Best Practice Capsule—Meeting the Mental Health Challenge

UT-Austin’s Health Center-Based Counselor

Surfacing the Need for Help and Connecting Students to Care

University Challenge
While a certain proportion of students will find their way to the university counseling center when they need help, many do not, instead showing up at the health center. Because of the stigma and lack of awareness about mental illness, people don’t realize their problems or seek help for it. Thus university physicians must diagnose, assess, and if needed refer students to the counseling center. The challenge is that many students never follow through on those referrals, falling through the cracks.

Innovation: Co-locate a Counselor in the Health Center
To facilitate referral to a counselor and minimize stigma, UT-Austin co-locates a counselor in their health center. Once physicians have made a referral for counseling, students can make an appointment with the counselor through the health center. Appointments typically take place within five days; if the need is urgent, appointments can usually be arranged on short notice, even the same day.