Health and Wellness

• Free Counseling Sessions: Students who are currently in the U.S. can either email SHS@newschool.edu or sign into the SHS portal to schedule a virtual brief assessment with a New School counselor. These sessions are 20-30 minute tele-meetings that will help the counselor get a sense of what your needs are, provide resources, and determine next steps.

Resources for Students Enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan

• SilverCloud App: SilverCloud provides free access to a broad library of online programs to promote and support positive behavioral change and overall mental wellness. Each program consists of several modules to reduce and alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress. To access SilverCloud, select “The New School” on the sign-up page.

• BetterHelp: 24/7 online support from licensed counselors, who are available via ongoing text communications, live chat, phone, video and groupinars. This service is free to New School students who are enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan.

• Healthiest You Virtual Counseling: If you are enrolled in the New School Student Health Insurance (UHCSR), you have free access to board-certified psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and counselors through the HealthiestYou app.

• Optum Emotional-Support Helpline: Call 866.342.6892 to speak with a trained mental health specialist if you are experiencing anxiety or stress following the recent developments around COVID-19. This line is open 24/7.

• Crisis Text Line: A free, confidential text message service available 24/7 to people in crisis in the United States. Text HOME to 741.741.

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1.800.273.TALK (8255)

• International Suicide Prevention Hotlines

• Worldwide Crisis Support Resources

• NY Project Hope is a FEMA-funded program providing free, confidential crisis counseling in response to the pandemic. Their emotional support hotline is staffed by crisis counselors who can also connect callers with other resources.

• Suicide Prevention Crisis Centers

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233)

• SAMHSA Disaster Distress Hotline: Call 1.800.985.5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746

• Trevor Project for LGBTQ folks: 1.866.488.7386

• Trans Lifeline: 1.877.565.8860 (run by trans folks, for trans folks)

• National Graduate Student Crisis Line: 1.800.GRAD.HLP or 1.800.472.3457

• RAINN National Sexual Assault: 1.800.656.4673

• The Steve Fund Crisis Text Line (For Students of Color): Text STEVE to 741.74.

• NYC Well is the city’s free and confidential counseling service, available to all New Yorkers in English, Spanish, and Cantonese

• NYC Care is a health care access program that guarantees low-cost and no-cost services to New Yorkers who do not qualify for or cannot afford health insurance. All NYC Care services are provided through NYC Health + Hospitals.

• Talkspace offers online therapy and psychiatry.

• Betterhelp offers online therapy.

• Black Virtual Therapist Network is an online directory of licensed Black therapists who are certified to provide telemental health services across the US

• IHI Therapy Center is a NYC-based and has provided LGBTQ+ affirmative therapy for over 40 years.

• The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network has a directory of community based practitioners and a map to find QTPOC therapists in your area.

• The Center is offering virtual support for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Call 212.620.7310 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9:00 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. The team has prepared COVID-19-specific referral guides for existing services and options spanning housing, food, recovery, family support, HIV testing and more.

• My Tru Circle provides a directory of POC therapists in your area.

• The Safe Place App is mental health app for POC that gives informative information on mental illnesses, self-care tips, black mental health statistics, a mental health directory, an open group forum, and more.

• If you are enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan (UHCSR), visit gallagherstudent.com/thenewschool and click the "Find a Doctor" tab to find in-network medical and mental health providers near you. Note: UHCSR will cover telehealthcare. You can also use the HealthiestYou app to find a provider or access virtual counseling.

• International students enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan (UHCSR) also have access to Global Care via their HealthiestYou app, which allows telecounseling from outside the U.S. at no charge to you. If you need help finding a provider and services outside the U.S., contact UHC Global at 1-877-461-2273, 1-410-453-6330 (toll-free), or assistance@uhcglobal.com.

• Search on Psychology Today. You can filter for things like your zip code, insurance, and specific mental health issues.

• Search for mental health clinics in your area and/or local university counseling centers serving the community. They may be functioning remotely or may know of other local resources.

• Ask family and friends for referrals. There is nothing shameful about needing and looking for help!

• Happify is a mental health app offering a free set of tracks designed to aid with coping during this time

• Nod is a mental health app designed to help prevent loneliness among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Headspace: Free meditations for dealing with stress and overwhelm.

• Liberate Meditation App is a safe space for the Black community to develop a daily meditation habit.

• UVM Mindfulness program: Free meditations for resilience, gratitude and collective healing

• Active Minds: Mental health tips and resources for students, including webinars on self-care, communication, and mental health advocacy.

• Therapy Assistance Online Mindfulness Exercises: Free mindfulness exercises videos

• Behavioral Health Care COVID-19 Resources for managing anxiety.

• Tara Brach Pandemic Care Resources provide pathways to calm, clarity and open heartedness from Tara Brach, a mindfulness and meditation teacher.

• Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stay You free Google book by Beth Evans

• Stop, Breathe, Think: app on Google play/iPhone

• Happier Podcast with Gretchen Rubin

• Ten Percent Happier podcast/website

• VirusAnxiety: a toolkit of meditations, interviews + articles to destress/ discuss COVID concerns

• In addition to free counseling sessions, students can also access a Brief Alcohol and Screening Intervention for College Students (BASICS) through Student Health Services. Central to this approach is the desire to cultivate a non-judgmental awareness of drinking patterns and to develop ways to reduce risk and enhance well-being. This is a two-session motivational interviewing approach that has been shown to be effective in encouraging college students to explore their alcohol use and develop ways to minimize the negative consequences associated with drinking and other drugs. For more information about the BASICS program at The New School, or to schedule an appointment to learn more about your substance use, please email basics@newschool.edu.