Your health (physical, emotional, and mental) comes first. Always.
Sometimes life can get overwhelming. Anxiety from classes or social situations. Mental illness. Trauma. In these cases, or any other instances, it is important to seek help. It’s also important to get help early, as opposed to waiting and feeling worse. There are mental health screenings on Grounds at least once a semester that provide students the opportunity to focus on the status of their mental health. Healthcare professionals are available discuss issues privately with students. The Contemplative Science Center has various rooms around Grounds as well as programs to help students with mindfulness and staying centered.
UVA’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) has a host of resources for helping students. CAPS is available to all students for support, referral assistance, and crisis services, and provides psychiatry services (assessment and medication management) to students currently engaged in psychotherapy at CAPS or one of UVA’s other on-Grounds clinics. CAPS utilizes a brief treatment approach when seeing students in individual psychotherapy, and the duration of psychiatry services typically lasts as long as therapy services are being provided to the student.
Some students may be referred outside of CAPS to other on-Grounds clinics, more intensive specialized treatment programs or private practice providers within the Charlottesville community. Many factors are considered when students are offered a community referral, including acuity and duration of mental health concerns, insurance coverage, access to transportation and financial resources.
Seeking counseling is sometimes a difficult or intimidating step to take, so UVA also has a mental health hotline available for students. HELPLINE is a free, student-run, volunteer hotline which provides anonymous listening and direction to additional resources. Students are trained extensively before they begin taking calls and all calls are completely confidential.
Mental wellbeing is just as important as physical wellbeing. Tackling issues head-on can have a range of benefits, from better sleep to improved focus to a stronger sense of safety. Take time out of your week to check in with yourself, and don’t be afraid to seek help if things aren’t okay. It’s important to learn skills to take care of yourself. From as small a step as emptying your mind for five minutes or doing a face mask, to talking to a professional or seeking outside help, there are many ways and resources you can use to take care of yourself.
Listed below are some of the many mental health resources UVA has for helping students:
- https://www.studenthealth.virginia.edu/caps
- https://www.studenthealth.virginia.edu/getting-started-caps
- https://www.studenthealth.virginia.edu/caps-services
- https://womenscenter.virginia.edu/
- https://psychology.as.virginia.edu/ainsworth
- https://med.virginia.edu/psychiatry/
- http://www.helplineuva.com/
- https://csc.virginia.edu/