Range of Services

Range of Services

Emergencies

If you believe you are having (or another student is having) a psychological emergency, call Campus Safety and Security at x4600 (641/269-4600 off campus).

Examples of psychological emergencies include, but are not limited to:

•  thinking about and planning for suicide
•  hallucinations
•  delusional thinking
•  life-threatening, impulsive behaviors

These are only examples.  If you believe the situation is a psychological emergency, call for help immediately.

Unmanageable/Severe Psychological Distress

If you are experiencing unmanageable emotional distress, call Student Health and Counseling Services (SHACS).  Our number is x3230 (641/269-3230 off campus).

• If SHACS is open, tell the receptionist that you would like to see a counselor for an urgent care appointment.
• If SHACS is closed, you are welcome to access our after-hours urgent/on-call consultation service.  Just follow the message instructions and press 3 to speak to a counselor.  Once you are connected, you will speak with a counselor who will ask you about your symptoms and situation, collaborate with you in developing a coping plan, and make recommendations regarding the type and timing of treatment you should pursue.

Appointments

If you are emotionally distressed and/or have a life problem with which you would like some help, but your need is not of urgent or emergency proportions, there are two ways you can schedule an appointment to see a counselor:

• If you have not seen a counselor at SHACS during or since the 2010-2011 academic year, you will need an "intake" (initial) appointment.  There are two ways you can schedule an intake appointment:

  1) call SHACS, or

  2) use our OpenCommunicator site to schedule your intake appointment on line

• If you have had an intake appointment at SHACS during or since the start of the 2010-2011 academic year and would like to schedule another counseling appointment, please call SHACS and we will be happy to arrange an appointment for you.
  

Phone Consultation

If you are not sure if you need to see a counselor, call SHACS to speak to a counselor to consult about this by phone.

In order to maximize our mental health staff’s availability to the campus community, a counselor is available for phone consultation during the following hours:

• Monday through Friday - 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

You are welcome to call at other times, but it is possible that a counselor may not be available immediately when you call.

Self-Help

If your distress feels manageable, you may cope in any number of ways:  for instance, by talking with friends or family, writing in a journal, or exercising.  You may also decide to talk with your SA or RLC.  If your distress persists, call SHACS to schedule an appointment with a counselor.

For other ideas on good ways to take care of yourself, go to our Self-Care page.