Student Health & Wellbeing

Back to All Topics 

Center for Student Health & Counseling

The Center for Student Health and Counseling (SHAC) is a community-based health care organization that provides high quality, accessible mental health, physical health, dental services, and testing services targeted to the needs of the PSU student population.

SHAC provides individual and group counseling sessions for students in distress. During business hours, there is always a staff member available for students who walk in with a need for immediate counseling. If you have questions about how to make this referral, you can consult with the staff at the Center for Student Health and Counseling or the Dean of Student Life Office during the day. When Student Health and Counseling is closed, the Multnomah County crisis line can be of service to students for counseling and mental health related referrals. They are available 24 hours a day. If you or a student in distress requires immediate response, it is best to contact our Campus Public Safety Office. They provide 24 hour immediate emergency response to all Portland State University crises. The staff can also consult about and track safety concerns on campus.

To contact The Center for Student Health and Counseling, please call 503-725-2800. To reach the Multnomah County Crisis Line, please call 503-988-4888. To get in touch with the Campus Public Safety Office, please call 503-725-4407. 

For more information about SHAC visit our website.

*Note that student health and counseling records can only be released with a signed release of information or for imminent health and safety concerns.

Campus Rec

Campus Rec offers a wide variety of opportunities for students to get involved on campus. Membership is included with tuition and fees and provides access to programming in aquatics, fitness and health promotion, inclusive rec, intramurals, rec clubs and the outdoor program. Additional services include outdoor equipment rental and personal training. The LEED Gold Certified Rec Center has a pool and spa, indoor track, cardio machines, weight machines, free weights, Olympic lifting, sport courts, fitness studios, a 32-foot climbing wall, locker rooms and all-gender restrooms. Campus Rec employs over 200 students.

Visit www.pdx.edu/recreation for more information.

Healthy Campus Initiative 

A quality education goes beyond the classroom. Healthy living fosters holistic success and should be accessible to all. 

We know that real change requires collaboration and action at every level. From offering more nutritious food options to influencing campus-wide policy, PSU’s Healthy Campus Initiative seeks to inspire and empower everyone to be well.

In 2016, the Healthy Campus Initiative Steering Committee identified three data-driven priorities that are centered around a healthy mind, healthy body and healthy community. Task forces comprised of faculty, staff and students are hard at work to identify the needs of our community and appropriate steps toward change in these three priority areas:

We welcome faculty input on these topics by participating in our topic focused task groups.  The task groups generally meet once a month for a working meeting, meaning there is generally no "homework" between meetings.  For more information please contact healthycampus@pdx.edu.