CCS Short-term Therapy Model

Counselling & Clinical Services (CCS) provides psychological treatment services to the students at the University of Alberta using a short-term therapy model. The intention is to help students cope with situations that impact their current level of mental health or illness to assist them to function successfully during their University experience.

The length of counselling varies, and the number and frequency of sessions are determined by each student's unique situation. Some problems can be addressed in one or two sessions, while others need a number of sessions spaced over a period of time. We do not automatically see students on a weekly basis.

Some students do have mental health or illness issues that are better addressed through weekly sessions or long-term therapy. Although we do our best to identify these cases at intake, and then navigate them to a more appropriate resource, sometimes this longer-term context doesn't arise until the middle of a course of therapy. If this occurs, we seek to facilitate a referral to a community provider while working to stabilize the student while maintaining continuity of care.