Josh Bailey: 0:00

Psych Bytes with CCS is a weekly podcast hosted by Student Life Counseling and Consultation Service. This show is dedicated to discussing a wide range of topics pertaining to mental health commonly experienced in the college setting. It is important to note that this podcast is not a substitute for therapy. All of the topics on this show, while discussed by professionals are strictly psycho educational, and meant to inform listeners on available resources, skills and support. Topics on this show can be sensitive in nature. And should you find yourself needing additional support or resources, please visit ccs.osu.edu or call us at 614-292-5766. With that in mind, enjoy the show. is up everybody and welcome to Psych Bytes. My name is Josh and today we are once again joined by Sarah Peters, a fellow senior staff here at Counseling and Consultation Service. Sarah, welcome back.

Sarah Peters: 1:17

Thank you so much.

Josh Bailey: 1:18

So today we are going to be talking about a service called, "Let's Talk." So I am very excited to talk with you about Let's Talk, if that's not too much. So maybe we can

start off with: 1:30

what is, for the 14th time, Let's Talk?

Sarah Peters: 1:35

Let's Talk is one of our on demand services that we offer here at CCS. They are informal drop-in consultations with a therapist here at CCS, we try to have them available during times that students kind of need them. They're pretty short, you know, 20 minutes. And it's just a nice, confidential space to talk about a variety of concerns with a caring clinician.

Josh Bailey: 2:04

Okay, so how would one access one of the let's talk sessions?

Sarah Peters: 2:10

Super easy. So we typically find folks maybe go about it one of two ways. So one is, knowing that there's something that you really have been stewing on for a while and you want to talk to somebody who is an expert. Regardless of which of these two ways you're gonna go, first step is to go to our website, which is ccs.osu.edu. And under the "On demand services," look for"Let's Talk consultations." And we've got a list of all of the clinicians who offer Let's Talk, along with some of their specialties. And so let's say you really want to talk to somebody about relationship concerns. Joni specializes in that, I believe Chelsea might as well. And so you can sort of select the specific clinician that you're looking for based on the concern. Or you can also look for maybe a clinician who shares some of the same identities that you hold, so that they kind of have an idea of things that you might be experiencing.

Josh Bailey: 3:07

Okay.

Sarah Peters: 3:09

So then you can based on the clinician that you want to see, you can schedule a time with them, it'll show you their available days and times, you pick a slot that works for you, put your name in, all we require is I believe your name, a phone number and an email address. And do you want to talk to us over zoom, or over the phone? And that's it. The that I tend to see is something came up and "Oof, this is something I need to talk about with somebody right now." It is not necessarily something that can wait, you know, two to three weeks for me to get in with something that's a little bit more formal or scheduled. And so literally, you just pull up our website, go to that Let's Talk page and look for who's available today. And we try to have enough spots available so that people can have an open spot within 24 hours to deal with a more immediate concern.

Josh Bailey: 4:02

Okay. You have concerns? What are some common concerns that one might bring to a Let's Talk session versus maybe seeking out a more intensive service or a mu— A more acute level of service?

Sarah Peters: 4:20

It really runs the gamut. So sometimes this is for folks who maybe you're experiencing some anxiety or maybe some depressive symptoms, but they're not quite sure if they want therapy or need therapy or aren't quite sure what therapy might look like. Let's Talk is a great space to just kind of explore with a clinician, "You know, here's what's going on for me and here's what I'm struggling with, you know, what do you think what might be some good options and good resources?" Maybe somebody knows, "Hey, I don't really— I know I don't need capital "T" therapy, but I need something and I need to figure out what resources are available." And OSU has a ton of free sources, which is amazing. And sometimes there's so many that it's hard to sort of weed through and find the one that's going to be best for this circumstance. And so let's talk clinician can help you figure out based on what you are currently experiencing right now, what's going to be maybe some of the best offices or resources that we can hook you up with, that are really going to help you address that problem.

Josh Bailey: 5:21

Okay, so kind of experts in the field will help me tailor a plan for my own success or path forward?

Sarah Peters: 5:26

We also tend to see a lot of, kind of, like in the moment relationship concerns. So this could be like breakups or roommate struggles. A lot of times, like maybe the person that you go to and talk to when you're feeling stressed out, is the person you're currently having, like conflict with. Let's Talk is a great space to just come in and get like an objective, you know, third party opinion, sometimes will give you no advice, if that's what's needed, or what's asked for. It's really just kind of tailored to whatever folks are bringing in.

Josh Bailey: 6:00

Okay, so do I come back? Do I just is it a one and done? Do I reschedule a follow up appointment? How does that work?

Sarah Peters: 6:08

Well, they tend to be one and done, because we definitely want to make sure that folks are not using this instead of therapy, if therapy is what's required. This is not a replacement for therapy. But I have seen folks maybe who are in individual therapy, but it's maybe a couple of weeks till their next session. And they've maybe got a skill that they're trying to practice, but they're having some difficulty with. Or they've got something that they are trying, but they need a little bit extra support until that next session. Or sometimes I have had folks schedule a Let's Talk, we talk about their concern or their difficulty. And then they check back in with me later in the semester and say,"Hey, you know, that advice was really helpful that really worked out," or, you know, "I tried that it didn't work, what else you got?" So it is meant to be generally more of a sort of short term, or episodic kind of resource.

Josh Bailey: 7:09

Okay. So even if I've used it once, it doesn't mean I can't use it again if something pops up again, in the future?

Sarah Peters: 7:14

Absolutely not, if it's, if you— if it was helpful, and if it's something you think might be helpful again, by all means, sign up for a spot, and, you know, if, in consultation with your clinician, you know, we determine, hey, maybe this is something that's more— becoming more chronic, and we do want to look at something a little bit more regular, we can help you get hooked up from there.

Josh Bailey: 7:36

Okay, that's fantastic. Is there anything else that maybe we didn't touch on or highlight that might be important for one to know if they are considering Let's Talk or trying to decide between scheduling a Let's Talk appointment versus a triage to get started with individual services or group therapy or something along those lines?

Sarah Peters: 7:52

Um, well, I would say for sure, like, if you're not sure if you need therapy or not, Let's Talk is a great place to start again, because typically, there's less of a wait for it. So certainly, if you're struggling right now, we don't want you to wait, you know, a week, two weeks, three weeks for your scheduled triage in order to talk to somebody about that. The other thing I would want to just put out there is our gratitude to Cornell University. So they are the ones that really started this program. And they were kind enough to share their experience and their expertise. And it's something that we've picked up and really run with, and it has been incredibly helpful for a number of students.

Josh Bailey: 8:36

That's fantastic. All right. One more time. Before we go, what was the website? How do we access Let's talk?

Sarah Peters: 8:42

Sure, go to ccs.osu.edu. And from there on our menu, there's a Services tab, click on Services, On Demand Services, Let's Talk.

Josh Bailey: 8:53

Thank you very much, Sarah, for joining us

again today. To our listeners: 8:55

Thank you as well for joining us dropping in and listening. Keep your eyes peeled for our next episode. Take care of yourselves and until next time, my name is Josh and this has been Psych Bytes with CCS.