Counseling Services

Every student seeking to access counseling services at the Center for Wellness will be asked to fill out initial paperwork. Once the paperwork is complete, you will either meet with a clinician via our Drop-in process or be contacted by phone by a clinician for a brief screening and to schedule an appointment or be referred to another resource.

During the brief screening meeting, you’ll talk about why you are seeking support and your goals and learn about the potential services available to you. The purpose of the brief screening is to assess your needs, check for any safety-related concerns, and identify the best resources to meet those needs.

After the brief screening meeting, a clinician will recommend appropriate services from our options in the following steps.

Depending on the needs of the student, a clinician may refer a student to any number of on campus resources for non-clinical support.

These offices may include the Dean of Students, Student Support Specialists, Success Studio, Accessibility Services, Office of Housing and Residential Education, Academic Advisor.

The staff of the Center for Wellness may recommend an online module for students to complete that can provide skills and education on a variety of mental health topics. 

The Center for Wellness website also contains various resources as well as information on mental health.

Sometimes, a student may benefit from a single session consultation with a counselor, either to discuss a short-term need, or seek assistance with a more robust treatment plan. Single sessions are utilized when ongoing therapy is not needed or wanted.

During this single appointment, the focus is on the students one concern and working collaboratively to either make a plan or find a solution for the concern. The single session is a one-time meeting and may include referrals, resources, or other services as appropriate.

The Center for Wellness offers workshops throughout the semester on various mental health topics. The goal of these workshops is to provide students with education and skills in an area they are seeking mental health support.

Students are sometimes in need of mental health services that are not provided at the Center for Wellness. In these circumstances, the clinician will work collaboratively with the student to identify appropriate off campus resources. This may include a referral to a long-term treatment provider, a higher level of care, such as an intensive outpatient program or specialized group treatment program.

The Center for Wellness works closely with Carbon Health Services on campus to refer students needing psychiatric services and medication management to their psychiatric nurse practitioner.

Many students utilize counseling services within the Center for Wellness for shorter-term treatment needs.  Students can access individual therapy appointments generally within 1-2 weeks of initial outreach.  Students work with their counselor to create a treatment plan that directs the clinical work that occurs in each session.

It is important for students to understand that therapy is a collaborative process, often with a need to work on skills and treatment goals between clinical sessions. 

Occasionally, several students may be seeking therapy for a similar mental health concern, which may result in a referral to a therapy group. Often the support of other students processing similar issues and learning similar skills can be a beneficial treatment tool.

Sometimes, a student finds themselves in a mental health crisis point and needs immediate intervention.  In these cases, the Center for Wellness staff works to get the student connected to the specific level of mental health care necessary to keep them safe.  Often, these are situations in which harm to self is the primary concern and may require hospital level of care.

When responding to a student in crisis, the clinician will work collaboratively with Residential Life, Campus Police, and local emergency services teams to ensure the student gains the care they need as quickly as possible.  The Center for Wellness has clinicians that serve as counselors-on-call to ensure the ability to respond to students in crisis 24/7.

During college many students seek out the support of a counselor. Some students meet with a counselor once or twice, others choose to continue counseling on a short-term basis. Students initially contact the Center for Wellness for a number of different reasonsincluding: 

• Concerns about important relationships 

• Feelings of anxiety or panic 

• Feelings of depression, hopelessness, or suicidality 

• Disruptions in sleep 

• Sex, sexual identity, or sexual orientation 

• Experienced trauma including but not limited to assault and rape 

• Eating, weight, or body image 

• Drug or alcohol Use 

• Challenging life decisions 

• Performance or creative blocks 

• Motivation and achievement (academic, athletic…) 

• Self-esteem 

• Adjusting to college 

• Adjusting to a new language or culture 

• Coping with microaggressions, racism, homophobia, intolerance 

• Coping with a physical illness, disability, or injury 

• Coping with learning disabilities 

• Continued treatment begun at home 

• To develop and build upon personal strengths 

• Support while working on referrals to long-term or specialized treatment 

The Center for Wellness offers drop-in hours from 11-12pm and 3-4pm on weekdays. During this time you can have a brief meeting with a counselor to discuss your concerns and together determine if ongoing counseling is right for you.  

Counselors will guide you through the process if you wish to begin therapy on campus or can help connect you with resources on and off campus if it is determined that you need different types of support. 

All enrolled Wentworth undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to attend free counseling support services 

To begin the process please call 617-989-4390 or come into the Center for Wellness located in Williston Hall 202. We are open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm. 

