go to an initial session and explore whether the program is a good match, we wouldn’t recommend waiting weeks or even months on a waiting list only to find out they can’t accommodate you. Instead, we suggest first trying to find out over the phone (or e-mail) if the program meets the basic requirements you have for a therapy provider.
How Do You Sign Up for Therapy at a University Counseling Clinic?
The sign-up process at university counseling clinics varies. In many cases, you simply call their number or send them an e-mail to start the process. Others require you to fill out and send an application first, then either mail it, e-mail it, or drop it off in person.
In either case, the program will reach out to you with more information after they receive your request and your contact information. They may be able to set up an initial interview session right away to see if you’re a good fit for the program, or you may have to wait on a waitlist before you can be seen.
Keep in mind that these programs follow the university calendar. Some schools ask potential clients to apply before the semester begins. Some programs or students may be able to start seeing you mid-semester, while others may only accept clients who can start at the beginning of the semester.
How Can You Find a University Community Counseling Clinic?
You’ll usually only find community counseling clinics at universities with graduate departments in counseling, psychology, or social work.
This is because student counselors at these programs are nearly always graduate students. Bachelor’s students lack the experience or level of education to provide therapy, even under close supervision.
However, not every university with a graduate counseling department has a community counseling program, so you’ll need to check with your local college or university first to see if they have one—or use our database to look for one.
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Search the OpenCounseling Database!
It can be frustrating and difficult to try to search for university community counseling clinics on your own. It’s hard to even know the right person to call.
We’re here to help. We think these programs are such a fantastic resource that we always add them to our database when we find them.
We have listings for at least 100 of these clinics in 35 different states and continue to add more. (If you know of one that’s not in our database, please tell us so we can add it!)
So, we encourage you to use our OpenCounseling search page to look for these programs. Just enter your zip code to see what’s near you.
If there isn’t a college or university community counseling program near you, there’s another way you might be able to get discounted therapy by working with a student or trainee therapist.
Community counseling agencies and mental health providers in the public mental health system often hire therapists who have recently graduated and need to work somewhere they can receive supervision and work toward their license.
While it’s often better to choose a more experienced therapist—especially one experienced in treating the issues you want to address in therapy—there can be benefits to working with a less experienced therapist, too. To learn more, you can read our article, “The Surprising Benefits of Seeing a Less Experienced Therapist.”
Conclusion
College and university counseling programs are great resources for students and non-students alike.
College counseling programs for students can help you adjust to college life and succeed. These programs are an essential service covered by your tuition. If you’re a student, you should consider going, even if the issues you’re dealing with seem small.
University-run counseling clinics for the public can provide excellent therapy for free or for extremely low cost. In exchange for your willingness to work with someone who’s still learning, you’ll get evidence-based therapy from an eager and compassionate student guided by a highly qualified therapist mentor.
Whether they’re for students or the public (or both), university counseling clinics pride themselves on providing ethical therapy guided by expert supervisors and on knowing when clients would be better served by a referral to a different kind of program.
There are similar limitations to college and university counseling programs for students and the public. They usually only provide short-term therapy. You probably won’t find one to be a good fit if you have a severe mental health condition or need to be in therapy a long time to resolve the issue you’re seeking to resolve.
But even if that’s the case, you can still get good information, recommendations, and referrals from a university clinic or college counseling center. We think these programs are a tremendous resource and wish more people knew about them. So, if there’s one near you, consider reaching out to find out more. It may be the perfect way to get the affordable therapy you’ve been looking for.