Counseling & Psychological Services
Please Note: This wiki space is for mental health resources for the North Benson Campus. For information on resources at the Austin, TX campus please click here.
Counseling & Psychological Services (C&PS)
203-254-4000, 2146
counseling@fairfield.edu
Wellness Center at the Jogues Hall Drop-off Circle
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm, excluding holidays
Urgent Needs
If you or a peer are experiencing an emergency, please call Public Safety at 203-254-4090. If you are in imminent danger, dial 911. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available by dialing 988.
For crisis support when we are open, call C&PS (203-254-4000, 2146) for a same-day appointment or walk in to the Wellness Center. When the office is closed, call C&PS from a cell phone or off-campus landline and press 1 to speak with an on-call mental health counselor.
About Us
Counseling & Psychological Services (C&PS) delivers quality mental health services to full-time undergraduate students. Our services are free and confidential. We provide individual and group psychotherapy by professional psychotherapists to help students navigate adjustment issues, relationship problems, family issues, emotional distress, and other challenges. We offer graduate students a single session for triage and referrals to the surrounding community.
We are committed to creating an environment that recognizes the inherent value and dignity of each person. In these times of increased racial and cultural tension, C&PS seeks to continue to provide a safe space to support all of our students and to assist in fostering a climate where all are heard and feel welcome.
Let's Talk
University life can be stressful for many reasons. C&PS is here for you. Come talk to us about the following topics or anything else that's on your mind:
- adjusting to college
- anxiety or depression
- issues with friends, roommates, or family
- feelings of loneliness
- problems with substance misuse
- stress and test anxiety
- managing anger
- sexual assault or harassment
- eating disorders
- loss or death of a loved one
- cultural and first generation concerns
- gender and sexual identity issues
Visit our Come Talk to Us About web page for more information on these topics and more.
Together, we can work to help you better manage difficult situations, see things from a different point of view, understand and accept yourself, gain insights in your relationships with others, and balance varied demands as you work towards your goals.
Our Services
C&PS utilizes a collaborative, solution-oriented approach to counseling and mental health treatment. We focus on the changes students wish to make in their lives while understanding their presenting concerns in the context of current stressors and relationships, history, and the intersection of their identities with the sociopolitical climate. C&PS offers free and confidential services including:
Other Resources
Fairfield University has partnered with Kognito and Togetherall to increase awareness and knowledge about mental health (Kognito) and to provide a trustworthy platform that allows students to express emotions and feelings while gaining peer support and advice (Togetherall). To utilize these resources, to find a referral to a provider outside of Fairfield, or to browse information covering a variety of mental health topics, click the appropriate button below.
Our Staff
C&PS' clinical staff consists of State of Connecticut licensed mental health providers and post-doctoral psychology fellows trained in many modalities of therapy. Operations Assistants oversee the front desk reception, scheduling, and administrative functions. Click here to Meet our Staff.
Confidentiality
All clinical contact with students in Counseling & Psychological Services is privileged and confidential. Disclosure to parents, faculty, or staff or to any unauthorized person requesting information about the student or the counseling relationship, is both illegal and unethical unless the student has signed a "Release of Information" waiving confidentiality.
Consistent with Connecticut state law, clients who are younger than 18 may receive treatment without parental permission.
Under Connecticut law, confidentiality is only broken under the following circumstances:
- A client poses an imminent danger to self or others. A family member and/or appropriate authorities must be notified by the clinician. The purpose of disclosure is to provide the necessary emergency care or protection.
- A client reveals ongoing abuse or neglect of a child or elderly person. Clinicians are mandated reporters of child and elder abuse.
- A court order mandates confidential information to be disclosed. Clinicians will submit the minimal amount of information possible to comply with the mandate of the court.
- Clinicians are permitted to discuss a client case in supervision or treatment teams within Counseling & Psychological Services.
- A client signs a "Release of Information" to give clinicians permission to discuss their situation with parents, professors, administrators, or other health care providers.
Mission Statement
The general mission of Counseling & Psychological Services is to facilitate each student’s fulfillment of their fullest potential – intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and socially, as envisioned by the Mission Statement of Fairfield University. Mindful of the Jesuit tradition which emphasizes respect for the individual both as a unique person and as a member of the University community, C&PS commits to the following goals:
The provision of services of superior quality to individual students who may be experiencing psychological, emotional, or behavioral difficulties
The provision of programming addressing the developmental needs of students to benefit from the academic and social environment of the University community
The provision of consultation to faculty members, administrators, and/or other university staff persons concerning the psychological health needs of students
The provision of consultative services to the University community at large to maximize the potential of the University environment as beneficial to the intellectual, spiritual, physical, and social development of the student while respecting and supporting cultural pluralism
The maintenance of appropriate knowledge of legal, ethical, developmental, and clinical issues and standards as applied to a university mental health setting
The maintenance of professional standards of practice consistent with those set forth by the American Psychological Association and the International Associations of Counseling Services, Inc. and the ethical codes of individual clinician’s discipline
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Fairfield University is committed to supporting and sustaining an educational community that is inclusive, diverse, and equitable, and we embrace these values as being critical to an individual's development, learning, and success. Counseling & Psychological Services' policies, procedures, activities, relationships, and interactions with each other and individuals and groups in the campus community are consistent with these values. We are committed to celebrating the diversity that gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, age, religious orientation, social class, appearance, abilities, and other differences bring. Furthermore, we are committed to confronting prejudice, discrimination, and oppression.
Contact Us
Counseling & Psychological Services' staff looks forward to hearing from you:
- by phone - 203-254-4000, 2146
- by email - counseling@fairfield.edu
- by scheduling an appointment
- visiting the Wellness Center at the Jogues Hall drop-off circle
Additional contact information, including our fax number and mailing address, can be found here.
