The University of Connecticut’s Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) offers numerous resources and services for the health and wellness of UConn students, including mental health resources. One of the options available for students is the free “Let’s Talk” mental health office-hours program.
With the program, students can meet with a registered clinician at any time for a quick session, usually about 15 to 20 minutes in length to discuss what’s on their mind and get support.
These informal consultations are conducted on a drop-in, first-come-first serve basis, similar to how professors’ office hours operate. Unlike the individual therapy sessions offered by SHaW, no appointment is necessary and is not a regularly scheduled meeting.
Sessions are held five days a week and feature a weekly rotation of different providers. For the fall semester, sessions are being held at the Jamie Homero Arjona Building, the Hilda May Williams Building (SHaW’s main building), the Student Union and the Wilbur Cross Building. Information about locations and clinicians available each day are updated weekly on SHaW’s website.
The program has been run by SHaW for the last decade and took inspiration from a program of the same name offered at Cornell University. The program provides a quick resource for non-crisis concerns and serves as an introduction to therapy for students new to it and other more formal mental health treatment methods.
“Let’s Talk creates space for students to seek immediate support for non-crisis concerns,” said Kristina Stevens, director of mental health at SHaW. “Clinicians support students in need before they reach the level of crisis. In addition, Let’s Talk contributes to our social justice mission by reducing barriers to mental health services for students who may be less likely to seek formal mental health treatment.”
Stevens noted that mental health and well-being “has not always been viewed as a priority, or even a need” among college students, but Let’s Talk and other programs exist to increase awareness of taking care of mental health.
“It may be something that students haven’t had access to or had the opportunity to talk about. In addition, navigating our own healthcare can be overwhelming or confusing,” Stevens added. “The entire SHaW team is there to help and there are a lot of ways to engage and access care and support.”
Stevens said that students looking for advice on a specific problem, looking to connect with other mental health resources or are seeking advice about how to support their friend’s mental health could benefit from attending a Let’s Talk.
Stevens further emphasized the importance of students using the multitude of resources made available through SHaW to take proper care of their mental health, citing the stressors and challenges that come from college life and navigating through unfamiliar obstacles.
“College can be both exciting and stressful,” she said. “It comes with new opportunities and increased demands. With all that students have going on, prioritizing their health and well-being is incredibly important.”
Stevens also said that while students should attend Let’s Talk sessions, they are still encouraged to explore the formal counseling offered by SHaW as well.
For more information about Let’s Talk and the mental health resources offered by SHaW, visit studenthealth.uconn.edu/lets-talk/.