Mental Health Services

The Department of Mental Health Services offers individual counseling to all IU School of Medicine trainees. Sessions are generally 45-50 minutes long and can address a wide range of issues including mood, stress and anxiety, eating disorders, substance use, or any other mental health concern. Issues do not have to be specifically related to medical training—the goal is to meet the full range of needs that trainees may have.

A limited number of couples counseling appointments are available to IU School of Medicine trainees. The trainee’s partner does not have to be affiliated with IU to participate in couples counseling. Couples counseling through the department is a session-limited service; counselors will talk with couples about the number of sessions available during the initial evaluation process.

Any trainee who has an urgent need to be seen may reach out for an urgent counseling appointment. These appointments are usually 50 minutes long and provide the trainee with immediate strategies to help support him/her through an acute stressor or time-sensitive situation. Patients who are an imminent danger to themselves or others should call the crisis line at 317-278-HELP (4357) or go to their nearest emergency department rather than seek an urgent appointment.

The Department of Mental Health Services offers some group therapy services. Group therapy sessions are generally 90 minutes long focus and may focus on a specific topic or focus on the needs of a specific group of students (e.g., PhD students, 2nd year medical students). Interested attendees must be evaluated by the group leader to ensure they would be an appropriate fit for the group.

Psychiatric services are available for all medical trainees. After an initial appointment with one of our counselors, if needed, a referral to one our psychiatrists can be arranged. Initial psychiatric evaluation appointments are 60-90 minutes and subsequent appointments are 30 minutes. These are both available in-person and remotely, via Zoom.

The Department of Mental Health Services offers opt out wellness checks to interns (PGY1s), in collaboration with residency programs. Programs set up these 30-minute appointments, during which interns meet individually with a clinician and can either participate in the standard wellness check assessing six areas of wellness or may address their own personal stressor or concern. The appointments are designed to meet the specific needs of intern year and help interns learn about the department and its services, destigmatize mental health services, reduce barriers to starting mental health care, and potentially reduce stress. After completing the wellness check, all interns are offered the opportunity to continue with mental health services, if they are interested. Programs interested in offering these visits to their interns should reach out for more information. Programs interested in offering wellness services to non-intern trainees should reach out to learn about other available options.

Providers engage in numerous outreach activities with the IU School of Medicine learner community. Outreach includes formal presentations, but also supporting programs and trainees during crisis situations. The team is happy to work with your department or unit to develop a presentation or workshop to address specific concerns or events. Common themes include:

• coping strategies and resilience
• crisis and suicide
• ethics and multicultural competence
• mood disorders
• SMART goals
• substance abuse
• well-being
• departmental consultations
• traumatic event debriefings

Complete the outreach request form to schedule one of these services.

Trainees may reach out to schedule a visit focused on a single issue to help them identify strategies to manage their concerns and develop an action plan going forward. Appointments are generally 50 minutes long and available both in-person and remotely, via Zoom.