Counseling Services

Counseling Services at Russell Sage College

We provide short-term supportive counseling services free of charge for currently enrolled part-time and full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Students who require more long-term or intensive services will be referred to community providers.

Appointments are preferred for all counseling sessions, however students who walk-in concerning a crisis will be seen by the next available counselor.

Location:
The Wellness Center is located in Kellas Hall on the Troy campus and on the bottom floor of Kahl Campus Center on the Albany campus.

Contact Us:
By phone, you can reach us in Troy at 518-244-2261 or in Albany at 518-292-1917.

You can also schedule an appointment by emailing: troywellnesscenter@sage.edu or albanywellnesscenter@sage.edu

Our hours of operation are:
Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the academic school year.
The Wellness Center is closed for lunch from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Counseling Services are not available during school breaks or during the summer months. See the academic calendar for specific availability.

No information about students seen for counseling can be shared with anyone outside the Wellness Center without the students written consent.

Exceptions to this policy include:
When a student presents a clear and imminent danger to him/herself or others; when there is suspicion of child or elder abuse; and in the event of a lawsuit in which records are subpoenaed.

A Note to Parents:
We recognize that parents are the best experts on your student’s moods and behaviors and that you may, at one time or another, have concerns in this area. Although counseling staff cannot confirm or deny that your student is in counseling or share any confidential information with you, we want to hear your concerns and will make every effort to utilize your information in trying to be helpful to your student.

Russell Sage College Wellness Center Counseling Services also provide the following:

Crisis intervention
Consultations to faculty, staff, students, and parents
Service coordination and referrals to on-campus and off-campus services
Problem-focused sessions
Referrals for medication management, specialized care, and long-term care

Coming to counseling is not a sign of weakness. Most people seek counseling when their usual ways of handling problems aren’t working well for some reason. They may have found that talking to friends or family about their problem is not the best option. Many students who come feel upset in some way, depressed, angry, confused, lonely or overwhelmed. These upsetting feelings may have been set off by a number of situations including:

Stress
Relationship difficulties or issues
Family problems
Depression or anxiety
Emotional regulation
Eating disorders and body image issues
Homesickness
Alcohol and drug issues
Time management problems and procrastination
Difficulty sleeping
Grief and loss
Coping with a traumatic experience
Self-esteem and self-confidence
Sexual orientation or identity issues
ADHD

There are many other reasons people come for counseling. Counseling is a chance to learn more about yourself; learn how to resolve personal problems that are getting in the way of being a successful student; talk with someone not personally involved with a situation who can give feedback from a different perspective; and learn new skills and ways of looking at situations to become more capable at solving problems in the future.

After hours (students) may contact these community resources:

For additional resources please visit our page on After-Hours care.

Warmlines: A warmline, (also known as a helpline or hopeline), is a phone number people can call to get support and learn about available mental health and recovery resources. These are often staffed by people with lived experience of mental health issues to provide peer support and information.

NYS Warm Lines

Albany County CAP Careline:
518-427-5056
7 days a week, from 5pm-1am

Hotlines: A crisis hotline (also known as a lifeline), is a phone number people can call to get immediate emergency telephone counseling.

Dial 211 24/7 for help.
The 211 service statewide will connect anyone, free of charge to a warm or crisis line or to any health or human service. You do NOT need minutes on your phone to contact 211, and if you tell them that you don’t have minutes on your cell phone, they will TRY to connect you directly to the service you require.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline connects you to trained crisis counselors 24/7. They can help anyone thinking about suicide, struggling with substance use, experiencing a mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. You can also call, text or chat 988 if you are worried about someone you care about who may need crisis support.

Screen Yourself for FREE!

Mental Health Screenings
(Alcohol Use, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Eating Disorder, PTSD)

Anonymous and Confidential**
The purpose of providing students with mental health screenings is to enable students to see whether their concerns may need further attention. The screenings also are used to indicate a possible need for services, including mental health counseling.

**All mental health screenings are completely anonymous. (Anonymous means that there is no way that anyone can identify that you have taken a mental health screening. No identifying information is provided to the Wellness Center.)

