Are counseling hotlines at every college?

Parents Forum
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<p>I found myself standing outside my dormitory at 6am this morning pouring my heart out to a counselor on NYU's Wellness Exchange hotline. (I had a mild meltdown about my French midterm and needed to talk to someone ASAP.) It is an NYU-staffed hotline that is open 24/7 for any kinds of questions or emergency. They connect students with counselors, arrange for ambulances to take students to hospitals, and have a doctor on call that can visit students in dormitories. I've called quite a few times, either for mild meltdowns like this morning, or more serious health concerns. </p>

<p>As I sat in class today, I wondered if most universities have these hotlines now. </p>

<p>Parents: Are these hotlines just par for the course now at large universities? </p>

<p>I know at NYU, they push the hotline heavily, due to the high profile suicides of the last few years. It's printed on ALL student IDs and it is displayed on all campus phones. It is also printed on all doors leading to roofs in high up NYU buildings. </p>

<p>I guess I'm just curious about how other universities are handling their mental health services in these high stress times we live in.</p>

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<p>Your query caused me to check and yes, it appears there is a 24 hour hotline at my kids school. Now that I think of it, I believe it’s mentioned during orientation and probably in the move-in packet & residential materials but not as heavily as you mention for NYU. Neither of my kids have mentioned much about the counseling hotline, they tend to avoid counselors. [USC</a> Trojans Care for Trojans](<a href=“http://sait.usc.edu/ca/tc4t/emergency_contacts.html]USC”>http://sait.usc.edu/ca/tc4t/emergency_contacts.html) is the website for more info at their school.</p>

<p>Just thinking it might be good for you to have some sort of on-going relationship with the counseling office rather than just random phone calls, since you’ve used their services several times, according to your post. It’s a lot easier to get more comprehensive care that way than when you keep having to start from the beginning with each new person you speak with. Just a thought.</p>

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<p>A listener (not university based) can always be reached at 1-800-273-TALK.</p>