The Counseling Center records are confidential and separate from your academic records. All information about you (even acknowledgement of your visits) is confidential and cannot be released to any other campus office or individual (even your parents) without your written permission. There are, however, some exceptions to confidentiality. Counselors are required to release certain information in situations which involve potential harm to yourself or others, in instances of child abuse, or as a result of a court order. These events are extremely rare. Typically, the only way others would become aware of your seeing a counselor would be if you told them.

All currently enrolled full-time undergraduate and graduate students may be eligible for individual counseling. The Counseling Center is best suited to working with students whose concerns can be resolved within a relatively short term time frame. Student needs that might require open-ended, long-term, intensive, or specialized treatment will often result in referrals to outside providers in the community, and are often best treated outside of our setting. Unlike individual counseling which is only available to full-time students, group counseling is available to both full-time and part-time students. While the spouses, partners and children of CUA students and employees are not eligible for services at the Counseling Center, referrals to other agencies and private therapists are available by calling the Counseling Center. We also provide consultation to CUA faculty and staff and families of CUA students during business hours. CUA faculty and staff are eligible for psychological services through CUA's Employee Assistance Program.

Typically, the Counseling Center wait time varies. Intakes tend to fill up quickly, but once an intake is completed, it takes around 2-7 days to be assigned a counselor and start weekly therapy. Also, if the wait for an intake is extensive, students can utilize our same-day appointment services. 

The Counseling Center provides both individual and group counseling and psychotherapy, with each student usually scheduled to meet with his or her counselor for one 50-minute appointment per week. A staff psychiatrist is available for medication consultation with students who are currently being seen for individual counseling at the Counseling Center.

The professional staff includes clinical and counseling psychologists, clinical social workers, and a consulting psychiatrist. The staff also includes advanced psychology doctoral students and clinical social work students who are supervised by senior staff members in their discipline of study. For a list of staff, click here.

There is no charge for individual or group counseling services or medication consultations for full-time graduate and undergraduate students at CUA.

The Counseling Center offers groups each year. These have included Healthy Eating and Lifestyles, a group for social anxiety, and groups focusing on interpersonal issues. For more information about a specific group, call 202-319-5765 or see the "Group Therapy" page under the "Services" tab.

Full time undergraduate and graduate students may receive up to 10 consecutive weeks of weekly therapy sessions after intake, followed by sessions every two weeks, up to a lifetime limit of 45 sessions. Students in need of longer-term, more intensive, or specialized treatment will be referred to an outside therapist or agency in the community. There is no limit for group counseling.

Sessions are video-recorded for supervision purposes and then erased. Recordings are done to improve counselor effectiveness and ultimately to improve the quality of the services we provide you. You may be assured that the films will only be used in professional supervision and that all films will be erased after supervision is complete.

The Counseling Center employs a part-time psychiatric nurse practitioner to provide medication consultation to students who are currently being seen for individual counseling, should they choose to pursue psychiatric services. Due to the high demand for medication consultation by students currently receiving counseling, we cannot make any exceptions to this policy. Students who are not currently receiving individual counseling at the Counseling Center can be referred to a psychiatric provider in the community, or in some cases, to Student Health Services. The opportunity for a student in counseling to meet with the psychiatric nurse practitioner or engage in medical consultation is completely voluntary.

Most students who use the Counseling Center are experiencing developmental concerns and academic pressures that at times leave them feeling anxious, confused, angry, lonely, depressed or overwhelmed. Counseling is aimed at helping students understand and manage these stressors. Any personal issue can be discussed in counseling. Typical concerns include: