Counseling Services

Mount Ida Campus Counseling Services is located in Building 8, in the Health Wellness and Recreation Center on the south end of Shaw Road. Counseling Services is staffed with a licensed mental health counselor who is available for brief consultations, ongoing psychotherapy, and group therapy. If you require more support than we are able to provide, we can help get you connected with an off-campus provider who takes your insurance. We also work closely with local psychiatrists for medication management. When appropriate, we regularly refer students to these physicians for medication, consultation, and management.

Scope of Practice

Mount Ida Campus Counseling Services offers free mental health support to all students, primarily via short-term, solutions-focused counseling. Students seek counseling for a variety of reasons, including typical issues such as life adjustment, stress management, depression, anger, family concerns, grief/loss, relationship challenges, and other transitions emerging adults face while in college.

Access Mental Health Support

Students experiencing a life-threatening medical or mental health emergency should call 911 immediately.

• During normal business hours: call 413-545-1802 and select option 2
• When we are closed: call 413-545-1802 and listen carefully to all the options
• After-hours resources and information: Scroll to bottom of page

If you have experienced a sexual assault and would like to be seen by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) go directly to Newton Wellesley Hospital Emergency Room. If you would like to speak with a Nurse Practitioner or Counselor in our office, please call 413-545-1802.

Our counselors are experienced in supporting students through these transitions and are sensitive to issues of ethnicity, spirituality, culture, sexual orientation, gender, disability, learning differences, and body image. Our clinicians strive to provide as many clinical services to our students as possible. However, because we have a focus on short-term, solutions-focused counseling there are some services we do not provide, including:

• Long-term counseling
• Intensive substance abuse treatment
• Intensive outpatient treatment
• Testing for learning disabilities and/or attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Forensic evaluations
• Neuropsychological evaluations
• Court-ordered treatment or treatment that is the stipulation of probation
• Evaluations for attorneys or courts related to difficulties such as alcohol infractions (e.g., driving under the influence) or other domestic matters such as parents seeking the custodial authority of a student
• Services to students who are not medically stable or require intensive medical treatment
• Letters of recommendation for students requesting emotional support animals (see FAQ for more information)

Although we do not provide these services, our staff will work with students to help them access these resources off-campus.

Medication

The counseling staff works with local providers to refer students for medication. Students who would like a medication evaluation can schedule a counseling appointment and a clinician will assist in connecting them with an off-campus provider who accepts their insurance. The clinician will provide follow up to make sure the student is connected and that the provider is a good fit. Students are encouraged to discuss medication questions or concerns with their therapist.

Social Identity and Privilege in Psychotherapy

At the Mount Ida Campus Counseling Center, we are aware that each person carries with them multiple social identities related to race, ethnicity, class, culture, sexuality, gender, able-bodiedness, and many other factors that influence their experiences and lives. Discrepancies in access, power, and privilege can have a profound effect on a student’s experience at the Mount Ida Campus, as well as at our counseling center. Differences in culture, social identity, and power can also affect how a client and clinician experience the therapeutic relationship.

The members of our counseling staff are committed to providing the best possible therapy to all members of our community. We approach therapy with humility, recognizing that we can never be the “expert” in another’s experience. And yet we also know that excellent therapeutic work can be done, even in cases where the therapist and client have different backgrounds and experiences. Our commitment to working with clients from different social identities means a number of things, including:

• Educating ourselves about the many social realities of our clients. We don’t rely on clients to educate us, but we remain open to all feedback clients want to give us.
• Educating ourselves on issues of racism, classism, sexism, gender oppression, transphobia, ableism, homophobia, and other “isms” in society and at the Mount Ida Campus in particular.
• Exploring and reflecting upon our own social identities and biases while remaining open to the idea that we may have blind spots and assumptions of which we are not always aware.
• Being ready for open and honest discussions with clients about the ways that social identities and power differences are shaping the therapeutic relationship.

If you have any questions about how any of us work with issues of social identity, please do not hesitate to ask! And if you would like help in finding a therapist outside of our clinic, please let us know.

Health and Counseling After Hours  

Medical

For non-emergency medical issues, please return during normal business hours or call 413-545-1802.

When we are closed: please call 413-545-1802 and listen carefully to all the options.

Newton Wellesley Hospital – Emergency Room
2014 Washington St., Newton, MA 02462
Phone: 617-243-6000

Chestnut Hill Urgent Care
Route 9 East – 200 Boylston St., Newton, MA 02467
Phone: 617-278-8500
Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sat-Sun 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Mental Health

For non-emergency mental health issues, please return during normal business hours or call 413-545-1802. 

When we are closed: call 413-545-1802 and listen carefully to the options

Newton Wellesley Hospital – Emergency Room
2014 Washington St., Newton, MA 02462
Phone: 617-243-6000

Riverside Community Care 24-hour Crisis Team: call 800-529-5077

Additional Mental Health Resources

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: call 800-273-TALK (8255)

National Crisis Hotline: call 800-273-TALK (8255)

Crisis Text Line: text the word HOME to 741741 to reach a trained counselor

LGBTQ+ Suicidal Hotline: call 866-488-7386

REACH (Domestic Violence): call 800-899-4000

BARCC (Sexual Assault): call 617-492-8306

Health and Wellness Online Resources

Online resources recommended by University health care professionals are available on a wide variety of topics.