UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services reduced the number of annual individual counseling appointments per student earlier this month, after officials said they saw a large increase in demand for the center’s services last quarter.
Students were able to have up to 12 appointments with Counseling and Psychological Services.
The center reduced the number to eight individual counseling appointments following an influx in students requesting appointments in the fall, said Elizabeth Gong-Guy, director of Counseling and Psychological Services.
UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services also offers students up to 12 psychiatric appointments annually and unlimited group counseling, Gong-Guy said.
The services are free to students with the UC Student Health Insurance Plan and $15 per session for all registered UCLA students. The center does not turn away students who are unable to pay for sessions, Gong-Guy said.
One month into fall quarter the center received an average of 22 calls a day, most of which were first-time visitors, Gong-Guy said.
“With that many calls there was no way to have availability that would allow for the amount of students that wanted to be seen,” she said.
The spike in students seeking out counseling services is not limited to UCLA, Gong-Guy said. Though CAPS officials cannot identify the reason for the spike, she said the trend is prevalent at college counseling centers nationally. She added that she is unsure when and if the demand will even out.
The center is supported by student fees.
Last spring, CAPS requested and received additional funding because the center was short-staffed, Gong-Guy said.
In June, the Student Fee Advisory Committee approved the counseling center’s request, said Meghedi Babakhanian, chairwoman of the Student Fees Advisory Committee. Babakhanian said she couldn’t disclose the amount of funds the center requested because different programs compete for funding through the committee.
She added that the committee approved CAPS’ request because the money was going toward supporting students.
Because the spike in student demand for the center’s services was unexpected, the center was unable to request more funding from the Student Fee Advisory Committee in time for this quarter.
However, the center would have asked for more money had they anticipated the increase in demand, she said.
Instead, the center chose to lower the number of individual counseling sessions to provide more access for more students seeking help, Gong-Guy said.
Jamie Gravell, a graduate student in the School of Education and Information Studies, said she uses the counseling services at the center and understands the change but wishes she knew about it earlier in the year.
“I don’t remember being informed about the change, which makes me upset,” Gravell said. “But I get it; it’s a practicality matter.”
Students will not be turned away after their eighth session if they still seek help, Gong-guy said.
After eight appointments, any continued treatment – at the UCLA counseling center or another institution – is determined on a case-by-case basis for students in profound crisis, Gong-Guy added.
She said that most students – more than 92 percent – come for fewer than six individual sessions on average, and she does not expect most students to be impacted by the reduction in allotted appointments.
Email Cashell at ycashell@media.ucla.edu.