Counseling Services at Saint Louis University in Madrid are aimed at helping students enhance their academic and personal well-being. Both psychological consultation services and Disabilities services are provided by the Counseling Center at SLU Madrid.
WHAT IS COUNSELING?
Counseling is an interaction between two people: in this case, you, the student, and a professionally trained person who will listen objectively and in a nonjudgmental way to help you explore those issues of importance to you. This process facilitates the development of skills that will effectively help you confront and cope with difficulties. Counseling sessions are completely confidential and protected by law, with the exception of specific emergencies that present an imminent danger to the student and/or others. (For more information about the privacy privilege and confidentiality of counseling services, please talk with the University Counselor.)
WHY SEEK COUNSELING?
New challenges and significant personal and social changes often characterize the college years. This can be demanding, especially when you take into consideration the fact that you're doing all of this in the unfamiliarity of a different culture far away from your everyday support system (family, friends, etc.). Trying to adjust to all of this can affect academic performance, career plans, personal lives or relationships, and as a result, students usually seek help from others.
WHO GOES TO COUNSELING?
Students usually seek counseling for themselves when having problems with:
Students from all cultures, languages, races, religions, gender and sexual orientation are welcome.
HOW DO THE COUNSELING SERVICES WORK AT SLU MADRID?
SLU Madrid provides brief consultation services for students, usually consisting of one to two sessions, at no cost to the student.
Students who are experiencing a problem that may negatively affect academic performance and/or personal health and well-being should make an appointment for a consultation with one of the university counselors. During that appointment, the counselor will help the student identify the problem and the appropriate course of action and/or treatment that is necessary to help resolve it.
In minor cases, the issue can usually be resolved within the course of the brief consultation service offered by the university counselor. This consists of the initial intake session (e.g. the counselor will perform an interview and evaluation of the issue), followed by a second session to follow up on the student’s progress.
However, if after the first appointment the counselor determines that the problem requires further treatment and/or ongoing psychological services, the student will be referred to a private healthcare provider for follow-up services.
SLU Madrid will provide between 1 and 6 sessions (to be determined by the counselor who performs the consultation), free of charge, for the student with a bilingual/multilingual psychologist or psychiatrist at Sinews Multilingual Therapy Institute in Madrid. *If the student wishes to continue receiving psychological services after having used the allotment of free sessions, he/she would make arrangements with Sinews to pay for the service privately.
HOW DO I MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?
The Counseling Center is open during the following hours:
Tuesday: 11:00-12:00
Wednesday: 11:00-15:00
Thursday: 11:00-12:00
Friday: 10:00-14:00
To make an appointment with a University counselor, students should send an email with their availability and class schedule to: counselingcenter-madrid@slu.edu.
Counselors will make every effort to provide students with the first available appointment that meets their schedule. Students may also call the Counseling Center directly at (Tel.) 91.554.58.58, ext. 230.
The Counseling Center is located in Padre Rubio Hall, on the lower level. We have a private entrance, accesible through the patio. Enter through the main entrance of PRH, turn left, continue to the patio, and you will see on the right hand side the stairwell that leads to the Counseling Center.
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT CONFIDENTIALITY LAWS AND EMAIL:
According to the Ley Orgánica de Protección de Datos (Spanish law related to confidentiality and protection of private information; similar to HIPAA in the US), email is not considered to be a confidential method of communication.
For this reason, it is recommended that students use the email address listed above for the sole purpose of scheduling and/or canceling appointments, since counselors will not be able to answer any questions of a personal nature, comment about private health-related information and/or disabilities, or provide counseling advice via email.
COUNSELING EMERGENCIES
For counseling emergencies that occur outside of normal office hours, please call 609.269.323.
DISABILITIES SERVICES/ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
Students who would like to take advantage of academic accommodations due to a disability should make an appointment with the Disabilities Coordinator, Dr. Eduardo Fernández-Cruz Sarrate. Appointments can be requested at the following email address: counselingcenter-madrid@slu.edu. For more information regarding academic accommodations and the process for registering with Disabilities Services, see the following links:
