Mental Health Services

The UW, like all world-class institutions of higher learning, prides itself on the rigors and intellectualism it provides for the curious and engaged human mind. But sometimes that very same human mind needs a little dose of tender-loving care.

That's why the University boasts one of the finest outpatient mental health care facilities in the area: The Mental Health Clinic at the Hall Health Primary Care Center.

"The Mental Health Clinic provides some of the most excellent services out there," said Dr. Richard Veith, chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the UW School of Medicine. "The clinic is superb."

One of clinic's most attractive features are the support groups it hosts.

The groups focus on specific topics such as grief, couple relationships, stress management, eating disorders and issues specific to men and to women, said Dr. Anil Coumar, the director of the clinic. Each group consists of approximately eight participants and one therapist, and continues for a duration of about eight weeks.

For those who are going through a particularly rough time and need more than what the groups offer, the clinic provides individual therapy. "Each therapy session runs 50 minutes, and is carried out, on average, six times," Coumar said.

The clinic offers special services for people going through times of crisis, including its crisis intervention service, which students can call anytime during business hours. Student calls are directed to a crisis specialist with a pager who can talk to them over the phone or set up a time to meet in person. The clinic also offers an after-hours student listening hotline, where students can get in contact with highly-trained peers to talk over troubling matters.

Being an outpatient facility, the clinic cannot solve all patients" situations, but will make appropriate referrals when necessary.

Most referrals the clinic makes are for people struggling with drug abuse, he said. If a student is suffering from a severe mental illness or eating disorder and needs inpatient care, he or she will be referred to a community-based center or hospital such as a Lakeside Milam Recovery Center, Swedish Medical Center/Ballard, or Northwest Hospital.

The clinic's services are relatively inexpensive compared to the going rates for mental health care, Coumar said. Most of it can be covered or partially covered by health insurance.

"There will be the occasional student who has used up all of his or her insurance, and can"t pay out of pocket, and then that student will be referred to a more cost-effective facility," said Ricardo Hidalgo, a mental health practitioner at the center. "That's not the usual case, though."

Contributing writer Gwen Davis development@thedaily.washington.edu.

The late nights and early classes you"re about to endure can take a toll on your health, so it is fortunate that on-campus medical assistance is so accessible.

Anyone can visit the Hall Health Primary Care Center on campus for treatment or consultations. To be seen, all that is required is registration in the Hall Health computer system and personal insurance and billing information, if applicable.

The Hall Health physicians include board-certified family doctors, sports doctors, internal medics, pediatricians, gynecologists, psychiatrists and nurse practitioners. Hall Health has its own pharmacy, laboratory, x-ray facility and physical therapy clinic.

Some of the more general services include one emergency counseling session per academic year, after-hours consulting nurse service for urgent medical problems, help for smokers looking to quit and advice about HIV and STD exposures. These and other health services are available at no cost to Washington students who pay the Student Activity Fee with their tuition.

Pamela Knowles, nurse manager at the Hall Health Primary Care Center, has worked for Hall Health for 14 years.

"We have seen anything as simple as hangnail to as complex as a heart attack," she said.

Even though many students have opportunities and occasions to use Hall Health, many don't take advantage of its services.

"I tend to go to the hospital only when absolutely necessary," said sophomore Asia Wen. "One of those occasions was when I spent a quarter abroad"They required a physical."

Conversely, Doris Wu, a junior at UW who has faced dancing injuries for many years, uses Hall Health often.

"I needed to take physical therapy for my knees [and]"I found out that my insurance covered them," she said.

Janice McKee, program coordinator for the Hall Health Travel Clinic, has seen people come back to Hall Health from all over the area and e-mail and call in from around the world, "probably because they recognize quality service."

"Hall Health has a family feeling to it," she said.

Contributing writer Emma Mullen: development@thedaily.washington.edu