What to expect when you attend an Alcohol / Drug / Nicotine Assessment at the Student Wellness Center.

Call the Student Wellness Center (856 – 225 – 6005) during office hours and arrange two separate meetings with the Substance Abuse Specialist. Rutgers students do not pay a fee for these meetings.

The first meeting will be for 90 minutes and will collect confidential information that will form the basis of the assessment. The extra time for this meeting is because it is a holistic assessment that will not only focus on alcohol or drug use, but will explore all aspects of your present life. The purpose is to provide you with useful feedback in the second meeting that may help your overall quality of life, and/or help doing your best academically.

The second, follow-up meeting should take place the following week and will only be for 50 minutes. It is then that you will receive feedback and recommendations based on the information you shared the week before.

Many students are surprised at the end of these meetings because:

• more often than not, extremely useful information is provided to students.
• the information provided for the assessment is treated objectively, and not overdramatized to place a label on a student as an “alcoholic” or “drug addict”.
• the dialogue frequently reflects how complex student lives are; and how this may be having a negative impact on grades.

Oh, and did I say these meetings are confidential. As health professionals, we follow what our culture has playfully identified as the “Vegas Rules” – What happens at the Student Wellness Center – stays at the Student Wellness Center!

You can find more information on confidentiality here.

This guide is for people who think someone they know (or they themselves) might benefit from alcohol/drug/nicotine related counseling. It answers some of the questions students frequently have about counseling.

Alcohol / Drug / Nicotine (ADN) counseling is an opportunity to explore your overall health and well being, in relation to personal use of alcohol / drugs or nicotine, or in relation to someone else’s use of alcohol / drugs or nicotine. Counseling is a confidential, supportive place to discuss what is happening in your life, with a professional who will:

• Be caring
• Listen
• Provide helpful information
• Be objective and non-judgmental
• Explore alternatives