Our goal is to get every student connected to the right support. Our staff first conduct a thoughtful needs assessment to understand each student’s presenting issue and their preferred intervention of single session or scheduled support. Most students request in the moment support as they are looking for support right now, and an appointment in a week’s time won’t help them address the anxiety or conflict they are experiencing at that moment. Any student participating in a single session receives a clinical assessment. Students seeking in the moment support will be referred to TrulaCounseling scheduled support or a higher level of care outside of TrulaCounseling when clinically appropriate.

• Real-Time, Single Session Support (real time or in the moment support)
Single session support is a one-time intervention delivered by the Masters level counselors in the Care Access Center. These sessions are available with the first available counselor at any time throughout the day by call or by chat. This service is most appropriate when a student is needing support regulating their emotional state, feel as though they are at a crisis point, or just aren’t sure what to do next. Our counselors are trained to support by deescalating and working with the student to find resolution for the moment and make recommendations for next steps. Given that this is with the first available counselor this is not appropriate for concerns that continually arise or are not able to be resolved in the moment.
Example: Student recently had a fight with their roommate and doesn’t know how to talk to them about it. They feel awkward coming home to their apartment and they immediately go to their room and don’t use the communal spaces. They want support to figure out how to have a conversation with their roommate so they can get back to normal. Student is referred to in the moment support because their concern is so limited in scope and likely easily addressed in a single session to discuss how to approach having a difficult conversation.

• Short-term, Scheduled Support
Scheduled Support is multi-session support with a dedicated counselor. This support is based in Short Term Solutions Focused Counseling (“STSFC”). The goal of STSFC is to support individuals in identifying a concern or situation they are struggling with, whether it be everyday stresses or significant life changes. From there the client and the counselor can start working toward a goal of what’s possible and how to reach that goal. Being that this is with a dedicated counselor the opportunity is to practice new skills and techniques between sessions that help the client attain their goal. Then the client and counselor will revisit these things in subsequent sessions to help build what’s working, evaluate what’s not, and how close they are to attaining their goal.

• For an expanded explanation of STSFC, please see “What is Short-Term Solution Focused Counseling” below.
Example: Student has been struggling with feeling down or depressed for a few weeks and has no thoughts of harm to self. They have been working through some self-help techniques they found online but things haven’t been improving. They would like to get support on how to cope better with feelings of loneliness and identify ways of making better connections with their peers. The student was referred to STSFC to address clear and attainable goals presented by the client that likely would not be resolved in a single session. Client would meet with a provider on a scheduled basis until client and counselor have agreeably addressed identified goals, or it has been identified that the client requires a more specialized form of care.

• Long-term or Speciality Care Referrals
Referrals are utilized when the concerns of the student are beyond what’s attainable within the scope STSFC such as support for long term trauma or substance use assessments. We have a dedicated team of coordinators who support with the matching of students to the appropriate types of support either through their insurance program or community agencies.
Example: Student has been dealing with feelings of anxiousness, racing thoughts and trouble sleeping for over a month. There are no specific triggers to these feelings it seems to come up at random and becomes overwhelming. This is the first time they have experienced this level of these feelings. The student is looking for support in decreasing these experiences of anxiety and developing coping skills to manage them when they do arise. Referred to a long-term provider since there is not a particular trigger to the anxiety therefore longer-term support may be most appropriate. Client isn’t ready for long term counseling, and declines insurance referral. Client is set up with a STSFC provider. After 3 sessions the STSFC provider has completed an in-depth assessment and refers client to a provider through insurance as they are in need of a long-term referral to support a more generalized anxiety that has increased in severity but has been a part of the client’s life for many years.

TrulaCounseling services do not have a set limit on sessions, however, we work on a short-term solution focused (STSF) support model. Session frequency and total number of sessions is determined by clinical appropriateness.

STSF is a therapeutic approach used by counselors to help people improve the way a client deals with anything from everyday stressors to high-impact life events. With a counselor’s support people focus on the present moment to “solution” an issue, or concern or circumstance. However, not all problems have a solution. Sometimes, the best solution to a problem is finding a healthy way to cope with it. Therefore, you may be setting a “goal” during counseling rather than a solution. STSF counseling can be provided in as few as one session or over a number of sessions.