Privacy Information

Here are a few basic actions you can take to protect your privacy:

• Do not share your onelogin password with anyone.
• Talk to your provider during your visit about any privacy concerns you may have so that you can explore options around keeping notes for a certain visit private.

Any charge to your student account associated with your visit shows up as “Wellness Center Charge”. No information about the type of care received will be provided. Anyone who has access to your Workday account will be able to see the fees.

Yes! As noted, there are very few exceptions in which the Wellness Center staff can share your information without prior consent. Those exceptions are:

• Legal guardians can access records for minors under the age of 18 without their consent.  There are visits that are exempt from this rule and will still require patient consent even if the patient is under the age of 18.
• The consent requirement may be bypassed in cases of emergency when a patient is unable to give consent.
• Consent requirements may be waived when required by law (such as in the case of a court-ordered request for records or mandated reporting to the county public health department concerning communicable diseases).
• The Wellness Center shares diagnostic information with the student health insurance company for purposes of billing.

The first session is called an Intake appointment. You will be asked to complete important paperwork online, prior to your first appointment. You can expect to meet with a therapist for 45 minutes, at which time the therapist will gather some additional information regarding the main concern for coming in. You will then discuss next steps, including a customizable care plan, which might look like scheduling a follow up to join a workshop, get connected to another department at PLNU (such as The Educational Access Center, Nutritional Consultant, or the Wellness Medical Center), and/or goal-focused individual therapy. We may make recommendations for an off-campus treatment provider if that seems most appropriate.

Students come to the Wellness Counseling Center with a wide range of presenting concerns. Students may want to talk about normal developmental issues, such as identity, academic stress, or relationship concerns. Other students might be dealing with more specific concerns, such as depression, anxiety, sleep disruption, body and eating concerns, trauma and post-traumatic stress symptoms, substance abuse, grief or suicidal thoughts. Other times, students are not sure what brings them into counseling, except that they have not been feeling like themselves, or might notice having difficulty keeping up academically or having trouble sleeping. A therapist can help identify the concern and provide ways of coping and increase self-awareness.

Brief counseling sessions are strictly confidential; no record of counseling is available to other college campus offices or personnel, potential employers, or family without your explicit permission. A Release of Information Form is signed by you for such permission. The sharing of client information, however, among the PLNU Wellness Center Staff for supervision or case consultation is not considered a violation of confidentiality. Confidential information exchanged in counseling may be shared in extenuating circumstances with the Vice President for Student Life & Formation, the Associate Dean of Student Care & Engagement and/or the Dean of Students. California State Law and the ethical standards of psychology and counseling mandate a sharing of confidential information under the following conditions: in instances where there is imminent danger of serious harm to yourself or others, in cases involving physical and/or sexual abuse/neglect of children or senior citizens, by court order, and when you sign a release to request that information be revealed to other individuals or agencies. (Pen. Code § 11165.9; Welf. & Inst. Code § 15630; CAMFT Code of Ethics § 2.1.)

The Wellness Counseling Center cannot provide "notes" for absences from class, as you are expected to schedule counseling sessions around your academic schedule. If you are unable to attend class, please communicate with your professor to make up for missed work at your earliest convenience.

Most of the time, students feel connected with their therapist. There are times, however, when it may just not feel like a good fit. Although it might feel hard, we believe it is best to speak directly with your therapist and let them know you would like to change therapists. Therapists do not get angry or offended when students want to change therapists, though they do find it is helpful to talk about the reasons you want to change to figure out how to best suit your needs. If that feels too hard, let our office know by emailing counselingservices@pointloma.edu or calling (619) 849-3020 to proceed.

The student must call to make the appointment. Appointments cannot be made on a student's behalf.

Most students who seek services at the Wellness Counseling Center are seen for brief, goal focused counseling. Some students will be referred to off campus practitioners when they want or have the need for more long-term, specialized, or intensive treatment than we can provide.

The Wellness Counseling Center, a department of Point Loma Nazarene University, is required by psychological practice standards of care, to keep your counseling records stored safely and confidentially. Your electronic records are kept on a server at PLNU, which meets applicable federal and state standards for security. Storage of any paper records are kept by PLNU in a secure location. All paper files that relate to your treatment are eventually transferred to your electronic record.

All records of counseling sessions with PLNU staff are held in confidence consistent with applicable federal and state law. Records include psychotherapy notes, related material, and scheduling of your attendance at appointments.

The State of California requires that we keep your records for a minimum of 7 (seven) years after the end of counseling services and for minors (17 years and under), we must keep records for 7 (seven) years after the minor turns 18 (eighteen).

The law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and a therapist, and information can only be released to others with your written permission (e.g., the PLNU Authorization for Release of Information). However, PLNU professional staff may be legally permitted or required to disclose client information without prior consent under certain circumstances, including the following:

• A client is likely to harm himself, herself, or others unless protective measures are taken.
• There is a reasonable suspicion of abuse of children, dependent adults or the elderly.
• The client lacks the capacity to care for him or herself.
• There is a valid court order.
• We may also have to release your information if we receive a valid subpoena. If we receive a valid subpoena or a court order, we will make an effort to contact you prior to releasing any information from your case record.

Yes. The Authorization for Release of Information may be revoked by you at any time. The revocation must be in writing, signed by you or your representative, and delivered to: Wellness Counseling Center, Point Loma Nazarene University, 3900 Lomaland Drive, San Diego, CA 92106. The revocation will take effect when PLNU receives it, except to the extent PLNU or others have already relied and acted on it

You can obtain the form from our office at Taylor Hall or you can download the Authorization of Release of Information Form.