Getting Started

Fall 2021 update:  We have filled all of the spaces for new clients in our counselors'  schedules for this semester.  While we cannot take on any new long-term clients at this time, we may be able to help you in other ways. We are offering initial consults and assistance finding therapy in the community or online. We also help you get started with using your insurance, or finding financial help with the cost of therapy. To get help with a referral, or to request that we contact you in November about possible openings in 2022, please use the information provided in Step 1 below to let us know. 

Step 1: Contact Us

Email or call us at 434-982-2252. Be sure to give us all of the following information:

• First name
• Last name
• UVA computing ID
• Telephone number where we can leave a confidential voice message 
• Times when we can call you back to speak with you by phone

Please note:

• If you do not leave this information in full—especially your phone number--we will be unable to call you back.
• If your voicemail is full or is not set up with a greeting to ensure we have reached the right person, we will be unable to leave you a message. Please address this before you call us.
• If you are in crisis, please do not leave a message. Students should call CAPS at 434-243-5150 to speak to the on-call crisis clinician. Other options if you are in crisis are listed here. 

Step 2: Phone Screen

We will call you within five business days of receiving your email or voice mail in our office. We need to speak wtih you briefly to gather some basic information and answer your initial questions. If you are able to talk when we call you, we can do this then. If not, we will leave you a message asking for a time to talk. At the end of this conversation, depending on how we can best meet your need in a timely way, we will either provide you with referrals, or add you to our wait list.

Step 3: Initial Consultation

If you are placed on our wait list at the end of our phone conversation wtih you in Step 2, we will contact you again when one of our therapists next has an opening. We will set up an initial consultation appointment for a conversation focused on what led you to seek counseling with us. This appointment will also provide an opportunity to assess whether counseling here feels like the right fit.

If you determine individual counseling with your assigned counselor feels like the right path, over the first 2-3 appointments, we will help you identify goals for your work, as well as appropriate services that may also support you.

It occasionally happens that a prospective client needs help not available at the Women’s Center. In those cases, we will help connect you to other services. The Women’s Center does not provide walk-ins, crisis counseling, medication, psychological testing, or 24-hour mental health coverage. We collaborate with CAPS, UVA Outpatient Psychiatry at Northridge, Region Ten Community Services Board, the UVA Sheila Johnson Center and the Ainsworth Clinic, as well as community therapists throughout Virginia in referring to resources outside the Women’s Center.

Confidentiality

Information you disclose in clinical sessions belongs to you. With only a few exceptions, it is confidential and may not be released to anyone outside of Counseling Services without your written permission. The Women’s Center adheres to professional, legal and ethical guidelines established by the Virginia Board of Counseling, state and federal law, and the professional associations to which its counselors belong. Legal and ethical exceptions to confidentiality are provided to clients in writing and will be discussed in your first counseling session.