Seeking Help Off-Campus

It’s not always easy to tell. One good rule of thumb is to seek professional help if you are experiencing symptoms that lead to an impairment in your social life, your work life, your academic life, or in any other meaningful area of your life. Another rule of thumb is to seek help when the level of distress you are experiencing exceeds your ability to cope with it on your own and with the help of your usual support network. Something you might find helpful is to consider taking a free and confidential online evaluation to help determine whether you might be dealing with a mental health disorder.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance, or NCQA, recommends following these time frames when you need mental health and substance use disorder services. 

Get help:

• Immediately

   

  for a life-threatening emergency. Call 911 or go to the emergency room

• Within six hours

   

  for emergencies that aren’t life-threatening, but immediate attention is required

• Within 48 hours

   

  for urgent care, when it’s not life-threatening but face-to-face contact is required

• Within 10 days

   

  for routine office visits

Just as in the case of medical conditions, some forms of psychological distress require more intensive care than others. Levels of care range from the least intensive (called Outpatient Treatment) to the most intensive (Inpatient Hospitalization). Outpatient Treatment generally occurs once a week for approximately an hour with a licensed mental health provider such as psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or professional counselor. Inpatient Treatment occurs within a hospital with round-the-clock support. Read more about levels of care by clicking here. 

Both medication and talk therapy (as well combination of the two) have been scientifically proven to help with emotional problems. But there is evidence to suggest that some problems are better treated with one form of treatment over the other. Click here to read a helpful summary of current evidence from the American Psychological Association. Whatever decision you make, consider consulting with a physician, psychologist or mental health professional to help make the best choice for you.

Use your insurance. Most insurance providers have a search tool that will allow you to search for in-network behavioral health providers in your area. You can usually find the website for your insurance on the back of your insurance card. Once you are able to see a list of covered providers, you can start to make calls or look at online profiles to see if they are a match for what you need.

Low-cost and sliding scale options are available if you do not have health insurance or you are concerned that your insurance won’t cover what you need. If you think this might be the case for you, these tools may be valuable in your search: 

Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator (a tool from SAMHSA)

Find a Health Center (a tool from the Dept of Health and Human Services) 

Psychology Today: Find a Therapist Tool

When it comes to finding a mental health care provider, locating a good fit is key. The presence of a strong relationship is one of the most therapeutic aspects of mental health counseling. When choosing a provider, you will often have an opportunity to speak with them on the phone prior to a face-to-face meeting. Here are some questions you might want to consider asking a potential provider:

• Can you describe the style or type of therapy you do?

• How do you think people get better in treatment?

• Do you specialize in work with particular cultural identities (e.g. ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation)?

• Do you have any particular areas of expertise?

• In what languages are you able to provide treatment?

• Do you have an active license to practice mental health treatment?

It may also be important to clarify some issues related to money and insurance. It is okay to ask these questions up-front, and most (if not all) health-care providers expect such inquiries:

• Do you take my insurance?

• How do you handle billing?

• Do you offer treatment on a "sliding scale" based on individual financial considerations?

• How much should I expect to pay per session?

There are some great self-help options available in books, online and through your smart phone. For example, here’s a list of ten things you can do right now for your mental health. If you are interested in more self-help options, click here to view a list of resources compiled by the Stevens office of Counseling and Psychological Services. 

Navigating the process of obtaining health insurance that covers the mental health treatment you need can be confusing. You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Here are some very useful online resources that can help you in your exploration:  

FAQ from the U.S. government regarding insurance coverage for mental health  

Help navigating mental health and addictions insurance (from the Dept of Health and Human Services)

A useful guide to mental health ‘parity’ laws

Things to consider when buying insurance coverage related to your mental health

Understanding Health Insurance (from the National Alliance on Mental Illness)

Uwill is a leading teletherapy platform that allows college students nationwide to receive real-time counseling online from licensed mental health professionals.

You choose from a list of mental health professionals, and you are then able to receive 1:1 counseling via video, phone, chat or text.

All currently registered and enrolled Stevens Institute of Technology students with a valid school email address are eligible to utilize the Uwill platform.

Yes, this service is generously sponsored by the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and is guaranteed to be fully funded through April 1, 2026.

Unlimited sessions are guaranteed by Uwill until at least April 1, 2026.

You may access the Uwill platform by clicking on app.uwill.com. From there, you can register using your Stevens email address. Once you complete the registration process, you will receive an email confirmation. After confirming your email address, you can select a counselor and schedule an appointment.

You will generally be matched with a counselor within 24 hours after you complete your registration

Uwill’s platform is designed to help students facing a variety of mental health concerns, including: depression, stress, specific relationship problems, family concerns, academic performance difficulties, sleep disturbance, social isolation/loneliness and adjustment to a new environment, among others.

They are all licensed mental health professionals with extensive clinical experience who possess one of the following credentials:

• Doctoral Level Licensed psychologists (LP, Ph.D., Psy.D. or the state’s equivalent of an independently licensed  psychologist)

• Master’s Level Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW, LICSW, or the state’s equivalent of an independently licensed social worker)

• Master’s Level Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT – or the state’s equivalent of an independently licensed marriage and family therapist)

• Master’s Level Licensed Counselors (LPC, LPCC – or the state’s equivalent of an independently licensed counselor)

Counselors using the Uwill platform generally take a solutions-oriented, wholistic perspective to treatment with a focus on providing specific coping skills to address the issues you are facing. To accomplish this, counselors use a variety of approaches including but not limited to: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness-Based Therapy.

Yes, you work with your counselor and select the format that best suits you. You can also choose multiple modalities of therapy based on your schedule and needs.

Yes. Uwill is HIPAA and FERPA compliant which means they follow the strictest privacy guidelines.