Counseling Services

Individual counseling involves one to one sessions with the psychologist and begins with an intake appointment at Student Counseling Services.  During the initial appointment, you complete paperwork and also have ample time to discuss your concerns.  Counseling helps you resolve your immediate concerns, typically with weekly sessions to help maintain focus.  Depending on individual needs, other scheduling intervals might be suggested or requested.  The psychologist will help you develop a plan that best addresses your particular concerns.

Common issue addressed in counseling sessions include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Decision making
• Interpersonal relationships
• Career choice
• Poor academic performance
• Grief, loss, bereavement
• Adjustment issues (e.g., changes in relationships, marriage, employment, children)
• Transitions to new living/working environments (country, culture, state, city, university)

Student Counseling Services are available to all students enrolled at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa and all medical residents.  These are prepaid with the counseling fee assessed with each semester's enrollment; there are no additional charges for counseling sessions.  OU-Tulsa faculty and staff are ineligible for counseling services through this office.  Student spouses and dependents are ineligible for counseling services except when seen with an OU student in couples or family counseling.

Couples counseling is available for two people involved in an intimate relationship who want to address relationship difficulties.  Only one of the two members of the couple needs to be a student or resident at the university to be eligible for these services.  Couples counseling involves identifying problem areas, resolving issues of conflict, and learning more effective means to communicate with one another.  Both married and unmarried couples are eligible for counseling services.

Many people have concerns with social anxiety, problems establishing friendships, maintaining inttimate relationships, difficulty asserting themselves, ineffective communication skills, feeling of low self-esteem, and experiences with grief and loss.  Meeting weekly for approximately 1.5 hours, counseling groups are facilitated by a psychologies and use the support of others to explore effective resolutions to issues.  Groups are limited in size and are available for fixed amounts of time each semester.  When relating to others is a primary concern, or when life events such as divorce or death create distress, group counseling can be helpful.

During your Student Counseling Services intake appointment, you and the Counselor might explore whether your goals are compatible with the goals of current or future counseling or support groups.  You might choose group counseling if you and the psychologist agree that your needs are better addressed through group participation than through individual counseling.  Concerns of counseling groups might include: assertiveness training, overcoming shyness, establishing friendships, improving communication skills, boundaries in personal and professional relationships, dealing with depression and anxiety, sharing grief and loss.  Support groups could include 12-step programs for alcohol and substance abuse, smoking cessation, or establishment of healthy dietary habits.

Participation in group counseling requires status as an OU student or medical resident.  Please feel free to call our office at 918-660-3109 if you have questions regarding group counseling.

Our Student Counseling Services staff is available to consult with students, faculty, and staff who might have questions about mental health issues, the counseling referral process, or other related concerns.

Consultation

Upon request, our Counselor is available for individual, group or classroom consultation.  Our staff can discuss issues with students, faculty and staff, assist with crisis situations in person or by phone, and provide referral information and recommendations regarding situations or events.  Privacy and confidentiality will be in full compliance with all ethical guidelines, State and Federal laws, and HIPAA.

Outreach Programming

Scheduling is flexible during the typical work week.  Programs or workshops may include:

• ADHD support strategies
• Anxiety and depression
• Boundaries in personal and professional relationships
• Death, grief, bereavement, loss
• Developing character strengths
• Dissolution of relationships
• Helping friends in distress
• Keys to effective communication
• Mindfulness, meditation and mental health
• Professional ethics for mental health practioners
• Self-care and stress management
• Sexual abuse in children and adults
• Study skills
• Warning signs of an abusive relationship

Topical presentations and skills workshops can be designed for you, your department, your academic class, or your student group by contacting us at 918-660-3109 or by email.

Every student and medical resident at OU-Tulsa may utilize Student Counseling Services.  Besides individual, couples and group counseling, consultations are possible with faculty, staff, parents, and student organizations as well.  Workshops are also offered on topics of interest such as depression, study skills, couples communication, and stress management.

Ethical standards, in addition to Oklahoma and Federal laws, require that all psychologist-client communications remain confidential except under the circumstances provided below. These circumstances remain true for virtual/telehealth counseling sessions as well:

• With your written consent
• Where failure to communicate essential information would result in clear danger to you or others
• To report child or elder abuse or neglect as required by law
• Other situations as defined by law (e.g., malpractice proceedings or fee collection)
• In order to obtain appropriate professional consultations

Counseling services are prepaid as part of your student fees and have unlimited access to these services so long as their enrollment in an OU-Tulsa degree program is maintained.