You may be asked to answer some questions and fill out some paperwork to initiate the counseling process. You may also be asked to have a brief conversation with a counselor to learn more about your needs and determine a plan to best support you.  

When you first contact the Center for Wellness, you will be asked several questions about possible experiences you may currently be having. This helps us determine next steps. 

If the support you are looking for matches what we can provide, you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire on the computer and to have a 10minute conversation with one of our counselors to talk about your needs to further to develop the best plan for you.  

Once it is determined that counseling in the Center for Wellness is the right fit, you will be scheduled an Intake appointment to discuss your concerns, review your history and determine goals that you would like to work towards.  

Each Monday, the counselors meet as a team to determine best matches. From there you will schedule with the counselor you will be meeting with moving forward.  

If counseling in the Center for Wellness is not the right fit, counselors can help identify and connect you will on and off-campus referrals that can best support you. 

On average, students attend about 8-10 sessions. At that point or sometimes sooner, some students feel they have met their treatment goals and are feel an improvement in symptoms. These individuals might choose to take a break from therapy.  

Others find counseling helpful and would like to continue therapy with an off-campus provider. Our counselors will assist you in finding a new therapist off-campus that is a good fit.  

Some students might benefit from more specialized care off-campus and help with referrals to these services can be provided. 

Yes. While most students benefit from short-term treatment, there are some students that will return to counseling after a period of time due to new circumstances or an increase in symptoms. 

All students can utilize 24/7 counseling support by calling 617-989-4390 and selecting option 2 at any point during their enrollment as students. 

Counselors in the Center for Wellness and the Care Specialists in the Dean of Students office can help identify possible treatment options at any time.  

We collaborate with Optum Student Health for Wentworth students. Contact Optum to check insurance and register as a student if it is your first time receiving treatment at this location. 

For off-campus medication providers you can contact your insurance company.

Please contact the Center for Wellness at 617-989-4390, counseling@wit.edu or speak directly with your counselor 24-48 hours in advance to cancel or reschedule your appointment.

We ask that all students make the commitment to find a time that best suits your busy schedule and attend all scheduled meetings. We are understanding that illness and other events can happen unexpectedly.  

If frequent cancelations, missed appointments or lateness occurs, your counselor may have a conversation with you about finding a new meeting time, reassessing your counseling needs, or determining if another support would better fit your needs and schedule.   

If you are concerned about someone's safety, immediately contact public safety 617-989-4444 or the Center for Wellness during business hours 617-989-4390. If the person you are concerned about is not a Wentworth student or lives off campus, please contact 911. 

Individuals can go to their local hospital emergency room or call 911.  

If it is not a safety emergency and you are looking for general support regarding a friend or student,  

• Utilize Drop-in hours in the Center for Wellness from 11:00 - 12:00 PM and 3:00 - 4:00 PM on weekdays  

• Counselors are available 24/7 by contacting BeWell@WIT by calling 617-989-4390 and selecting option 2. 

• Faculty, staff and students can complete a CARE report (not for safety concerns)

• Contact support lines including Samaritans, Trevor Project, Steve Fund 

If you are concerned about your own safety or the safety of someone else, 

• On-campus, contact public safety 617-989-4444 or the Center for Wellness during business hours 617-989-4390.  

• Individuals can go to their local hospital emergency room (in Boston go to Beth Israel Hospital) or call 911. 

The first step to finding an off-campus provider is determining what insurance you have and what mental health benefits are included in your plan. Determine what the co-pay is and if that is financially feasible for you to maintain.  

You can find providers through your insurance website, the Psychology Today Therapist Finder website, iHope Network or Zencare. You may have to call a few different places, or even “try on” different therapists by meeting with them individually, to find a provider that suits your needs. To help you navigate the process, make an appointment with one of our counselors in the Center for Wellness or the care specialist in the Dean of Students office.  

We recommend seeking an off-campus provider for some of these reasons: 

• You want long-term counseling (more than a semester). 

• You want a local medication provider. 

• You have mental health needs that would be better served by a specialist (eating disorders, complex trauma, and psychosis are some problems that might benefit from specialist care). 

• You prefer a therapist who is not affiliated with Wentworth Institute of Technology. 

• You would like a practice that offers integrated care between a primary care doctor, a psychiatrist, and/or a therapist (this is sometimes a good idea if you have multiple conditions and/or medications that need to be balanced and monitored regularly)