At some point, most of us experience challenges that affect the quality of our lives at home and at school. The Scholar Assistance Program is a confidential counseling program that provides professional help for ASF Scholars from the American Savings Foundation for personal, family, or school problems. By dealing with issues early on, you can often prevent them from becoming more serious.

The Scholar Assistance Program provides support for everyday challenges. These can include but are not limited to: 

• Stress management
• Substance use disorders
• Emotional challenges
• Family concerns
• Relationship issues
• Grief and loss
• Traumatic event

Scholars should utilize this service for any issues that are effecting school, work, or home life. By dealing with issues early on, you can often prevent them from becoming more serious.

Call the Scholar Assistance Program for any sort of personal or school-related concerns. The Scholar Assistance Program offers support, assessment, brief solution-focused counseling, and sometimes a referral to an appropriate resource if on-going, or more specialized services are needed. The goal is to help you resolve your concerns. 

When you call the Scholar Assistance Program line, you will speak with Wheeler's Scholar Assistance Program staff and a confidential appointment will be made to meet with a professional counselor to discuss your concerns at a location and time that is convenient to you. After you meet with the Scholar Assistance Program counselor, a plan of action will be developed together. This may include more sessions with the counselor, or referring you for ongoing counseling, a support group, or community resource depending on what you need.

Scholars can utilize this program as many times as needed. You have up to three counseling sessions per issue. For example, you can receive three counseling sessions for a relationship issue, and then down the road receive an additional three counseling sessions for an anxiety issue. 

None - there is no cost to ASF Scholars for the outlined services. When further help is needed, Wheeler will make every effort to direct scholars to an appropriate resource within your community for information and assistance.

Yes - Wheeler will provide virtual sessions for students who attend college out of state so they will have access to services while they are not in Connecticut.  Wheeler will also provide referrals for in-person sessions as possible for out-of-state students preferring that option. 

All of Wheeler's counselors are licensed, certified, and hold a master's or Ph.D. degrees. They are professionals trained to help people deal with a wide spectrum of personal issues.

Confidentiality is ensured in the following ways: 

• The names of the scholars using the Scholar Assistance Program is not provided to the American Savings Foundation. 
• All records are kept in a secure area at Wheeler and DO NOT become part of a scholar's records. 
• No information is ever released without the scholar's written consent unless legal guidelines mandate otherwise. 

Scholars do not need to notify the Foundation if they are using the Scholar Assistance Program. Use of this program has no impact on renewals or internship program decisions.

All current ASF Scholars who received a scholarship for the 2023-2024 academic year will have access to these services until December 31, 2024.