New number connects entire UTHealth Houston community to mental health resources
The UTHealth Houston community now has a single number to quickly access confidential mental health services.
The UTHealth Houston Mental Health and Well-being Line is live, and can be reached by dialing 713-500-9888.
“UTHealth Houston is composed of many faces working to fulfill the university’s mission, and we are proud that now there is a single number to connect all of them to available mental health and well-being resources,” said Nicholas Skefos, DO, director of UTHealth Houston Student Counseling Services. “Previously, there were multiple phone numbers and various entities that our UTHealth Houston family had to navigate in times of need. Having one centralized phone number for all of UTHealth Houston makes it even easier to access resources.”
By incorporating the digits used in the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988), the UTHealth Houston Mental Health and Well-being Line is intentionally structured to be easily remembered.
“I’m so excited to streamline access to UTHealth Houston’s robust and confidential mental health services,” said Monica Guidry, LCSW, ACSW, associate vice president of UTHealth Houston Employee Assistance and Well-being Programs. “We hope streamlined access decreases barriers to accessing mental health services within the university community.”
The new number is in addition to the current mental health lines, which are still active. Dialing 713-500-9888 connects to a call tree that has options for students, faculty, staff, and trainees — to forward them to various groups that provide services.
“UTHealth Houston offers safe and confidential resources to help our university community when life events result in distress, fatigue, or feelings of being overwhelmed. This can be a game changer,” Guidry said. “Save the number into your phone to make sure our resources are within easy reach when you need assistance.”
Student services are provided by Student Health and Counseling Services, while services to residents and fellows, faculty, staff, and their dependents are provided services through Employee Assistance and Well-being Programs.
Guidry and Skefos thanked the telecom team within the UTHealth Houston IT infrastructure team for its technical assistance and expertise.
“I enjoyed this project knowing how impactful this would ultimately be to the university community,” said James Oluwatope, senior network engineer on the telecom team within IT infrastructure. “Essentially we created what is known as a vanity line which connects existing call lines together, but with the bonus of being able to update the scripts and flow of all the lines, creating a great user experience.”