UMM seeks to provide its students the best care and resources while pursuing their studies.
The mission of the University of Maine at Machias Health Services is to promote, maintain and improve the health and well being of the UMM community. The Health Center provides students with confidential clinical services and health promotion in a caring, cost-effective and convenient manner. Health Services strive to enhance and support the building of a healthy community thereby strengthening student and employee success.
The Student Health Clinic, located in Sennett Hall, is a walk-in clinic providing an array of primary health care services for UMM students including care for acute illness or injury, help in managing chronic health problems and preventive health care. In addition, referrals can be made to other local providers and Down East Community Hospital for lab work, x-rays, or management of more complex chronic health issues.
The Counseling Center at UMM is committed to providing services for students to help develop improved coping skills to address emotional, interpersonal, and academic concerns.
The Counseling Center is located in Powers Hall and provides evaluation, assessment, and therapy. The Counseling Center offers primarily short-term counseling, and referrals to the community when students could benefit from longer-term therapy. Services are free to currently enrolled full-time students of UMM. We ensure strict confidentiality. The Counseling Center provides individual, couples, and group counseling.
Initial Appointments can be made by calling 207-255-1343. Appointments for future meetings will be made directly by you with the counselor. Your first appointment will provide you with an opportunity to talk confidentially about your immediate concerns and some of the reasons you scheduled the appointment. Together you and the counselor will evaluate what services or resources will be most helpful for you. Some students find that talking with a counselor once is sufficient to resolve an immediate concern. If further services would be beneficial, these will be discussed and you and the counselor will create a plan. At that time, you may schedule additional meetings or receive a referral to another community resource.
If you have an urgent situation after hours or on weekends, please contact The Helpline at 1 (888) 568-1112 to speak with a crisis worker. In an emergency, call 911 for critical intervention.
If concerns exceed the scope of the Center’s short-term counseling focus, or if recommended resources are not available within the university, your counselor will refer you to private therapy or other appropriate community resources. The cost of such therapy is not included in your student fees. Student health insurance, or other comparable health insurance plans, may reimburse part of the cost of private therapy. Your counselor will discuss additional possible options to help defray costs if a referral for private therapy is made.
For many students, confidentiality is a critical concern. Please note that while services are confidential there are some limits. By state law, information may only be released without written consent under the following conditions:
- Serious harm or threat of harm to self or others.
- Reasonable suspicion of child abuse, or abuse of an elder or an incapacitated person.
- If there is a valid court order which requires disclosure of information.
- If a client or guardian has voluntarily agreed in writing to the release of information.
- In defense against legal action or formal complaint which a client makes before a court or regulatory board.
- During supervisory consultation.
Should any of the above situations arise, your counselor will speak with you regarding these issues unless doing so would present undue threat of harm to the client or clinician.
We are pleased that you have come to use our counseling services. On this, your initial visit, we would like to give you some information about the services we provide and procedures we use. Our goal is to work in cooperation with you to help address your academic or personal concerns while at the University of Maine at Machias. Please feel free to call us, and if you have any questions after reading this information be sure to discuss them with your counselor.
Course of Treatment
Course of treatment will be dependent on individual client needs. In order to ensure that services best fit the needs of each client, services will include the development of goals and treatment planning in collaboration with clients. Following your initial appointment, you and your counselor will discuss which service(s) best fit your situation. Intake, assessment, and treatment will include an examination of each client’s environmental, relational and internal health, with specific attention to problematic areas, and the exceptions to said problems which may offer insight into areas to strengthen in order to achieve therapeutic goals. Services are intended to be short-term (less than six months), but duration and frequency will be determined in collaboration with each client. Certain situations require long-term interventions that we cannot provide. In these cases, we will discuss other treatment options with you. Any need for extended individual counseling and/or changes in the services provided to you will be evaluated periodically. These issues will be discussed between you and your counselor.
Confidentiality
Information shared by you in individual or couples counseling sessions, or through testing, will be treated with the strictest confidentiality. Likewise, all participants in group counseling are asked to keep information shared by group members confidential. While information will not be released by Counseling Services staff outside the Counseling Office without your written permission, this counselor may confer with a clinical supervisor to be sure to make appropriate referrals and to improve the quality of services to you. The exceptions to the rules of confidentiality, as required by state law, include the following situations:
- Serious harm or threat of harm to self or others.
- Reasonable suspicion of child abuse, or abuse of an elder or an incapacitated person.
- If there is a valid court order which requires disclosure of information.
- If a client or guardian has voluntarily agreed in writing to the release of information.
- In defense against legal action or formal complaint which a client makes before a court or regulatory board.
- During supervisory consultation.
Should any of the above situations arise, your counselor will speak with you regarding these issues unless doing so would present undue threat of harm to the client or clinician.
Email and Phone Policy
Electronic mail (e-mail) is not a safe means to transmit confidential information. If e-mail is used as a means to communicate there is an inherent risk to confidentiality. Because confidentiality cannot be insured, and because of our belief in the importance of face-to-face contact, we discourage clients from communicating with their counselors on e-mail. Changes in appointments can be made by phone, and with your permission by e-mail. However, general therapy concerns should be discussed in person with your counselor.
Cost of Services
Services provided by the University Counseling Office are free of charge to any student enrolled in six or more credits at the University of Maine at Machias.
