Hours of Operation and Contact Information: UNK Counseling is open Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm. Our office number is 308-865-8248 and we are located in the Memorial Student Affairs Building office room 144. An after-hour emergency counselor is available to students at the same number.
Please call the UNK Counseling office at 308-865-8248 to make an appointment between the hours of 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday. The office assistant will ask you some basic questions about the reason for the visit. Please click on "The First Appointment" tab on our website for details about the first appointment. There is a $25 charge for a missed appointment and a $25 charge for cancellations less than 24 hours ahead of the appointment time.
During the first appointment , the counselor will spend about 30 minutes with you to gather information, assess your situation and help determine the next steps for your concerns (please note: we highly recommend you complete the intake paperworkand the Informed Consent prior to the first appointment). Should you decide to pursue counseling on an on-going basis, you and the counselor will decide on a course of treatment and the frequency of appointments, depending on your needs. The clinical counseling team uses a short-term counseling approach so as to serve all of the students requesting services. UNK Counseling has relationships with community mental health providers, should long-term counseling be a better fit for the student's needs.
UNK Counseling is by appointment only, UNLESS you or someone you know is having thoughts of hurting yourself or someone else, in which case we will make our best effort to see you as soon as possible for a safety assessment. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8am-5 pm. An on-call counselor is available after hours for life threatening emergencies. To contact the on-call counselor, please call the UNK Counseling office at 308-865-8248 and follow the prompts on the voice message to connect with the on-call counselor.
Life can get complicated at times and sometimes we can work through those things on our own or with support from family and friends. Sometimes, issues can feel too private, complicated, or overwhelming to share with someone we know. Talking with a mental health counselor can provide a safe, neutral, and confidential setting to help you explore your concerns and offer support as you find the path that works best for you. Take a free, anonymous, confidential screening to help you better understand your symptoms. Please read the Mental Health Guide for College Students for more information.
Any information you share with the counselor in session is strictly confidential and is not a part of your academic record. Confidentiality is an ethical responsibility of each counselor to create a trusting and therapeutic relationship between you and the counselor. There are some exceptions to confidentiality, in which the counselor would need to contact the appropriate agency in order to protect you or someone else from potential harm. Exceptions to confidentiality include:
if you are an imminent danger to yourself/others
abuse of elderly
abuse of a child (physical or sexual)
sexual assault of a person under the age of 16
*Please note, if you are under 18 years old, you must have a parent or guardian complete the Parental/Guardian Consent Form for Treatment.
More information about our services and limitations to confidentiality can be found in the Informed Consent Document.
If you are concerned about a friend, please let them know about our services. The first step in getting help is to reach out. We are an appointment only clinic, but will do our best to see a student in crisis as soon as we can. If you want to consult with a counselor about your concerns, please call our office at 308-865-8248 and a counselor will call you back when they are available. You may also submit your concerns to the UNK CARE Team.
While certain mental health diagnoses can support the need for disability accommodations, students should not pursue services at UNK Counseling for the sole purpose of obtaining a letter of support for disability services. We do not provide letters of support at the first appointment and cannot provide documentation regarding a student's mental health without a history of services at UNK Counseling. If necessary, students are encouraged to seek letters of support from individuals directly involved in their care such as past or present psychological/psychiatric providers, medical doctors, or family members.
