UHS Mental Health Services offers brief therapy and other mental health treatment to students. If you need or want long-term, more frequent, or specialized treatment, we can help you navigate options in your local community.
Options for Getting Started
Meet with a UHS Care Manager
Care managers provide support while you establish mental health care with a community provider. This includes helping you understand your insurance plan. If you don’t have insurance coverage, care managers may be able to help you obtain local coverage or identify low-cost/sliding fee scale providers. Care managers can also work with you to address a variety of other resource needs.
Schedule an Access Appointment or talk with your current provider to be referred to a care management appointment. Call 608-265-5600 (option 2) or log on to MyUHS for 24/7 online scheduling.
Search on Your Own
UHS Mental Health Services has partnered with MiResource to provide a searchable database of community mental health providers for UW-Madison students. Faculty, staff, caregivers, and other supportive partners may use this tool to help students find mental health care off campus.
Providers are invited by the UHS Mental Health Services Care Management Team. Profiles are completed and updated independently of UHS.
Insurance Information
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Understanding your insurance
- Have your insurance card ready. The customer service phone number for assistance with benefit or referral information is on the back.
- You will be asked for your Member ID and/or Group ID. If you don’t have it, let them know. Most companies can look up your name, date of birth, and/or social security number.
- Tell the representative that you’re looking for Behavioral Health or Mental Health.
- You may need to contact one number to verify benefit information and another for mental health referrals. Ask the following questions about your benefits: Are mental health services covered by my insurance? Is there a co-pay and what is it? Is there a deductible, and how much of the deductible has already been met this year?
- For counseling or psychiatry, tell them you want outpatient mental health services. If you’re looking for more intensive services like a hospitalization, tell them you need inpatient care.
- Most insurance companies will email you a list of providers in your area, talk you through the options for different providers, or direct you to their website. Be sure to let them know the zip code of the areas that you want them to look under and any transportation limitations.
- If your insurance company tells you that you’re not covered in Madison (or Wisconsin), be sure to tell them that you are a full-time college student at UW–Madison, as you may be able to obtain a local referral option.
Tips for searching insurance websites
- Search your insurance company online.
- If applicable, click on Members or Member Services.
- Fill in county (Dane), city (Madison), state (Wisconsin), zip code (your Madison zip).
- Identify the type of provider that you would like to see. For counseling, choose Behavioral Health, Mental Health, Counseling, Clinical Social Work, or Psychology. For medication management, you would choose Psychiatry within Mental Health or Behavioral Health. If these are not options, look under Specialty Providers.
- Keep in mind that online resources may not be as reliable as the customer service provider. If you have a question, call and ask.
Local HMO insurance resources
Dean Healthcare
608-252-8000 (ask for Mental Health/Psychiatry)
Group Health Cooperative
608-441-3290 (ask for Mental Health Coordinator)
Physicians Plus
608-233-3575 (option 1, ask for Behavioral Health)
Unity
608-233-3575 (option 1, ask for Behavioral Health)
No insurance coverage / sliding scale fee services
Catholic Charities
608-256-2358
Journey Mental Health
608-280-2700
Lutheran Social Services
608-277-0610
The Family Center
608-663-6154
Access Community Health (multiple locations)
608-443-5480
Mental Health Services & Information
Not sure what you're looking for?
We can help.
Call 608-265-5600 (option 2).