Counseling Services

CHW counseling staff provide an inclusive, collaborative, and confidential space to receive support and take steps to address your unique needs. CHW provides short-term counseling to Suffolk students. Our Case Manager provides external referrals for students with needs outside of CHW’s scope of care.

About Counseling

Many students come to CHW with questions about what to expect in counseling, whether counseling can help, or with concerns about whether counseling staff will respond positively. These are normal and important questions that we seek to answer during a first appointment. Counseling staff work collaboratively with all students in a supportive and identity-affirming environment. Here is more information on CHW’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion which is central to our counseling practice. We look forward to meeting you.

Reasons Students Seek Counseling

There is no reason too big or too small to seek counseling. By talking about your concerns with a counselor, students increase their ability to understand themselves and, if needed, take action to improve situations or emotional experiences for themselves. If counseling isn’t the right fit, our staff will help students connect with other resources such as community or cultural groups, religious or spiritual communities, or other identified spaces or resources as needed.

Common concerns leading students to seek counseling include:

  • Feeling lonely, overwhelmed, or unsure what to do about your feelings
  • Feeling depressed or sad, including possible thoughts of death or suicide
  • Stress, feeling anxious, or having panic attacks
  • Relationships (family, friends, sexual or romantic)
  • Concerns about recent or past traumatic experiences
  • Seeking support related to sociocultural identity or experiences of bias
  • Self-esteem or not feeling good about yourself
  • Worrying about your appearance or your weight
  • Unwanted sexual experiences
  • Concerns about use of alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs

Eligibility for Counseling Services

Currently enrolled students are eligible for CHW services, including during school breaks/summer when students remain enrolled for the next semester. CHW counseling providers are licensed to provide telehealth services only to students located in Massachusetts at the time of service. Faculty and staff seeking counseling assistance for themselves should utilize employee benefit resources through Human Resources.

Confidentiality

CHW maintains strict confidentiality policies in compliance with professional standards and with local, state and federal statutes. No information may be released to any third party until students have discussed the information they want released and a written Release of Information has been signed by the student. The only exceptions to confidentiality occur when disclosure is necessary to protect the client or an identifiable third party from imminent physical or psychological danger, in cases of apparent abuse of a vulnerable person, or in extremely rare cases when records are subpoenaed by a Court.