Getting Started

MIT Health’s Student Mental Health & Counseling can help you manage the challenges and pressures of daily life at MIT.

Visits are confidential, free of charge, and easy to arrange. Wondering what an appointment is like? Want to know how to get started? Read on.

How do I get started?

• Call: You can get started with a phone call to 617-253-4481, option 2, during regular weekday hours, or schedule a call online. You’ll speak with one of our clinicians to briefly discuss your concerns. Then we’ll make an appointment for you with a clinician who is appropriate for your needs. 
• Let us know if you have an urgent concern: If your concern is urgent, we want to hear from you right away. You can call us at 617-253-2916. When you call, you can speak with a clinician who will help you to figure out what to do next. 
• Reach us using telehealth: We offer telehealth appointments for eligible MIT students. To learn if you are eligible and to schedule an appointment, call us at 617-253-4481, option 2.

Your first scheduled appointment

During your first scheduled appointment, you and your clinician will discuss the concerns that prompted you to contact Student Mental Health & Counseling. The clinician will also ask you about any previous experiences with mental health services, some health-related questions, and some general questions about your family and upbringing. Usually, at the end of your first appointment, the clinician will have some suggestions about what to do next.

Your clinician will likely make suggestions about how often you should be seen and the kinds of services that could be helpful to you. This might include individual counseling or psychotherapy, medication, group counseling, or some combination of these options. The clinician might suggest that you receive services here, or the clinician might refer you to services outside of MIT. 

After the first appointment

If you have a second scheduled appointment at MIT Health, the clinician will usually ask how you felt about your first appointment and about the treatment recommendations you discussed last time. Your clinician will want to make sure that felt comfortable during the first appointment and feel that they are a good fit for your needs. If you didn’t feel comfortable about anything during your first appointment, this is a good time to let your clinician know. 

The second appointment is when you and your clinician will probably begin to focus on current issues rather than continuing to discuss your general history. 

Services for employees and faculty

While Student Mental Health & Counseling Services serves MIT students, MIT offers MyLife Services as a benefit for faculty, staff, postdoc associates and postdoc fellows, and household members. MyLife Services provides up to four free and confidential counseling sessions per person, per concern, with a licensed mental health professional. If you or your household member continue to see a mental health professional for an ongoing concern after those four sessions, you may use your health insurance coverage, and copayments may be required.