Counseling & Student Development Center

Appointments

Same-day Phone Appointments

Phone appointments are available first-call, first-serve, 1–4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

What to Expect: Students will connect with a clinician for a confidential, solution-focused approach, which means they prioritize meeting immediate needs that day. By the end of the 20–30 minute call, you and your clinician will have discussed the next steps, which could include encouraging you to follow up as needed, connecting you with a campus partner or discussing the Center’s various services like individual or group counseling.

Existing Clients

Call 570-577-1604 to schedule/reschedule consultation, counseling and psychiatry appointments.

New Clients

To schedule a first-time initial assessment online, click Online Scheduling and you will be walked through an appointment scheduling process. The wait time for an Initial Assessment is typically between two to three weeks, depending on the time of the semester.

What to Expect: Students meet with a counselor who will explore their current issues and concerns, assess for safety and provide professional recommendations about services that may be a good fit for them. Students leave the initial assessment with an individualized plan of care that may include a course of brief individual counseling, group counseling, skill-based workshops, referrals to other types of health or mental health providers or a combination of offerings. A course of brief individual counseling usually consists of a counseling session once every few weeks. While there is no pre-set number of sessions allocated to each student, a course of individual counseling is generally meant to be problem-focused and brief. Students seeking longer-term therapy or more frequent sessions are assisted in locating appropriate community resources.

Scope of Care: All students are eligible to schedule an initial assessment with the CSDC to determine the best treatment and resources for their concerns. A decision about whether the needs of the student fall within our scope of clinical care is made by the counselor after considering the information gathered at the initial assessment or as needs become apparent during the course of treatment.

Concerns that are typically addressed within the brief therapy model include, but are not limited to:

• Mild to moderate anxiety (stress, worry, guilt) and depression symptoms (sadness, irritability, anger)
• Adjustment and phase of life (adjustment to college, graduation, life transition)
• Identity development (e.g., personal, racial/cultural, sexual, gender, spirituality)
• Interpersonal concerns (family, friends, romantic partners, roommates)
• Grief or loss
• Academic performance or motivation
• Effects of trauma or interpersonal violence
• Mild to moderate substance use concerns
• Some body image and eating concerns

Weekly Therapy: Counseling & Student Development Center is committed to ensuring that all students have the care they need so that they are ready to learn and participate in all that Bucknell University offers. For most students, the ideal treatment is brief counseling once every few weeks, group therapy or a combination of treatments. Students who need or want more services are connected to off-campus care that better meets their specific needs. While we wish we could meet every need of every student, that is just not possible. Providing weekly therapy for all students (or even most of them) would require unlimited staff and space and would limit the number of students who could receive regular services from CSDC. We aim to serve as many students as possible.

Concerns that are best served by off-campus referrals include, but are not limited to:

• Eating disorders without medical stabilization or requiring intensive treatment
• Significant alcohol or drug use requiring specialized care
• Non-suicidal self-injury that causes significant injury or is increasing in frequency or severity
• History of chronic hospitalization or suicidality
• Needs requiring immediate intensive care (e.g., severe disruption in day-to-day functioning)
• Needs assessed to best benefit from more than bi-weekly sessions or long-term treatment or students seeking guaranteed weekly sessions
• Medication management when not currently being seen in brief therapy by a CSDC counselor
• Medication management while seeing a counselor off campus

Services that are NOT available through Counseling & Student Development Center include:

• Intensive outpatient or inpatient treatment
• Mandated assessments and/or treatment
• Evaluation to diagnose and/or treat ADHD or other neurological/neurodevelopmental concerns
• Evaluation or letters for emotional support animals
• Psychological assessments or evaluations for selection, performance prediction or forensic purposes (e.g., professional school application, employment security assessment, litigation or legal adjudications)

Other reasons a student may be ineligible for services or offered a referral to off campus provider:

• Demonstrated lack of motivation, poor compliance with treatment recommendations or failure to comply with critical directives
• A pattern of missed appointments (no shows or late cancellations/reschedules)
• Students who are receiving therapy with another mental health provider
• Students seeking therapy for the sole purpose of obtaining documentation for another office (e.g., The Office of Disabilities Resources (OAR), Housing Services, etc.)
• Students seeking services while outside the state of Pennsylvania (e.g., away over summer break, study abroad, etc.). Due to state licensure laws, our clinicians only provide services to students physically located in Pennsylvania
• Inappropriate, harassing, threatening or violent language or behavior directed toward clients or staff
• Situations that are determined by the clinician or Director of CSDC to be outside the scope of services

Home Psychologist/Therapist/Psychiatrist: If you already have an established relationship, we recommend that you continue to see a provider at home and this connection can be facilitated by telehealth opportunities. However, if desired, we welcome students to connect to CSDC so we can be here if you have an urgent need or could benefit from coordination of care. 

