You will be asked to review our Patient Rights and Responsibilities and sign to acknowledge that you reviewed and understand them at your first visit.

Unless your doctor or healthcare provider has excused your attendance (e.g. unplanned hospitalization), the independent decisions that you make to not attend class or not complete assignments will be your responsibility to address with your academic unit.  We can provide a verification of your visit to UCI SHC and make recommendations as to your ability to return to full time school or work on the Verification of Visit Form, but we will not retroactively excuse you from your academic responsibilities unless we have made it a medical recommendation as part of your treatment plan on a case-by-case basis.

If another UCI unit requires additional information about your medical or psychiatric condition, there is a slightly more detailed Verification of Treatment Form that a licensed healthcare professional can provide. You will also need to sign an Authorization for Release of Health Information for us to disclose this information to someone who is not you and for us to send this to a designated entity.

You should not be requesting these type of treatment verifications for individual professors or TA’s. If you have a medical condition that affects your academics, you are directed to register for an evaluation with UCI’s Disability Services Center.

For privacy reasons, it is not recommended for you to share any actual treatment record copies to academic personnel.

Remember that it can take up to 15 business days to provide documentation.

No. You must have an existing/ongoing treatment relationship with our healthcare professionals before we will discuss disability accommodations, especially in psychiatry and mental health. You should NOT schedule an appointment to be seen just for the purpose of having disability forms completed. That is an inappropriate use of resources, and your appointment will be cancelled.

The role of your physicians and healthcare providers at SHC are to assist you in the diagnosis and treatment of a healthcare condition.

Obtaining documentation for a professor, instructor, or work supervisor because I was in a doctor’s or healthcare appointment at SHC that ran late, or I needed to go to a healthcare appointment during a competing class/discussion/lab.

If you scheduled a healthcare appointment at UCI SHC that occurred during your academic schedule, or you had a UCI SHC appointment run late so that you were tardy to (e.g.) lecture, class, discussion, or lab, you can request a Verification of Visit Form from any UCI SHC staff member at the time of your visit. If the form is to be released directly to someone else, you will also need to sign an Authorization for Release of Health Information for us to send this to the designated entity.

Remember that it can take up to 15 business days to provide documentation.

To be an active patient, you will need to be seen, on average, once every three (3) months by your doctor.

In advance and as early as possible, you should discuss with your doctor any travel plans, including preparing for out-of-state or out-of-country field study, Education Abroad (EAP), or UCDC. Because your mental health needs can change based on your environment, and because most medical decisions are best made with a face-to-face visit, you will be encouraged to plan ahead for receiving health care at your destination site.

Ideally, this means identifying the location of your next practitioner(s) and sending a copy of your records well in advance so that your health care transition is smooth. An inability to do this may limit your medical and psychiatric clearance/approval to travel abroad, which is determined on a case-by-case basis. Our practitioners are licensed only to practice in the state of California. We do not find that telephone-only or secure-message-only decision making without an in-person examination, is safe or complies with ethical standards of care.

If you are going on a brief (e.g., < 2 month) holiday, please be advised that your pharmacy benefits may allow for a “vacation exception” where you can get a limited supply of your medications filled early to accommodate travel.

For UC SHIP students, please go to your Global Core benefits to find international care.

An evaluation assessment with the Psychiatry & Mental Health Service may be helpful to establish a diagnosis and treatment. Some disorders you may recognize can be found in Information by Diagnoses.

Some feelings of stress and distress can be temporary, particularly in times of challenges, or change. Often, signs or symptoms of stress can be temporary and can resolve on their own with intact and regular sleep, healthy nutrition, regular exercise (minimum 150-300 minutes per week of moderate intensity), purposeful work, time for fun, using adaptive coping, and having social supports.

It is normal in intact health to have transient feelings of sadness, worry, anger, frustration, shame, guilt, pleasure, and gladness.

Our service’s purpose is treating mental illness or disease, first by rendering a diagnosis, and then recommending appropriate treatment(s).

When signs and symptoms of emotional distress last for weeks (e.g. more than 14 serial days in a row), or, even months, and negatively influence your work, recreation, or your relationship with family and friends, it may be time for an evaluation.

Common warning signs of emotional distress that may require an evaluation include:

• Eating or sleeping too much or too little
• Pulling away from people and things, usual activities
• Feeling helpless and hopeless; and/or unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
• Excessive smoking, drinking, or using drugs (including prescription medications)
• Inability to perform daily tasks
• Thinking of hurting or killing yourself or someone else
• Seeing or hearing things that others cannot see or hear; believing things that are not true
• A change in yelling or fighting with family and friends over a period of time
• Having persistent thoughts and memories you can’t get out of your head

(Adapted from SAMHSA, SAMHSA Warning Signs; and SAMHSA Mental Health)

Did you know that?

• 50% of college students report feeling so overwhelmed in the past year that they can’t function. Check out mentalhealthishealth.us/, especially the For a Friend section on what you can do. Some tips include:
  • Get a good night’s rest. If you are feeling like you need to stay up all night to help your friend stay safe, STOP. This is a sign to get professional help either from your RA, or by calling the UCIPD (949) 824-5223 if after hours, or by driving directly to the nearest hospital emergency department right away.
  • If your friend feels like harming themselves or has a plan for suicide, you may need to call or text 988.
  • If someone is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
• UC Office of the President supports mental health and has published Promoting Student Mental Health: A Guide for UC Faculty and Staff.
• UCI’s Counseling Center provides resources for Assisting Students in Distress including the Red Folder.

• Information by Diagnoses

UCI Student Health Center is committed to supporting best practices in the delivery of health care services to our students. SHC’s onsite Mental Health Clinic is offers primarily in-person services, and at-least your first evaluative appointment is expected to be in person.  For established students who have an active, existing treatment relationship with a Psychiatry & Mental Health provider and who are still located in the state of California, occasional telemental health appointments can be offered on a case-by-case basis.

For students who want exclusive telemental health services, or who are in the U.S. but not physically located in the state of California, SHC is pleased to offer a variety of convenient online services that are designed to increase and improve access to care for students. The following online mental health services are currently offered:

• LiveHealth Online (UC SHIP in-network telemedicine and telemental health service that uses HIPAA-compliant video conferencing – go to following tab for more information). Available to all students 24/7 but is not a substitute for SHC clinicians. If you use a LHO provider when SHC is closed, please complete the steps on the last bullet on the sidebar.
• The UCI Counseling Center offers 2 FREE online screening programs.