Alcohol Use
It is common knowledge that college students are at a high risk to use and possibly abuse alcohol. College culture normalizes this experience for students. However, 31% of students met the criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6% met the criteria for alcohol dependence (collegedrinkingprevention.gov, 2010). Moreover, 25% of students report experiencing difficulty with academic tasks as a result of their alcohol consumption, due to higher incidences of missing class, falling behind and generally performing poorly with academic tasks (collegedrinkingprevention.gov, 2010).
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is a common issue for college students. This is due to the increased amount of stress and pressure college students often experience. According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (2012), approximately 40 million adults suffer from anxiety disorders in the United States and 75% of those adults experience their first episode by age 22. Moreover, 80% of college students report experiencing daily stress (Anxiety Disorders Association of America, 2012).
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depression, is a type of mental illness that involves a disorder of affect or mood. The person’s mood usually swings between overly “high” or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, with periods of normal mood in between. Symptoms include extreme irritability and distractibility, excessive “high” or euphoric feelings, increased energy, activity, restlessness, racing thoughts, rapid speech, decreased need for sleep, unrealistic beliefs in one’s abilities and powers, increased sexual drive, abuse of drugs or alcohol, reckless behavior such as spending sprees, rash business decisions, or erratic driving, and in severe cases, hallucinations and loss of reason
Depression
Depression is also a common issue among college students. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2012), 3o% of college students felt so depressed that they experience difficulty functioning. Therefore, if you feel as though you may be experiencing symptoms of depression, it may be beneficial to utilize the screening tool to determine whether mental health services could improve your well-being.
Eating Disorders
There are much higher numbers of college students having eating disorders when compared to the general population; 25% of college students experience symptoms of anorexia, bulimia or compulsive overeating compared to 5% of the general population (National Institute of Mental Health, 2012.). Therefore, due to the possibility of both mental and physical health consequences as a result of eating disorders, it is important to understand the severity of the disorder and whether it could be beneficial to receive additional services to overcome this issue.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder affects people who have experienced a traumatic event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents or personal assaults, such as rape. Symptoms include nightmares and flashbacks, difficulty sleeping and feelings of detachment/estrangement. Symptoms can be persistent and severe enough to significantly impair a patient’s daily life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Appointments are preferred for all counseling sessions, however students who walk-in concerning a crisis will be seen by the next available counselor.

Troy Campus:

Kellas Hall, 1st Floor
518-244-2261
troywellnesscenter@sage.edu

Albany Campus:

Kahl Campus Center, Lower Level
518-292-1917
albanywellnesscenter@sage.edu

The Wellness Center is located in Kellas Hall on the Troy campus and on the bottom floor of Kahl Campus Center on the Albany campus.

Our hours of operation are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the academic school year. We are closed for lunch from 12 p.m.-1 p.m.

Counseling Services are not available during school breaks or during the summer months.

Services are provided in person but virtual support can be offered on a case-by-case basis. Students who require 100% virtual counseling services may be referred.

Russell Sage College’s Wellness Center Counseling Services provides short-term individual counseling free of charge for currently enrolled part-time and full-time undergraduate and graduate students.

Individual counseling
On-campus and off-campus referrals
Referrals for medication management, specialized care, and long-term care

Counseling services are provided by a staff of New York State licensed mental health professionals and supervised graduate-level interns.

There is a session limit of eight sessions a semester at the clinician’s discretion. The need for more sessions can be considered on a case-by-case basis.

We provide 45-minute counseling sessions.

Counseling Services are not available during school breaks or during the summer months.

During your first session, your counselor will ask you questions about any current issues, pertinent background information, and your treatment goals.

This session is typically 45-60 minutes in length.

There is no charge for counseling services at the Wellness Center.

It is strongly recommended that all students keep a copy of their health insurance card with them for referrals to outside providers.

There are many reasons why students seek counseling services. The most common reasons are academic stress, relationship issues, family problems, depression, anxiety, and alcohol or drug problems.