Confidentiality

The SCS is confidential. No information about a student’s counseling can be released without the student’s signed permission. No information shared by the student will be disclosed to anyone, not faculty or staff members, administrators, parents or other students. No counseling information is included in a student’s academic record; and when students leave Downstate, their participation in counseling remains private.

Please note that there are legal exceptions to confidentiality that require counselors to take responsible action. These generally involve situations of life-or-death danger, and they are explained to all students before counseling begins.

Effective counseling requires an atmosphere of trust. If students have any questions about confidentiality, they should raise them at the beginning of their first meeting.

Eligibility

As part of the Student Health Service, all matriculated Downstate students (College of Medicine, Nursing, Health Related Professions, School of Graduate Studies and the Master of Public Health Program) are eligible for free and confidential counseling and psychological services at the SCS.