University Counseling Services

All full- and part-time graduate and undergraduate DePaul students can receive initial consultations, triage and referrals to mental health professionals from University Counseling Services. Students can also access brief, individual mental health support via chat, and scheduled support via telephone or video with a counselor through the My SSP app. Students can also access digital content, including wellness and fitness resources.

Students have access to  My SSP 24/7/365, and can download the app from Google Play or the Apple App store, or call 1-866-743-7732 (001-416-380-6578 outside of the U.S.).

For direct access to a counselor, call 1-866-743-7732 (001-416-380-6578 outside of the U.S) or select 'call' or 'chat' in the My SSP app. The app looks a little different now, but you can watch a video tutorial here, or on the My SSP web page on the DePaul website.

In the app under ‘Quick Actions’ on the main page, select ‘call’ or ‘chat.’

To request scheduled sessions with a dedicated counselor, select ‘call’ and schedule phone or video sessions with a counselor.

For the chat option, you will have to indicate that you’ve read the chat descriptor, agree to terms of use and provide some personal details.

Individual services offered are considered to be brief. Counselors will provide a list of resources in the community for regularly scheduled, longer-term support. 

There is no cost to students for using the My SSP app or connecting with a counselor via phone, video or chat.

Counselors can help students address/resolve a variety of issues, including:

-Relationships
-School/academic succes skills
-Culture shock/issues
-Family and friends
-Lonliness
-Stress
-Addiction
-And more!

UCS offers a goal-focused, time-limited, and collaborative approach to mental health services in which students work collaboratively with their therapists to focus on goals that would be completed in a short-term during their academic career at DePaul. For long-term needs, students will be referred to providers in the community. In addition, students are referred out to community providers when student’s counseling needs are best met with higher level of care (partial program, inpatient treatment, etc.), more frequent meetings, or specialized services that UCS does not provide.

My SSP is a 24/7/365 service that students can access at any time. Contact them by dialing 1-866-743-7732 (001-416-380-6578 outside of the U.S.).

Other 24/7/365 resources include:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1-800-273-8255

Open 24/7/365

The Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.

Crisis Text Line

Text “HOME” to 741741

Open 24/7/365

Texters can chat with a Crisis Counselor, a real-life human being trained to bring texters from a hot moment to a cool calm through active listening and collaborative problem-solving. 

IMAlive Online Crisis Network 

In a crisis situation when you are not able to keep yourself/someone or those around you/them safe, you need to go to or contact the nearest emergency room.

When calling 911, callers can request an ambulance for themselves or others experiencing a mental health crisis. The National Alliance of Mental Illness recommends: “Share all the information you can with your 911 operator. Tell the dispatcher that you or your loved one is having a mental health crisis and explain their mental health history and/or diagnosis. Request a trained Crisis Intervention Team-trained officer.”

If on campus, you can also contact public safety on Lincoln Park (1-773-325-7777) or Loop Campus (1-312-362-8400) for assistance.

Call 311 to request a welfare check if you are worried about someone or have not been able to reach them.

If the  person you are concerned about should be on campus, or you believe they are on campus, you can call Public Safety who can conduct a wellness check. Call 773-325-7777 in Lincoln Park or 312-362-8400 in the Loop.