Quinnipiac University

Counseling Services

Quinnipiac University and Hartford HealthCare

Quinnipiac’s Counseling Services is proud to partner with Hartford HealthCare to a range of clinical services and mental health support at no cost to undergraduate and graduate students.

Hours and Location
Mount Carmel Campus, York Hill Campus, and North Haven Campus
Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Appointments
Counseling Services: 203-407-4020, option #1
Email QUCounseling.general@hhchealth.org

Mental Health Care
Licensed Mental Health Provider (24/7 access): 203-407-4020, option #3

Emergencies
Department of Public Safety: 203-582-6200
Call 911

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Locations and Hours

Mount Carmel Campus Office

275 Mount Carmel Avenue
Hamden, Connecticut 06518

Counseling Services, operated by Hartford HealthCare, is located in the newly renovated Recreation and Wellness Center, near the Arnold Bernhard Library.

Hours during the academic year:
Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
203-407-4020 View Maps and Directions

Additional Counseling Locations

York Hill Campus

Rocky Top Student Center, RTSC-SHS
305 Sherman Avenue
Hamden, CT 06518

203-407-4020

View Maps and Directions

North Haven Campus

Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, NMH-276
370 Bassett Road
North Haven, CT 06473

203-407-4020

View Maps and Directions

24/7 Support and Emergencies

Mental Health Care

Licensed Mental Health Provider (24/7 access)

203-407-4020, option #3

Emergencies

Department of Public Safety: 203-582-6200

Call 911

About Counseling Services

We’re here for you

Our Counseling Services is partnered with Hartford HealthCare to provide resources for a variety of mental health issues and situations such as stress, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, sexual violence, eating disorders, grief, and alcohol or drug abuse — all at no cost. We strive to promote the educational success of students by supporting their intellectual, emotional, and social development through the provision of culturally aware clinical services. Our staff is committed to creating a welcoming and affirming space where all members of the QU community are valued and celebrated.

Services we offer include:
  • Diagnostic Evaluation
    Each student seeking help through the counseling service is evaluated by the counselor assigned to the case. At the end of the first visit, the diagnostic evaluation is completed, and the student is given feedback regarding the nature of the problem and how it might be resolved or treated.

  • Urgent Visit Services
    Emergency evaluation and intervention are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any student in crisis is seen promptly by a counselor during reserved urgent visit hours. If a student feels that they can’t wait, they should call 203-407-4020 and follow the prompts to speak with a mental health professional over the phone, or go directly to the emergency rooms of Yale-New Haven Hospital or The Hospital of Saint Raphael.

  • Same Day Consultation (in-person and telehealth)
    Students may contact the Counseling Center by calling 203-407-4020.

  • Individual Counseling (in-person and telehealth)
    Confidential consultation with a counselor is available to any undergraduate or graduate student. In this modality, counselors generally rely upon brief treatment methods.

  • Consultation to Faculty and Staff
    Counselors frequently provide consultation to faculty members or staff who may have concerns about the well-being or functioning of a student. For consultation services, counselors may be contacted by phone or email.

  • Outreach Programs
    Outreach Programs are offered to the university community as requested. Typical presentation topics include introduction to the Office of Counseling Services, anxiety, depression, suicide prevention, mindfulness, etc.

  • Referral and Consultation to Off-Campus Physicians and Therapists
    In situations where a student has requested a referral to a community provider or has been referred to an off campus mental health professional, we can assist in transfer of care. With the student’s permission our counselors will contact the provider and share their evaluation of the student being referred.

Group Therapy

For many issues facing our students, group therapy can be a very helpful type of treatment. Our therapy groups encourage peer support, promote emotional wellbeing, and increase a felt sense of connection.

Groups are held in the Mount Carmel Campus Recreation and Wellness Center group therapy room, unless noted otherwise. To learn more about group therapy, contact Counseling Services at 203-407-4020 or QUCounseling.general@hhchealth.org.

Groups offered include: 

  • Hope and Healing
    This sexual assault support group provides a safe environment for members to meet weekly to look at how trauma continues to affect members' day-to-day living. Even if the trauma happened months or years ago, you are invited to participate in this group. This group is open to undergraduate and graduate students.
    Facilitated by: Adrienne Koenigsberg MSW, LCSW

  • Grief Support Group
    You have lost someone important to you. Your grief may always be there, or it may present itself at unexpected times. You may feel confused, angry, sad, or alone. However you are feeling, we will provide a safe and support environment to express yourself and find support from others who likely know how you feel. This group will help you create meaningful connections with others and find support for your grief.
    Facilitated by: Adrienne Koenigsberg MSW, LCSW

  • Navigating Your Stressful Family
    Are you supporting a family member with a substance addiction or mental health issue? Is there stress related to a parental divorce? Do you feel like you are walking on eggshells around specific family members? Is there a lot of anger and hostility in your family? If so you will have the opportunity to connect with other students and share your story as well as gain information, strategies and support in this support group.
    Facilitated by: Jennifer Zitser MSW, LCSW

  • Mindful Mondays: “Training the Mind with Meditation”
    Students will learn to cultivate mindfulness and develop an integrated mind-body practice that encourages awakening and a capacity to meet life moment to moment with gentle awareness. Groups will include a range of relaxation, meditation and mindfulness techniques with the aim of better managing emotional distress, anxiety, chronic pain, depression and improving general wellbeing. Some topics covered include breathing techniques, grounding techniques, meditation, guided imagery relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation.
    Facilitated by: Jennifer Zitser MSW,LCSW

  • Resilience, Identity and Support: a Group for Under-Represented and International Students
    Are you new to this country or a student of color navigating a PWI for the first time or having difficulty with adjustment and transition to college? This group offers a safe space to discuss and express your feelings about your experience as college students and serves to foster a sense of belonging and connection to the college community. Navigating college can be stressful, but you don’t have to do it alone. Our goal is to promote emotional wellness, confidence and a positive sense of self. You belong here.
    Facilitated by: Marwa Mansour MS, LPC

