Dear Niner Nation Students,
Your mental and emotional well-being is important to all of us. Like many of you, we have seen and heard recent reports about the ongoing mental health crisis facing college students. We understand the stressors surrounding you and your academic pursuits can sometimes feel overwhelming and isolating. The midterm period is often a stressful point in any semester, with midterm reports often bringing a higher level of anxiety. You may be soaring and feeling victorious or you may be struggling to open your grades.
Student Affairs has established efforts to create a community of care and support for you. The Student Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the Center for Wellness Promotion (CWP) and University Recreation (UREC) provide avenues to holistic stress and anxiety management as well as encourage you to seek help when and where needed.
CAPS offers a variety of mental health services to students including off-campus referrals for students who need or request it. For students needing referrals, please know that there are limited funds available to assist with off-campus mental health referrals. Funds are available through partnerships with SASS and support from the UNC System.
CAPS offers Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training sessions to help teach individuals how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, including verbal, behavioral and situational clues. QPR training provides guidelines on how to Question a person about suicidal thoughts, Persuade them to get help and Refer them to campus and/or local resources. Upcoming training sessions for students are scheduled on:
- Oct. 27 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Register here
- Nov. 9 from 5:30 - 7 p.m. Register here
- Dec. 2 from 2:30 - 4 p.m. Register here
CAPS is hosting Send Silence Packing on Oct. 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the CHHS/COED Plaza (rain site: Cone University Center). This program is an impactful education display of approximately 1,000 backpacks designed to inspire action for suicide prevention through education and advocacy.
UNC Charlotte hosts a chapter of Active Minds, a student organization focused on mental health advocacy that promotes mental health discussion, provides various resources and opportunities related to mental health care, and brings students together to support and guide one another through life with a positive, dedicated and open-minded platform. This organization is open to all students and you can find information about our campus group on Niner Engage.
If you have a concern about a friend or peer’s well-being, you can submit an online care and concern referral that will be routed to the appropriate office to assist students with getting connected to support services on campus.
It is important to take a minute to gauge where you are and what you need to manage your stressors. Below are some ways you can engage in preventing, managing or seeking assistance as you determine where you are on the mental health continuum.
Student Health Center
- General health checks
- Medication management and psychiatric assessment
- Nutrition counseling
CAPS
- Same day initial consultation appointments via telehealth
- Walk-in crisis services and support
- Therapy groups and workshops
- Short-term individual counseling
- No costs or co-pays to access CAPS services.
- After hours support through ProtoCall (call CAPS main phone number at 704-687-0311)
- Let’s Talk virtual drop in consultation sessions
CWP
- Intimate partner violence support
- Alcohol and other drug support
- Campus recovery program
- Health education
UREC
- Yoga for stress relief
- Club and intramural sports for belonging and engagement
- Exercise for stress reduction
We are here for you. The mental and physical well-being of Niner Nation is of critical importance and we care deeply about you. We welcome your feedback and suggestions as to what we can do better to support you and your fellow students. We have open doors and a willingness to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to reach out to one or both of us.
Dr. Mari Ross
Associate Vice Chancellor for Health and Wellbeing
Dr. Christine Reed Davis
Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students