Counseling Services

Counseling Services will be closed from December 23, 2024 through January 3, 2025. We will offer limited services from January 6, 2025 through January 20, 2025. If you need help scheduling during this time please contact conselingcenter@holyfamily.edu.

College can be a demanding and stressful experience. Balancing academics, athletics, work, family, and a social life is challenging and often requires the development of new ways of relating, thinking, and behaving. Sometimes adjusting to these changes requires additional support. Counseling can assist you in learning and applying new skills to use in everyday life. Counselors are available at Counseling Services to help you with your concerns or refer you to someone who can provide you with additional assistance. We offer bilingual (Spanish) counseling services as well as being LGBTQIAS2+ affirming.

Appointments are available Mon-Fri from 8am to 4pm. Typically appointments will take up to an hour but can vary in length. Please arrive on time for your scheduled appointment and prepare by thinking about what you would like to discuss, what your goals are for the session, and by participating.

To schedule an Initial Intake Assessment please use the drop down menu below.  If you are unable to find a day/time that works for you please call us at 267-341-3222 or email counselingcenter@holyfamily.edu.  

Each semester students seeking services complete an initial intake assessment session.  This session focuses on understanding the student's mental health concerns and making recommendations about what support/treatment could be helpful.

Schedule a Counseling Service

Please click the link below of the person you would like to schedule with:

Sr. Faustina, CSFN (Nicole Ferko, MA)

Diomarys Nunez, LPC, PMH-C 

Anne Spencer, LPC

If you are having difficulty scheduling contact us at:

counselingcenter@holyfamily.edu    
267-341-3222.

Leave your name, student ID #, and the best number to contact you back.

What to expect after booking the Initial Intake Assessment

You will receive notice confirming your booking and be sent forms to complete. These forms are required and assist us in preparing for your appointment. Your first appointment is an Initial Intake Assessment Session with a licensed psychologist or mental health counselor who will listen to your concerns and determine the best plan of action with you. This session typically takes 45 min but could take up to 2 sessions to determine the type and level of support that is best suited for you.

During this session, the Counselor will discuss treatment recommendations and answer any questions you have. The process is collaborative and based on the information you provide to the Counselor.

Take a Check-Up from the Neck-Up

Mental health is key to your overall well-being. It is helpful to check up on your mental health periodically.

Taking a screening will help you determine if you or someone you care about should connect with a mental health professional. Screenings are free, anonymous, and confidential! Take a checkup from your neck up with ULifeline's online evaluation tool.

Counseling Services Mission

Counseling Services mission is to promote and support mental health and emotional wellness and enhance students’ psychological, social, and emotional development. This happens through awareness and prevention education and skill development that allows students to better self-reflect, problem solve, cope with difficult emotions, and establish healthy relationships and interactions with themselves and others. 

Scope of Service

Counseling Services at Holy Family University provides free and confidential services to currently enrolled, full-time students as well as part-time students at the discretion of the center’s director. We provide services that are central to the overall mission of the university. These services are short-term in nature and aimed at helping students be successful academically and develop to their fullest potential as people.

Services focus on developing students’ mental health and emotional wellness through education and coping skills enhancement through better understanding their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and relationships and making healthy changes that will impact their life in a positive way.

We strive to offer these services in an atmosphere that is welcoming and comfortable for all students, regardless of race, sex, gender identity, ethnic background, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or ability. Decisions about the services that each student is eligible for and receives, are made jointly by the student and their Counselor and based solely on treatment needs.

All services provided by the center are free and confidential.

If a student is currently in treatment with a mental health provider, they should not consider transferring their treatment to a Counselor at our center without first calling and setting up a consultation between their current treatment provider and one of Counselors. Counseling Services may not have comparable services to the ones they are currently receiving or match the level of on-going care that is needed. 

Services for Faculty and Staff

The Counseling Center provides consultation to faculty and staff who want to discuss student mental health issues and referral assistance. The center also provides training to faculty and staff related to caring for and referring students in distress. Additionally, the center provides programming related to mental health and wellness topics. Please complete the Request for Training and Presentation Form to further discuss a potential collaboration.

The center does not however provide counseling services to Holy Family University faculty, staff, or administrators. Legal and ethical guidelines prohibit "dual relationships" and thus it would be inappropriate for Counseling Center staff to provide professional services to colleagues.

Counseling Center staff are willing to provide referral resources of broader scope to individuals upon request. However, Holy Family University provides a confidential employee assistance program for full-time and part-time eligible employees with life coaching and counseling including but not limited to mental health and well-being assistance that includes drug and alcohol counseling. For more information, employees can refer to the Holy Family Benefits Portal, or contact human resources for guidance.

In addition, enrolled benefit eligible employees can take advantage of the confidential mental health benefits available through the health insurance provided by PAISBOA Health Benefit Trust, and administered by Independence Blue Cross, by contacting 1-800-688-1911. Additionally, the Campus Minister is available as a resource and may be contacted at 267-341-3261.

Other external resources include

Employees can call “First Call for Help” which is United Way’s free confidential referral service for 3,000 local health and human services agencies. Representatives are available for phone consultations Monday-Friday, 8:30AM- 5:00PM. Also a message service is available evenings, holidays, and weekends: Contact 211 via phone, or text your zip code to 898-211 for assistance.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) National Helpline is available at 1-800-662- HELP (4357), (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) or TTY: 1-800- 487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.