Appointments: What To Expect

Appointments:  What to Expect

Providing Information

Prior to a first counseling appointment, or "intake," we will need some demographic, background, and symptoms information about you.  If you schedule your intake appointment on line, you will receive a link to access our intake questionnaire.  Please complete the questionnaire before the time of the appointment.  If you schedule your intake appointment by calling SHACS, you will need to complete a paper intake questionnaire.  In this case, please arrive 10-15 minutes before your appointment time in order to complete the questionnaire.

You do not need to provide such demographic and background information prior to your first nursing or psychiatric appointment.  You have already provided this information to us via your health card and/or counseling intake, and the psychiatrist or the nurse you see for your appointment will update it with you in the course of reviewing your symptoms.

Checking In

When you arrive at SHACS for your appointment, you can check in electronically or in person.  To check in electronically, use the touch-screen located just to the right once you've entered our front door.  To check in personally, go to the front desk and let the receptionist know you are there for an appointment.  After you have checked in, have a seat in the waiting room.  Your nurse, counselor, or psychiatrist will come to the waiting room to get you.

The Appointment

During your first counseling, nursing, or psychiatric appointment, your care provider will talk with you to review your immediate concerns, assess your symptoms, and discuss your relevant history.  You will be encouraged to ask questions, make suggestions, and really partner with us in your care.  You and your care provider will decide on a treatment plan.  This plan may or may not include additional appointments at SHACS and/or referral(s) to off-campus care providers.  If you are not able to keep any appointment at SHACS, we ask that you give us at least 24 hours' notice;  that way, we will be able to use that time for another student.

Referrals

If you are referred to services off campus, we will ask for your permission to consult with those service providers about you.  While you do not have to give us this authorization, we believe that such consultation improves everyone's ability to provide you with the best possible care. Consultation of this sort is the standard of care in the mental health and health professions.