ESPECIALLY FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

You should know that, as a college student, it’s easier to get professional help now than it may be after you leave school. This doesn’t mean you won’t run into any problems, but now is the time to get help. You’ll find confidential on-campus resources at your school’s counseling center, health center and places like a Women’s Center on your campus.

Students sometimes feel embarrassed or scared to seek help. Talking about your problems actually takes an immense amount of strength, and it’s important to move past the stigma surrounding mental health issues and get the help you need.

Often, the best place to start is your school’s counseling center. Visit its website or call its main number to find out what they can offer you.

Most on-campus centers provide two to eight free visits, so you can use their confidential services free of charge.

Counseling centers can offer a range of services, from individual sessions with psychologists or social workers, to group sessions for people who share a common issue (such as body-image issues, grief and loss, or academic anxiety), to sessions with psychiatrists. Since services vary campus to campus, your best bet is to find out exactly what your school offers.

If your school doesn’t have a counseling center, check with the school’s health center; mental health professionals may be able to see you there.

Some counseling centers may disclose information to the school administration if a student is suicidal or has thoughts of hurting him- or herself. You have a right to know if your school’s counseling center has such a policy and if the center plans to do this in regard to your situation.

Some schools have policies that require students who disclose self-injurious thoughts or acts to take an involuntary leave of absence; they may require students who have been hospitalized to be cleared by the counseling center before they can return to classes or live on campus. Check your school’s leave policies, code of conduct and residence hall contracts, or ask the counseling center or dean of students about the school’s policies and practices

You also want to look into what health insurance you have (if you have it) and what it covers. Some plans don’t cover mental health care at all while others have limits on the number of visits. If you don’t want to see a clinician on campus, or if the number of visits your counseling center will allow you isn’t enough, your insurance policy may dictate what outside options are available for you. Be aware that if you are on your parents’ health insurance, they may learn that you are receiving treatment from the insurer. Ask your insurance company about its billing practices.

Even if you have no insurance, there are agencies in most communities that offer services on a sliding scale. You can find them listed under “counseling,” “social service agencies” and similar categories. Many religious groups operate family service agencies that provide a range of counseling services.

If you choose not to seek services on campus, your school’s counseling center can be a resource for referral to practitioners and programs off-campus. You may end up seeing a psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker in a private practice near your campus or in your hometown. You can also go to a family doctor to discuss your symptoms, though it is a good idea that you follow up with a mental health professional since a general practitioner is not the most knowledgeable about mental health issues.

Check out ULifeline, an online resource that provides information about mental health issues and professional resources on and around many campuses, you can get additional information at your school’s counseling and psychological services center.

°Thank you, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 4:29 pm and is filed under Addiction, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Family, Mental Health, Suicide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.