Counseling Services

The Hamre Center offers short-term individual counseling services. The goal of individual counseling is to talk through mental health concerns and help students heal, grow, and move toward more satisfying and meaningful lives. It is an opportunity to explore feelings, thoughts, behaviors, beliefs and build self-awareness, to receive support and guidance, to consider solutions to life’s challenges, and to set personal goals to work toward change. You will work with a trained mental health counselor in a safe, caring, and confidential environment.

Note: Many concerns resolve or improve with short-term therapy while other more complex or on-going concerns may require off campus, specialized, or long-term counseling. 

At your initial meeting, you will meet with your counselor for 45 minutes to discuss your current concerns and relevant history. Together, you will come up with next steps for your care based on your needs and available resources (i.e. short-term individual counseling, group counseling, off campus support, other recommendations, or you may decide no further care is needed). If the next step is short-term individual therapy at the Hamre Center, a follow-up meeting will be scheduled (usually in 2 – 3 weeks). If the next step is off campus counseling, then your counselor or the Hamre Center Care Manager will work with you to find resources in the local community. 

To schedule a one-on-one individual counseling appointment, you can: 1. Fill out the Request an Initial Individual Counseling Appointment form, 2. Call our front desk at 651-696-6275. 3. Stop by our office in the Leonard Center,  4. Email us at [email protected], or 5. Contact a counselor via email or phone directly. 

Same Day Appointments are individual counseling appointments with a mental health counselor that can be scheduled within 24 hours of the listed appointment time, if available. These appointments are reserved for students that are in distress, seeking immediate care within 1 – 2 days, and are unable to wait to schedule an individual counseling appointment (see Individual Counseling). The goal of these appointments is to focus on the immediate needs that are bringing someone in. A counselor will offer support, help problem solve, identify additional resources, and help brainstorm next steps. Same Day appointments are available to new or established students seeking mental health care at the Hamre Center. 

To reserve a Same Day Appointment, you can: 1.  Call our front desk at 651-696-6275 or 2. Stop by our office in the Leonard Center. If you leave a voicemail requesting a Same Day Appointment, you will receive a confirmation email once the appointment is scheduled. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact our office again.  

Press 2 is a free, 24/7 telephone counseling service with a licensed mental health counselor. You can call Press 2 from anywhere in the world and for a wide range of concerns from routine support to mental health emergencies. Some concerns include, but are not limited to: anxiety and depression, situational stress, suicidal ideation, grief and loss, family concern, difficulty sleeping, and relationship distress.

If you want to speak with a counselor right now, simply call the Hamre Center at 651-696-6275 and press option 2 when prompted to be connected. If it is during business hours, the front staff may answer the phone. In that case, please ask the front staff to connect you with Press 2.  

Deaf, Hard of Hearing or Speech Limited Callers can access these numbers through MN Relay 711.

Counseling groups are a powerful tool for growth and change. The intention of counseling groups is to help students address mental health concerns, connect with others, and learn new tools and skills with the guidance of 1 – 2 licensed counselors. The groups may focus on a particular theme or concern or may be tailored to a specific group of individuals. Groups range from unstructured to structured, typically last 4 – 8 weeks, and have between 5-10 members. Members are encouraged to offer alternative perspectives, support, encouragement and feedback while in a safe and confidential environment. Some groups require an individual 15 – 30 minute meeting with a counselor before starting to make sure it’s a good fit. 

To schedule your initial 15-30 minute counseling group meeting, please email the facilitator of the group directly.

Care Coordination is the process of helping you access a range of different services that would best meet your needs. The care coordinator will talk with you about what you are looking for to determine the most appropriate type of care. The care coordinator can help you find and connect with an off campus mental health counselor, a psychiatrist, ADHD testing, eating disorder treatment, substance use disorder treatment, outpatient and inpatient mental health programs, and more. The care coordinator can also assist with insurance and financial questions, offer you a list of referrals, and can even help you make phone calls to schedule your appointments.

Note: If you know that you would like services beyond the scope of the Hamre Center or are unsure what services would be appropriate for your needs, you can schedule an appointment with the care coordinator versus scheduling an initial individual counseling appointment.

To schedule a Care Coordination appointment, you can: 1.Call our front desk at 651-696-6275, 2. Stop by our office in the Leonard Center, 3. Email us at [email protected] or 4. Contact our Care Coordinator, Jon Vaughan-Fier (he/him) directly at [email protected].

Care Coordination for Gender Affirming Care: Looking for gender affirming care in the community and would like additional support? We can partner with you to refer you to larger gender care clinics that offer mental health services, hormone care, surgery, voice and communication therapy, dermatological procedures, hair removal, reproductive and sexual health, and more. We are actively trying to grow our list of places that Macalester students have had success receiving gender affirming care in our local community. If you have specific resource needs, you can reach out directly to mental health counselor and Care Coordinator Jen Moore (they/them) at [email protected].

Off Campus Individual Counseling Resources: Hamre Center for Health and Wellness has partnered with MiResource to help students easily and confidentially find the right off campus mental health provider. You can search by your specific care needs, insurance/payment options, provider identity, and location.

Let’s Talk is a drop-in service that takes counselors with varying identities and positionalities out of the Hamre Center and into the campus community with the goal of providing easier access for students who might not find their way to us. These are confidential and informal consultations, which can be anonymous. No appointment necessary. Just drop in during the scheduled times to sign up for a 15-minute time slot. 

Let’s Talk is not a substitute for formal counseling and does not constitute mental health treatment, but counselors can listen to specific problems, provide support, help explore solutions, and give information about other resources. Let’s Talk is not designed to provide crisis support.

In our efforts to better support our First-Generation, BIPOC, International and/or LGBTQIA+ students, we created a space to collect information and resources to support you in navigating your college experience at Macalester. We are committed to continuing to listen, learn, and advocate with you and for you. We hope to create and foster an environment that is inclusive, safe, and welcoming for our historically marginalized students on campus. We encourage and invite feedback about our work with you, successes, and areas for improvement. Read Hamre Center’s statement on racism and anti-racist work. 

In addition to Urgent and Emergency Care Resources, the Hamre Center offers a 24/hr telephone counseling support service called “Press 2.” To talk with a counselor right now, please call the Hamre Center at 651-696-6275 . If the Hamre Center is open, ask to be connected to “Press 2.” If it’s after hours, you will be prompted to press #2 to be connected with a licensed counselor.  Deaf, Hard of Hearing or Speech Limited Callers can access this service through MN Relay 711.

Yes! Sometimes finding the most appropriate help for you may mean finding resources outside the Hamre Center. You can either schedule with our Care Coordinator (see above for more info) or utilize our provider search tool for help finding a provider that meets your specific needs and insurance coverage.

All members of our medical provider staff can meet with you and either continue medications you started at home, initiate new prescriptions, or talk to you about ways to integrate medical and counseling care for your mental health. Learn more about mental health medication services. 

Counseling appointments are hybrid, meaning they are offered via telehealth on a secure Zoom videoconferencing platform or in person, masked at the Hamre Center. We have one private space available in the Hamre Center for you to utilize for a telehealth appointment if needed. Please contact the front desk (651-696-6275) if you would like to reserve that room for your Hamre Center counseling appointment. Private spaces are only available in the Hamre Center 10:00am-12:00pm or 1:00pm-5:00pm. Students can also reserve a room on campus using Macalester’s Room Reservation System.