Grievance Procedures
Clients have the right to discontinue services at any time. To ensure continued improvement of our services, we respectfully request notification of any concerns directly to the counselor, or to the Dean of Students.
The practice of Counseling is regulated by the Department of Professionals and Finance Regulations, and complaints may be registered by contacting:
Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure
35 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
(207) 624-8626
- Ambulance: 911
- AMHC HELPLine (24/7 Crisis Response): (888) 568-1112
- Campus Safety: (207) 263-9315
- The Next Step (domestic violence hotline): (207) 255-4785; (800) 315-5579
The Counseling Center’s hours are:
MONDAY: 2:00-6:00PM
TUESDAY: 8:00AM-6:00PM
WEDNESDAY: 8:00AM-6:00PM
THURSDAY: 8:00AM-6:00PM
FRIDAY: 8:00AM-5:00PM
Please Note:
+ If classes are canceled or delayed due to inclement weather, the Counseling Center is also closed or will have a delayed opening.
+ The Counseling Center is in operation during the academic year (September – May). It will be closed for student breaks and during the summer months.
- Anxiety/Depression Information – www.adaa.org
- LGBTQ Information – www.glsen.org and www.lgbt.foundation
- Mental Health Assessment – www.ulifeline.org
- Self-Care/Stress Reduction Information – https://www.verywell.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729
- Substance Abuse Information – www.samhsa.gov
- Veterans Information – www.mentalhealth.va.gov
Contact Us
Stacey Cherry, LCPC
stacey.cherry@maine.edu
The Office of Student Accessibility Services promotes the integration of engaging teaching strategies with academic supports provided by our faculty and staff to create a collaborative educational experience for all our students.
Welcome to the Office of Student Accessibility Services at the University of Maine at Machias (UMM). UMM is committed to providing equal access to all students.
The Student Accessibility office’s main focus is on coordinating services for our students with permanent or temporary documented disabilities. We extend reasonable accommodations for documented and requested academic and housing needs. Overall, we are dedicated to supporting all students. “Student Success” is our motto, and our individualized, supportive approach encourages students to advocate for themselves while developing the skills and empowerment to reach their academic and professional goals.
Requests for any educational or housing accommodations must be processed through the Manager of Student Accessibility Services.
- Screening for Services
- Review of Documentation
- Accommodation Determination
- Coordination of Services
- Consultation and Referrals
- Academic Counseling
- Advocacy and Support
MEDICAL
Physical needs based on health status: illness or injury.
- Temporary or permanent
- Developmental or acquired
PSYCHIATRIC
Emotional needs based on mental health diagnosis.
- Enduring (such as bi-polar disorder)
- Temporary or situational (such as anxiety, depression)
LEARNING DISABILITY
Learning needs based on differences in taking in, processing, and expressing information.
- Organic (neurological)
- Three primary types: Input; Processing; Output
- In college, the student is responsible for initiating the accommodation process.
- For a smooth transition, contact the Manager of Student Accessibility Services prior to enrollment.
- Provide the manager with documentation and diagnosis from a qualified professional.
- The manager will interview you and read your documentation to make a determination.
- Once a determination is made students receive copies of their accommodation letters.
- It is the student’s responsibility to contact his/her instructors to activate accommodations.
- The manager is available for mediation, and academic support.
- Students need to reactivate the accommodations process each semester to continue services.
What documentation is needed and who provides it?
- It is the student’s responsibility to provide documentation for a determination of services.
- Documentation must be certified by a qualified professional in the relevant area of disability: medical doctor, licensed psychologist, or clinical counselor.
- Certified documentation must be written on professional stationery, and signed and dated.
- Documentation must include diagnosis of a physical, psychiatric, or learning disability.
- For a learning disability, documentation must include testing results and analysis.
- For a physical disability, documentation must include a description of functional limitations.
- For a psychiatric disability, documentation must include symptoms and specific needs.
- Although not required, suggestions for accommodations related to the disability are helpful.
Confidentiality
Students with disabilities have a right to confidentiality. All information concerning a student’s disability is private. This includes written and electronic records and written and verbal communications. Confidentiality belongs to the individual. This means that a student is free to disclose anything he or she chooses about his or her disability status, but no one else can. This information is “owned” by the individual with a disability and information can be disclosed only with written permission specifying what information is shared, with whom, and for what purpose. Even with permission, information is shared only on a “Need to Know” basis.
Disclosure
If a student discloses his or her disability status to a University employee that person must make the student aware of services provided for students with disabilities. This applies to medical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities. Please refer students to the Student Accessibility Services office.
Person-First Language
When we refer to students with disabilities we place the person first. For example, we say “student with a disability,” rather than “disabled student.” Person-first language demonstrates respect for students and understanding that disability is only one aspect of a multifaceted person whose identity and interests extend far beyond her or his disability status.
Disabilities are Discrete
No one form of disability indicates that another disability is present. Disabilities are specific, not global, and one area of disability is balanced by another area of skill. Disability is one aspect of diversity that can enhance awareness and respect for differences.
Remember
Accommodations are not special privileges. They provide equal access for students.
Contact Us
Jo-Ellen Scribner, Manager
Manager of Student Accessibility Services Office
University of Maine at Machias
116 O’Brien Avenue
Machias, ME 04654
(207) 255-1228