UVU Mental Health Center: confidential, affordable, and accessible
By providing professionally guided individual, group, and couples’ therapy for affordable prices, Utah Valley University has given a valuable mental health resource to its students.
UVU’s Mental Health Center (part of Student Health Services, SC 221) aims to help students alleviate their mental health conditions and strive for a better quality of life.
“We provide assessment and treatment for a variety of mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, trauma, grief, substance abuse, and relationship issues,” the MHC’s website reads as a part of their welcome message.
The MHC can be a valuable collegiate resource for university students whose “[mental health problem] … rates were significantly higher than the general population,” wrote Professor Helen Stallman, director of the USC psychology clinic. This is especially true during the fall and winter semesters.
“We often see a combination of stressors, and also shorter days and longer darkness … [which can] definitely kick off and/or exacerbate depression pretty consistently,” stated Doctor Elyssa Zimmerman, a licensed psychologist and on-site clinician at UVU’s Mental Health Center. “Not everyone is prone to depression … [and the fall] is not going to create depression … [but] as we have a little less sunlight, have [a] little more rigorous academic work, and a little less free time … [existing depression] takes on a life of its own.”
Therapy at the MHC is extremely affordable and its cost is well below industry average. The MHC provides individual and couples’ therapy for $10, and group therapy is free for all students.
For couples therapy, only one member of the party must be a UVU student to qualify for the service. There is no limit to the amount of appointments an individual, couple, or group can receive, and students can start or stop receiving counseling at any time.
To sign up for counseling, Zimmerman recommends students to the MHC’s website where there is a link for registration. However, for students experiencing an emotional crisis of any kind, walk-ins are always welcome and will be triaged on a case-by-case basis according to urgency, Zimmerman explained.
“Student Health Services does not work through insurance. It is very low cost and funded in various other ways … [so] Student Health Services is the ideal resource for students who maybe have family concerns because [they] do not have to work through family insurance, and [as a result] the services are completely confidential,” Zimmerman stated.
This semester, students struggling with mental illness can always seek the confidential and affordable services that the Mental Health Center provides. The MHC is open Monday through Friday 8 p.m.-5 p.m.
More information for each service provided is available on the MHC website.