The Health and Counseling Center has launched a new program for students to have brief counseling consultations with a medical provider. The program is called Let’s Talk and provides free, anonymous walk-in hours at the HCC satellite office in Driscoll South downstairs by the Pioneer ID card office.

“We feel that this is an important step toward increasing access to and knowledge of mental health services on campus,” HCC Staff Psychologist and Group Outreach Coordinator Anand Desai said. “Additionally, we hope that historically underrepresented groups particularly students from marginalized groups who have a healthy skepticism of mental health services may utilize this service initially as there isn’t any commitment, nor are there records kept.”

According to Desai, the only limits to the program’s confidentiality involve a case in which a student identifies a serious risk of harming themselves or someone else. Additionally, the HCC website stresses that Let’s Talk is not meant to be substitute for ongoing, weekly counseling sessions.

Let’s Talk sessions are currently being held on Mondays from 10-11 a.m., Tuesdays from 1-2 p.m. and Wednesday from 3:30- 4:30 p.m. Desai added that if the program is well-utilized, additional hours might be added.

The Let’s Talk program was started at Cornell University, designed to help prevent suicides and violence from students who don’t usually reach out for help on mental health issues according to the University’s website.

A 2006 study by the Teagle Foundation found that the Let’s Talk program saw great improvements in minority participation in mental health consultations.

Let’s Talk has spread to dozens of college campuses across the nation over the past several years, especially as schools face increased pressures to address student’s mental health in the wake of recent shootings.

“The HCC also offers comprehensive mental health services including group counseling, medication management, couples counseling, and individual counseling,” Desai said. “We know that talking about difficulties helps people process and manage the impact that they may have on their day-to-day functioning.”