Letter to the editor: UHS prioritizes mental health

The mental health and well-being of our campus community is a top priority of University Health Services (UHS). We are continuously working to improve access to the services students need.

UHS offers brief counseling for students related to mental health concerns, identity development, and other issues that may get in the way of being able to be a successful student at UW. Students may see a provider for individual counseling up to 10 times within one year of their first appointment, and 20 times during their degree program. On average, a student at UW-Madison sees a UHS mental health provider 4.6 times.

Psychiatry services, group therapy, workshops, care management, crisis services, and Access Consultations are all available without session limits, and are accessible to all students even after the session limit is reached for counseling. Psychiatry providers often continue to see students after they have reached their individual counseling session cap for medication management. Current UHS patients can contact their provider at any time using the MyUHS messaging portal. There, students can securely ask providers about their treatment or request a prescription renewal.

As referenced in the recent Daily Cardinal article, we do partner with some schools and colleges to offer additional and specific services to their students. These services are often offered to meet a specific departmental or program need or in some care an external accreditation requirement.

We recognize the great need to expand mental health services for all students. Students recently supported our budget request to fund six additional mental health provider positions, and UHS aims to have those positions filled for fall 2017. These additional positions will decrease the wait times from initial Access Consultations to first counseling appointments. We also plan to expand our e-health, or online, options with a range of online information and interventions that will be available to students any time of day – please look for information about this service expansion in the fall.

Outside of these treatment options, we also seek to ensure students whose need more services that we are able to provide at this time are able to get those services. Care managers are mental health professionals who specialize in connecting students to further mental health care in the greater Madison community keeping in mind the resources students have including transportation, insurance, and financial resources. Students who have used their session allotment or are nearing the limit can meet with Care Managers to explore options and get connected. Additionally, Care Managers help to identify resources for students who are need of housing, food, or have financial concerns.

UHS also offers several mental health resources outside 333 East Campus Mall. Mental Health Services staff operate Let’s Talk, a daily opportunity for students to speak one-on-one with a provider at designated locations and times around campus. We also are engaged in daily programming in partnership with the Multicultural Student Center (MSC) at the Red Gym to increase students’ sense of connection, self-care, and mental health awareness.

UHS is here for you 24 hours a day. Anyone can call our 24-hour Crisis Line at 608-265-5600 (option 9).

Andrea Lawson is the interim co-director of Mental Health Services at UHS; Angela Janis is the director of Psychiatry at UHS. What was your reaction to the Cardinal's feature on mental health? Do you have thoughts on the services provided to students by UHS? Please send all comments, questions and concerns to opinion@dailycardinal.com.