Reinstatement Requirements Following a Health Leave of Absence (LOA).

When a student is preparing to return to Bucknell University following a Health Leave of Absence, an Off-campus Provider Form Following a Leave of Absence for Health-related Reasons (pdf) must be completed by their counseling or psychiatric provider and submitted to Counseling & Student Development Center by fax at 570-577-1849 in order to initiate the reinstatement process. 

Bucknell University is offering up to eight free telehealth sessions through Uwill to all interested students. Uwill is a leading mental health and wellness solution that allows students the ability to connect immediately with licensed available mental counselors based on students' unique needs and preferences.

Students may not seek concurrent services with CSDC and Uwill.
All students may reach out to the CSDC in crisis. To speak with the after-hours counselor, please call 570-577-1604 and press 2.
Students who wish to access the CSDC psychiatrist must engage in services with the CSDC. If a student is seeking services with Uwill they are not eligible to access psychiatry at the CSDC.

Create a profile

• Create your account and register using your Bucknell email address. Fill out the basic profile information, reason(s) for signing up and emergency contact information.
• An email will be sent to you to verify your account.

Schedule an appointment 

• Find an available counselor who matches your preferences.
• Pick the date, time and appointment type (video, phone or chat) to schedule your appointment.

Connect with a counselor 

• An email reminder will be sent to you an hour prior to your scheduled appointment.
• Access your appointment through the link in the email reminder or visit the Uwill site to begin your appointment.

After completing your profile, you can immediately choose the counselor and available appointment time of your choosing.

Bucknell University partners with Welltrack Connect to help you find off-campus mental health care providers. Connect makes it easier to find the best fit for your needs. Connect searches filters for providers’ specialty, social identity, the health insurance they accept and more. Visit Welltrack Connect to connect with providers who meet your particular needs.

Group Counseling

Counseling groups on a variety of topics. Please call 570-577-1604.

What to Expect: Therapy in a group setting can be a productive and supportive way to address common concerns. Students meet as a group with one or more clinicians to explore a specific topic and develop coping skills. Some groups are time limited, while others are ongoing. Group offerings vary each semester and lists are updated at the beginning of the semester. Additional groups may be developed, depending on student interest and staff availability.

Crisis Services

Call 570-577-1604 and indicate that this is an emergency. After hours, Call 570-577-1604 and press 2.

Psychiatric Services

The process of psychiatric treatment begins by scheduling an initial assessment appointment with a counselor. The counselor will meet with the student for two to three sessions to evaluate the student’s symptoms by performing a background screening and assessing the results. It is up to the counselor to recommend psychiatric services if they are needed, however, they may also recommend other resources that may include a course of brief individual counseling, group counseling, skill based workshops, referrals to other types of health or mental health providers or a combination of offerings.

CSDC has a limited number of weekly hours of psychiatric coverage. Only students who are engaged in ongoing CSDC counseling services are eligible to make appointments with a psychiatric provider.

• Students seeking medication only will be assisted in finding an appropriate provider in the community.
• Students who discontinue counseling services at CSDC but would like to continue medication management will be assisted in finding an appropriate provider in the community.
• For students who require long term, ongoing mental health care, the CSDC staff may assist students with a referral to a psychiatric provider in the community. 
• Stimulant medication (Adderall, Vyvanse, Concerta, Ritalin or generic varieties) or other controlled substances are not prescribed at the CSDC. 
• We do not provide Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) testing.
• CSDC cannot provide letters of support for students in need of emotional support animals.

Students who already have an established relationship with a prescribing professional off campus are encouraged to continue working with that professional.