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A reminder on mental health and well-being resources

Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole provides an overview of services and programs available to students as we approach the end of a fall quarter that has been both challenging and exhilarating.

Dear students,As we approach the end of fall quarter, I want to express my gratitude for the courage and resilience that you displayed as you returned to Stanford after an extended period of remote learning and community. Because of your commitment to keeping COVID-19 infection rates low through your everyday actions, we were able to resume many of the events and traditions that we all missed.While returning to campus brought a renewed sense of energy and excitement, I want to acknowledge that this may have also increased anxiety in your lives in terms of academics, relationships and forming connections while building your communities. The final exam period can be especially challenging.We are very fortunate that Stanford has a wide-reaching network of services to support student mental health and well-being. If you are unsure of where to start, please consult these new digital guides:

  • Resources for Our Communities provides a directory of various services supporting student well-being. This easy-to-use site will help you navigate the options available to the student community.
  • Given the extraordinary levels of loss and grief some have experienced in the wake of COVID-19, we created Grieving at Stanford to help students connect with relevant support.
  • Mental Health Resources at Stanford contains a full array of programs and services to help you navigate challenging times and identify the support you need.

While there are many places to get help on campus, I’d like to remind you about Counseling and Psychological Services. CAPS offers clinical and crisis mental health support during business hours. After hours crisis support services are also available at the same number: 650.723.3785.  In addition, CAPS is offering a new therapy option via a one-year pilot program called WPO in an effort to increase mental health resources for Stanford students, including those outside California. Through this program, students can receive up to five free virtual therapy sessions (or in-person sessions if desired and available) with a therapist, paid for by CAPS. WPO clinicians can also provide single-session therapy right at the time of your call.To access this new therapy service, call:

  • 1.866.212.6113 (enrolled Stanford students currently located in the U.S.)
  • +1 984.239.2309 (enrolled Stanford students currently located outside of the U.S.)

In closing, I would like to thank students who collaborated with us to refine our approach to transporting an individual to an emergency room for further evaluation during a mental health incident (sometimes referred to as a 5150 transfer). We announced the changes that resulted from that collaboration in this message from October 2020. Since that message, we have implemented the updated process and now students are generally transported to the hospital by ambulance through the Palo Alto Fire Department. In the past, students were generally transported in a Stanford University Department of Public Safety vehicle. In addition, the university has the ability to engage multiple resources to support students in a crisis situation including the county’s Mobile Crisis Response Team and Psychiatric Emergency Response Team.Your well-being is critical to your success, and we want to support you however possible. I am inspired by your generation’s confidence in prioritizing mental health and hope you will find great value in the resources available to you as a Stanford student. I wish you the very best as you close this quarter.Sincerely,Susie Brubaker-ColeVice Provost for Student Affairs