Student resources

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Crisis Resources

If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

If you’re experiencing a mental health crisis:

  • Contact the Counseling and Wellness Center:
    • Walk in Crisis Hours: 9:00-4:00 Monday - Friday
    • Call Counseling Services at 717-337-6960
  • After Business Hours and on Weekends:
    • Call Campus Safety at 717-337-6911 and ask the operator to contact the On Call Counselor
    • Call True North Wellness at 1-866-325-0339
    • Call 911 or go to Gettysburg Hospital located at 147 Gettys Street, 6 blocks south of campus
  • If you are a person of color who is feeling stressed, depressed, or anxious, please know you can text STEVE to 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor 24/7.
  • If you are part of the LGBTQ community click this link to access a trained crisis counselor with The Trevor Project 24/7 via calls, chats, or texts This is a free, confidential and secure 24/7 service for individuals struggling with issues such as coming out, LGBTQ identity, depression, and suicide.

If you or someone you care about is in need of counseling services:

Services provided on campus at Gettysburg College:

  • Counseling: Contact us at counseling@gettysburg.edu to schedule a free, confidential appointment with a staff counselor. Our services are free of charge. We offer in person and telehealth appointments. We are here to help!
  • Psychiatry: We can also arrange an appointment with our staff psychiatrist or nurse practitioner if you are considering medications or are currently taking medication for mental health reasons. These appointments are confidential, free of charge and take place via telemedicine.

How to find services outside of Gettysburg College:

  • Consider using UWill’s teletherapy platform. We are excited to partner with UWill, the leading mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students, to provide free access to confidential teletherapy. Students have an immediate, secure, and convenient way to receive online-based counseling services should the need arise.
    • Choose a therapist based on your preferences including issue, gender, language, ethnicity
    • Choose a time that fits your schedule with day, night and weekend availability
    • Choose your appointment type, video, phone, chat, or message.
    • To get started, click here to find your UWill therapist or email the Counseling and Wellness Center at counseling@gettysburg.edu and we will help to get you started with UWill.
  • Contact your insurance provider for a list of local providers who accept your insurance. Look at your insurance card or insurance-company website for information about how to do so.
  • Contact your primary-care doctor’s office who may be able to provide referral suggestions to you.
  • Consult Psychology Today will allow you to locate local therapists who accept your insurance.
  • Students who remain abroad can contact the College’s ISOS program for referral assistance while abroad.
  • 211.org allows you to type in your ZIP code for local information about Essential Needs, Crisis and Emergency, COVID-19, Service Providers, and Disaster Assistance

General Resources

Mental Health Guide for College Students: If you struggle with mental health issues, it can be confusing and isolating. Unfortunately, it's also common, especially for college students. Thai site has a wealth of resources and self-care tips for the most common mental health issues faced by college students.

Seize the Awkward: Are you concerned about a friend's mental health, but don’t know how to start the conversation? This online resource by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the JED Foundation offers information & tools to empower you to reach out to friends who you are concerned about.

JED Foundation Mental Health Resource Center: The Jed Foundation’s Mental Health Resource Center provides essential information about common emotional health issues and shows teens and young adults how they can support one another, overcome challenges, and make a successful transition to adulthood.

ULifeLine is a comprehensive resource for college mental health. In addition to information and resources on most topics, they also have an anonymous Self Evaluator screening tool, which can help you assess whether a treatable mental health problem could be affecting you or a friend.

Go Ask Alice! Q&A Library is a collection of resources on a wide variety of topics. It provides readers with reliable, accurate, accessible, culturally competent information and a range of thoughtful perspectives so that they can make responsible decisions concerning their health and well-being. Provided by Columbia University.

Top 5 mental health challenges facing students is an article on BestColleges.com. This guide helps to identify the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues for college students and where and when to seek help.

Substance Use

  • Substance Abuse in College
  • Al-Anon: If you're affected by a friend or a family member's drinking or drug use
  • BRAD (be responsible about drinking) includes information on what to do for friends who have too much, effects of alcohol, alcohol and women, etc.
  • Gordie Centerof UVA focuses on alcohol facts, hazing and substance misuse among college students.
  • Marijuana Anonymous: 12 questions to help you determine if marijuana use is a problem in your life. Support for those wanting to quit marijuana use.
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse drug and drug abuse information.
  • National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
  • StartYourRecovery.org: offers relatable information for people who are dealing with substance use issues. This information can also be useful to family members, friends, and co-workers. Site offers information on signs, symptoms, conditions, treatment options, and local resources.

Substance Use Screenings Tools

Other addictions

  • The New Drug: Education on the harmful effects of Pornography
  • GameQuitters: Video game addiction is a real mental health condition affecting millions of people around the world. What are the warning signs? Are there underlying causes? What treatment options are available? Resources on video game addiction below:

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is a traumatic experience that may leave those involved with profound long-term psychological effects. Sexual assault survivors experience many reactions after an assault. Often, early trauma-informed therapeutic support can mediate these long-term effects. Counselors from Gettysburg College Counseling and Wellness Services can be a source of support to you. Counseling is free and confidential and is a resource to everybody involved in a sexual assault, including students who have been accused of committing sexual assault.

Sexual Assault and relationship violence includes multiple behaviors that occur without the consent of the survivor. For more information on various forms of sexual misconduct, definitions of consent and reporting, we encourage you to visit Gettysburg College’s Office of Sexual Respect and Title IX. Besides Health Services, counselors can assist you through the process of making an anonymous report to the college if you choose to do so.

Resources on Suicide and Suicide Prevention

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is dedicated to advancing our knowledge of suicide and our ability to prevent it. AFSP’s activities include supporting research projects; providing information and education about depression and suicide; promoting professional education for the recognition and treatment of depressed and suicidal individuals; publicizing the magnitude of the problems of depression and suicide and the need for research, prevention, and treatment; and supporting programs for suicide survivor treatment, research, and education.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides immediate assistance to individuals in suicidal crisis by connecting them to the nearest available suicide prevention and mental health service provider through dialing 988. They also provide resources on mental health topics.

Resources on Eating Disorders

Affinity Specific Resources

Campus resources

Websites

Self-Care Strategies

Our mental health and well-being is directly affected by our self-care. Specifically in the areas of nutrition, exercise and sleep. Here are some important ways to tend to your mental health and well-being:

  • Maintain a regular sleep schedule—try to go to sleep and wake up at roughly the same time.
  • Work towards maintaining good nutrition and regular meals.
  • Limit alcohol and caffeine intake.
  • Exercise - raise your heart rate with 30 minutes of vigorous movement 3 or more times a week.
  • Spend some time outside, in nature, especially.
  • Spend time with animals.
  • Practice deep breathing, relaxation, yoga, Qigong. Not sure how to do these? YouTube!
  • Try taking up an activity that requires use of your body and mind, which can give you an emotional break: baking, art, playing an instrument, etc.
  • Generosity: Take the focus off of yourself and do something kind for someone else. If you can’t visit in person, call or write.

Relaxation is an important part of self-care. But what actually is relaxation? Real relaxation is different from what many might call relaxation, such as exercising, zoning out, socializing, or pursuing a distraction like TV or a book. Those things are important, but they are not truly relaxation. Actual relaxation is an intentional, focused period of time during which one is mindful and alert, yet one's muscles are relaxed. This type of relaxation takes time to practice, but is worth the effort. It can help restore energy and boost your mood and performance levels much better than those other activities.