Information for Faculty & Staff

Helpful hints on how to access services and help students:

• Open Hours available daily, Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: During the academic year, we offer walk-in times with professional counselors for students who do not wish to wait for an appointment. These sessions are brief but long enough to make a safety assessment and offer recommendations for treatment. The amount of time spent with a student depends on how urgent their issue is and the number of students who show up during the walk-in time. Open Hours are typically 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. but may change in the rare instance of outreach programming.
• “Distress” vs. “Crisis”: A student is experiencing a crisis if they have already harmed themselves, are intending to harm themselves or another person, or is feeling out of control and can’t promise to stay safe. If the student has already harmed themselves or has been harmed by another, call 911 and then Public Safety (717-867-6111) for immediate assistance. Otherwise, get the student to Shroyer Health Center (Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) for an immediate evaluation. If the student is experiencing distress (i.e., uncontrollable crying due to breaking up or loss, panic due to test anxiety, extreme anger due to an argument), refer the student to Counseling Services to get the next available appointment. Our office is closed on the weekends and after 4:30 p.m. during the week.
• How to refer a student confidentiality? Encourage the student to call (717-867-6232) or email (counselingservices@lvc.edu or linebaug@lvc.edu) our office to schedule an intake. The student will most likely speak to our secretary, Jennifer, to schedule. You may provide the contact information to the student and sit with them while making an appointment, but you cannot schedule for them since they are adults. Due to the legal and ethical rules of confidentiality, we are not able to release information about whether your student has come for their appointment. In cases where you’d like to know if they have followed up on your referral for counseling, we suggest you ask the student directly in private to see whether or not they have initiated contact with us.
• When to walk a student to Shroyer Health Center: Walk students immediately to Shroyer if they are in crisis (at risk of hurting themselves or another) during our office hours. However, if they are in distress, please encourage them to make the next available appt to see a counselor by calling 717-867-6232 or emailing counselingservices@lvc.edu or linebaug@lvc.edu. We may not be able to see a distressed student immediately due to other students’ more pressing concerns at the time; encourage your student to be patient in waiting for the next available opening.
• Strategies for calming the student: Ask them to take three slow deep breaths, talk softly about what’s bothering them or how they are feeling, provide them a tissue or drink of water, suggest a snack if they haven’t eaten or nap if they haven’t slept, connect them to resources on campus, or follow up directly with student due to confidentiality.
• 5050 Peer Helpers: These students are paid, trained and supervised undergraduates who are available at various times throughout the day in Counseling Services to offer support for their fellow distressed students. Unlike the clinical staff, their services are private, but not confidential. They can be reached directly by looking at the posted whiteboard hours outside Shroyer, walking upstairs to their office on the second floor, by calling them directly at 717-868-5050 or emailing 5050@lvc.edu to request a meeting time. Our Peer Helpers cover about 15 hours/week both in the office and over the weekends running social support groups.