  • Family Dynamics
    This group is open to anyone who has a family! With the support of other group members, we will start to explore how families impact us, in the life choices we make and in many of our interpersonal relationships, both personally and professionally.
    Facilitated by: Mary Pellitteri, LADC
    Location: Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, NMH-276, North Haven Campus

  • Caring For Others
    This group will focus on caregivers, and how being emotionally, physically and spiritually available to others can take a toll. You, along with peers who understand your struggles, will learn to develop Coping Skills and Strengths to deal with these challenges and to improve effectiveness and optimize success.
    Facilitated by: Mary Pellitteri, LADC
    Location: Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, NMH-276, North Haven Campus

  • DBT - Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills group
    The student will learn the five essential modules of DBT: Mindfulness, Emotional regulations, Distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and walking the middle Path. DBT skills group is for the students who would like to learn to COPE more effectively with intense emotions, addictive behaviors and or relationship struggles. The group is to help increase basic life skills on how to manage painful emotions and be able to create balance to your life through commitment to the program but more importantly to yourself!
    Facilitated by: Sheila van den Broeck, LCSW

 

Hartford HealthCare behavioral health network

The Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network affiliates provide a full array of behavioral health services for all ages, with specialty services to treat the full spectrum of mental health needs.

Learn more about the Behavioral Health Network

Our Counselors

Chris Chew, Hartford HealthCare

Christine Chew

Christine Chew, Ph.D., (she/her) earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Saint Louis University. She has more than 20 years’ experience providing evidence-based care to patients and families. Chew will supervise the daily operations of the Counseling Center and partner with Quinnipiac’s associate dean of student affairs for health and wellness to promote psychological well-being across campus. She is excited and enthused to have the opportunity to not only supervise a great counseling staff and continue to provide clinical care but also to work on ways to prevent students from becoming overwhelmed by the challenges of college life.

Adrienne Koenigsberg, Hartford HealthCare

Adrienne Koenigsberg

Adrienne Koenigsberg (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker who received her master’s degree in social work from Fordham University. She has over 14 years of clinical experience and has provided services in hospitals, group homes, community agencies and private practice. In addition to providing individual counseling at Quinnipiac University, Koenigsberg facilitates a weekly grief support group and a sexual assault support group on campus. Koenigsberg joined the Quinnipiac counseling staff in January 2015.

Mary Pellitteri, Hartford HealthCare

Mary Pellitteri

Mary Pellitteri (she/her), graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and master’s degree in marriage and family counseling, from CCSU. She has over 30 years of experience working with people with mental health and substance disorders. She takes a holistic approach to wellness, promoting physical, intellectual, psychological and spiritual well-being. She believes that understanding family dynamics is often important in the path to personal growth. She believes: The heaviest burdens that we carry are the thoughts in our head.

Carlos Riollana, Hartford HealthCare

Carlos Riollano

Carlos Riollano (he/his), joins QU after completing two years of postdoctoral training at Yale Health and University of New Haven. He earned his PhD degree in clinical psychology from Albizu University, an accredited program. He has an MBA from the Interamerican University where he also got his BA diploma. Riollano specializes in working with students struggling with stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health problems. He focuses on providing a compassionate humanistic approach and adequate evidence-based strategies to help students cope with stress related to academic, career, interpersonal, and/or family issues, as well as other mental health problems. Having a life-long passion for the sport of tennis, Riollano has a special interest in helping student-athletes regain self-confidence and enhance their problem-solving skills. His research interests reside in the evolution of tele-psychology and the ways it could become an added value to the therapeutic process.

Sheila van den Broeck, Hartford HealthCare

Sheila van den Broeck

Sheila van den Broeck (she/her), is a licensed clinical social worker in the State of Connecticut with over 15 years of service in individual as well as group therapy. She earned her master of social work from Fordham University in 2005 while working as a case manager, which cultivated her passion for social work. van den Broeck has studied several modalities which include cognitive behavioral approach as well as dialectical behavioral therapy, and applies them to bring healing and growth for the students’ goals in therapy.

Jennifer Zitser, Hartford HealthCare

Jen Zitser

Jen Zitser (she/her), is a licensed clinical social worker who has been practicing psychotherapy for over 30 years, the past 18 years at Quinnipiac University. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a master’s degree from University of Connecticut. Zitser’s style is direct, interactive and supportive. Her work often focuses on recognizing patterns from the past that are being unknowingly recreated in the present, and involves an examination of how family and other early relationships influence the way we view the world. She believes that all obstacles have the potential to lead us to discover new aspects of ourselves and she often encourages clients to push themselves to generate new ways of addressing problems they face while providing a safe, supportive environment for exploring their concerns.

More Resources

Health Services

Hartford HealthCare is Quinnipiac's partner to operate our on-campus Student Health Services. With successful experience serving student populations at other institutions, HHC offers a collaborative and coordinated healthcare model and the ability to provide expert consultation to the university on a wide range of campus health issues including student wellness, mental health, athletic training and infection prevention strategies.

Learn more about Student Health Services

Fitness and Recreation

There is no shortage of recreational opportunities at Quinnipiac. From yoga and Zumba® classes to road races and hikes — our Mount Carmel Campus is across from Sleeping Giant State Park, after all — we have fun activities for every level of fitness.

Learn more

Academic Support Services

The Learning Commons provides a wide range of academic support services geared toward individual strengths, learning styles and goals. Our approach does more than raise test scores. Peer educators and support staff members teach students to think and learn with intention and to make connections between many academic disciplines.

Learn more about The Learning Commons