What a Grad CARE Appointment Looks Like
What to Expect in the Space
The details below are for those visiting our Grad Office on the Boston Campus. If your appointment is located on another campus, more information will be provided via email.
Seating
When you come in for an appointment, you will decide where to sit. In Eliz's office, the seats are covered in fabric and have plastic arm rests. One is a rolling chair, and on is a stationary chair.
Lighting
In Eliz's office there is one overheard fluorescent light as well as one desk lamp. There is one large window directly opposing the door where sun filters through. The office is on the third floor, so no one can see in the windows.
Sounds
There are several sounds you may here while in the CARE office.
Eliz has a white noise machine in their office that makes an ongoing "shush" sound.
Because the windows look out over Harrison Ave, there are sometimes noises of trucks, cars, or emergency vehicles.
As our office is located inside of Student Wellness, there will be occasional sounds of the door opening or closing and footsteps outside the door. Conversations from students might filter in, but the noise makers make it so people in Student Wellness cannot hear what is happening inside the CARE offices.
There is a window AC unit that makes similar noise to the white noise machine when it is on, and it can be fairly loud.
Fidget Toys
There are baskets of fidget toys that you are welcome to pick up and use during your appointment, and you are welcome to take fidget toys with you when you leave.
Snacks
There are containers of snacks and candy available inside the CARE office, as well as outside in Student Wellness. The specific items may change depending on what we have purchased and what we have run out of, but generally there are granola bars of some kind, Cheez-Its, and both chocolate and non-chocolate based candy. You are welcome to eat any of this food during the meeting and/or take some with you when you leave. You are also welcome to drop by at any time our doors are open to grab a snack.
Our Confidentiality
CARE staff are confidential. The only exception is if you let us know you are planning to hurt yourself (or someone else) in which case we will need to take steps to ensure your safety, which may include getting other University staff involved.
There are four offices at Tufts that are confidential: CARE, Health Service, Counseling and Mental Health Services, and Chaplaincy. For Health Service, Counseling and Mental Health Services, and Chaplaincy staff, their confidentiality comes from their licensure/accreditation. CARE staff's confidentiality is a policy that comes from the University which enables us to provide confidential emotional support to any students impacted by sexual misconduct.
Our policy confidentiality enables us to provide students with virtual services while they are out of state or abroad. Unlike providers that have confidentiality through their state licensure (like CMHS therapists), CARE staff can see you regardless of where you physically are in the world (home over break, studying abroad, etc.).
Scheduling Future Appointments
You are always welcome to put yourself directly on Eliz's or Alexandra's calendar for an in-person, Zoom, or phone appointment. (Schedule a confidential appointment with Eliz here or Alexandra here.) If none of our available times work for you, you are welcome to email us directly (alexandra.donovan@tufts.edu; elizabethfagan@tufts.edu) and we will try to figure out an alternate time to meet with you.
After your first appointment, YOU get to decide if and when you'd like to return for another conversation, and when you'd like that conversation to happen. Some people come back, for example, a week later, some a month later, some a year later, some not at all - it's completely up to you. We do ask that once you've seen one of us, you keep seeing that same person unless there is a specific reason you'd prefer to switch.
Cancellations & No-Shows
You are welcome to reschedule or cancel your appointment at any time. We understand trauma impacts people in many ways and that sometimes students make appointments and then decide not to come. Not showing up for an appointment does not impact your ability to make future appointments and we will welcome you whenever you come to CARE.