Scope of Practice

Counseling Services

Hampshire Counseling Services offers time-limited individual psychotherapy, crisis support, and consultation for students enrolled at the College. We do not have formal session limits, but instead work with each student to come up with a treatment plan that best meets each individual’s needs within our available resources. Some students come in for a one-time consultation, while others are seen intermittently throughout their college career. 

Some concerns that are commonly addressed in brief or intermittent counseling at the counseling center are:

• General Concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, anger, loneliness, guilt, low self-esteem, grief, adjustment to college, etc.
• Big Life Questions such as "Where do I find meaning in life?" or "What do I want out of life?"
• Relationship Concerns, including relationship issues with romantic partners, modmates, friends, family, etc.
• Identity Issues relating to all aspects of a person’s identity including personality, family, race, culture, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and many others.
• Other Issues, including academic concerns, trauma, childhood concerns, eating and body image issues, etc.

Off-Campus Psychotherapy

Our approach to recommendations or requests for off-campus psychotherapy:

• The decision to seek an outside therapist is considered to be a shared decision between the student and the therapist. 
• The process of discussing treatment options can take several sessions.
• Diagnosis is not the critical factor in making a treatment decision. At a given time, a person with any diagnosis or no diagnosis might benefit from time-limited psychotherapy. Counseling Services staff base our recommendations on the current clinical needs of the student.

Students may choose to seek off-campus psychotherapy when they know they want more than we can offer in terms of frequency of meetings, type of psychotherapy, or other factors. 

Below are some reasons why a student may choose off-campus psychotherapy therapy, or why a counselor here might recommend it:

• An interest, curiosity, or enthusiasm for more intensive therapy than we are able to offer
• A desire for therapy to be completely separated from the college environment
• A need for a more intensive therapy that could offer more time, services, and/or options to help maintain the student's overall functioning for college life and studies
• A person who is looking for formal psychological assessments, such as ADHD testing
• Court-mandated treatments or assessment
• Assessments for employment clearance or other non-academic concerns

Psychiatric Medication Consultations

Students who are seeing a therapist at our clinic may have a medication consultation with a general medical practitioner at Hampshire, with a psychiatric provider in the Amherst area, or through an online psychiatry service.  Which option is best for each student will depend on student preference and clinical picture. Students are encouraged to discuss these options with their therapist.  Due to a shortage of psychiatric providers in the Amherst area, if possible, students should plan to continue working with a home provider until an initial appointment with a local provider is available.