Mission & Confidentiality
Vision
The vision of the SCC at QU is for students to be empowered psychologically, socially and academically.
Mission
The mission of the SCC at QU is to provide professional psychological support services to students including, behavioral, social, spiritual and emotional problems that interfere with their personal, interpersonal, and academic lives. The SCC is committed to supporting students to explore their capacities and potential, to enable them to pursue academic success and attain personal growth, through counseling, psychoeducation, prevention, outreach, assessment, crisis intervention, and referral services. The SCC
also acts as a resource for faculty and staff to support with their facilitation with students, through consultation, educational programs, and prevention strategies.
Objectives:
1. Promote the psychological, emotional and social well-being of students.
2. Enhance students’ academic and personal level of functioning.
3. Promote the successful engagement of QU staff and faculty with the students.
4. Foster and promote a supportive setting through counseling.
5. Provide psychoeducation to the students, staff, and faculty of QU .
6. Promote student safety and wellbeing through crisis intervention, prevention programs and outreach.
7. To serve as a resource for students, staff and faculty, regarding counseling, referral services, and outreach programming.
7. Publish research findings in regional and international forums.
8. Utilize community resources when the SCC is not furnished to meet the level of care the student needs.
Policy
1. All QU students have the right to access and benefit from the counseling services at the SCC. Counseling services should not be imposed on the students. The student have to exercise their free will in requesting and receiving the service.
2. Staff/Faculty may refer any QU student to the SCC for academic, behavioral, or other issues in which they believe is affecting the student’s mental well-being. The student is free to accept or decline the referral.
3. SCC does not offer intervention for all emotional or psychological disorders, particularly those disorders that are chronic, severe, or involving the high risk of harm to their self, others, or property. This includes severe personality or psychotic disorders. Clients needing extended treatment or specialized services beyond those offered at the SCC will be referred to competent resources in the Doha community.
4. Each student is entitled to privacy in his/her engagement with a counselor. The sessions have to be conducted in a quiet and comfortable surrounding which protects the students’ privacy. All students’ information shall be kept confidential and should not be communicated in any form to any person outside the center. This includes acknowledging a student was, or is, a client of the center. All counseling center staff should abide by this rule including administrative assistants and student employees. Information can only be released when a request is made for release of that information by appropriately executed written consent of the student. In urgent situations, witnessed and properly documented verbal consent may be appropriate.
5. The confidentiality agreement is violated in cases where students pose a threat to self and others. And in case this information is mandated by law.
6. Student and counselor relationship is governed by the professional code of ethics governing the work of the student counselors, as adapted from the American Counselor association (ACA) and American Psychological Association (APA).
7. All attending SCC counselors have to be under clinical supervision by a professional certified supervisor.
8. Any counseling contact between students and the SCC staff by person or by phone should be properly documented. Additionally, any clinical consultations and supervision pertaining to the case should be kept in the counselees file.