The initial/intake appointment will be approximately 60 minutes long.  During this session you will review the forms completed in advance of the appointment and discuss your concerns and purpose of seeking out services with our staff Counselor.  Subsequent sessions will generally last 45-50 minutes. Counseling is a collaborative process between the Counselor and the student.  Please call 918-660-3109 to schedule an intital intake appointment and receive the link for the online forms to be completed in advance of your first appointment. 

Individual Counseling

In individual counseling, a student usually meets weekly with a counselor for fifty minutes to discuss academic, emotional, social, or other concerns. In the first appointment, students will complete some paperwork and then meet with their counselor. Students usually complete counseling in one to fifteen sessions. Many students struggle with long-standing emotional difficulties which require longer term counseling. In these instances, we will help the student get connected with a counselor in the community.

Couples Counseling

Couples counseling is offered for free if one member of the couple is a student.Couples counseling can be helpful for couples who may or may not be struggling in their relationship. It can help improve communication between partners, facilitate conflict resolution, improve problem-solving skills and help partners navigate developmental challenges and transitions.

Group Counseling

Group therapy has been shown to be highly effective for professional student populations. Group sessions can be as small as three or four people, but they are typically closer to six or eight. Groups are typically held once per week and may request or be recommended one during your intake at the student counseling center. Some of the empirical benefits of group therapy include: seeing other students coping and adapting; discussing your experiences with fellow students who are going through similar concerns; mutual sharing of strengths and insights; practicing new behaviors in a safe and conducive environment; gaining belonging, acceptance, and support; and finding strength to persevere and thrive in the face of stress.

Consulting and Guest Lecturing

Student Counseling Services staff periodically offer workshops focusing on topics such as stress and time management, test preparation & test anxiety, meditation, and more. Staff members are available for consultation with student groups and organizations, residents, faculty, staff and academic departments. If you would like to consult or schedule a presentation, please contact us at TulsaCounseling@ou.edu.

Common issue addressed in counseling sessions include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Decision making
• Interpersonal relationships
• Career choice
• Poor academic performance
• Grief, loss, bereavement
• Adjustment issues (e.g., changes in relationships, marriage, employment, children)
• Transitions to new living/working environments (country, culture, state, city, university)

Student Counseling Services are available to all students enrolled at the OU-Tulsa and all medical residents.  These are prepaid with the counseling fee assessed with each semester's enrollment; there are no additional charges for counseling sessions.  OU-Tulsa faculty and staff are ineligible for counseling services through this office.  Student spouses and dependents are ineligible for counseling services except when seen with an OU student in couples or family counseling.

If you are in immediate need of assistance from our Counselor outside of the advertised hours, please stop by Student Affairs or call 918-660-3100 and one of our Student Affairs personel will assist you in setting up an appointment with Taylor as soon as possible.

If you are experiencing severe emotional distress during non-business hours, please use the following resources to get the help you need:

• 24-hour COPES 918-744-4800
• National Suicide Hotline 800-273-8255
• Reach-Out Hotline 800-522-9054

If possible, go to the nearest emergency room and ask for the psychologist or psychiatrist on call:

• Parkside Hospital 918-586-4278
• Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health 918-293-2100

If you are having thoughts of hurting yourself or another person, you should immediately call 911 or OU-Tulsa Police (if on campus) at 918-660-3333.

Community Outreach Psychiatric Emergency Services (COPES) is a telephone and mobile crisis service that responds around the clock to children and adults experiencing a severe emotional or behavioral disturbance or psychiatric emergency, including but not limited to the following:

• Threats of suicide
• Suicidal thoughts
• Self-injury
• Aggressive behavior
• Threats to harm others
• Depression
• Severe emotional upset or inability to care for daily needs
• Poor reality testing or thought disorder
• Overwhelming anxiety or panic attacks

The COPES team will assess the level of risk, provide crisis support by phone and may go directly to the person in crisis to intervene and stabilize the situation.

COPES is free, confidential, and available 24/7 to anyone in Tulsa County.  For immediate assistance, please call 918-744-4800.

*COPES information adapted from www.fcsok.org/services/crisiscare-center-2/mobile-crisis-copes/