Information for Parents
Counseling Services provides short-term counseling, psychiatric consultation, crisis intervention & outreach to all full–time students. Clinicians will decide which issues they can work with depending on their current caseloads and their training. In those cases where the problem of the student requires long-term, intensive treatment or specialization not practiced by our staff, we must refer the student to an off-campus provider. The average number of sessions per student visiting our center is 5 sessions/academic year while the most common reasons for visits are adjusting to college, anxiety, and depression.
Since our services are confidential, our counselors cannot disclose the names of those using our services or their issues to anyone, including parents. The only way we are able to break confidentiality is if the student is at risk of harming themselves or others. That does not mean we cannot accept information from concerned parents, coaches, friends, or faculty. It is important to note that this sharing of private information is one-way. That is, we can receive information and use it in our work with students but we cannot disclose anything to you unless your student signs a Release of Information Form and wants us to contact you. If you are concerned about your student, we encourage you to contact their academic advisor or Beth Julian at julian@lvc.edu (academic affairs), counselingservices@lvc.edu (counseling), or Bob Mikus at mikus@lvc.edu (student affairs).
Your student may be referred off-campus for a variety of reasons. If they are looking for a specialist, if their issues are of a long-term nature (severity of symptoms and diagnostic complexity), student preference, or scheduling conflict, they have options for treatment off-campus.
If your student needs a referral, we typically send students to the closest practitioners to the college and recommend access to a car or bike if they anticipate needing services off-campus. The following referrals are easily accessible by walking, car, or bike and some are on the bus route (Lebanon Transit). You will have to call the agencies in order to check appointment availability and insurance participation. Annville Psychological Services (Annville, 717-966-1388), Psychological Health Affiliates (Hershey, 717-665-2675), or Pennsylvania Counseling Services (Lebanon, 717-272-5464 ext.1151).
Counseling Services participates in CARE Team Meetings, a private meeting designed to assist students who may need additional support on campus due to academic difficulties. The CARE Team is made up of professionals from academic affairs, residential life, athletics, counseling & health services, among others. Parents should be comforted by the presence of this “safety net” on campus which reaches out to students in academic trouble. If a faculty or staff member is concerned about a student’s academic performance, they simply fill out a form online and submit it to the group. The team then discusses the issue and makes a recommendation on how to intervene; usually, a team member meets with the student one-on-one. All FERPA & HIPAA rules of privacy are upheld.