Frequently Asked Questions

The Department of Mental Health Services provides problem focused treatment for a variety of mental health concerns. For more detail, visit the Services page.

All services provided by the clinicians with the Department of Mental Health Services are offered free of charge to trainees of IU School of Medicine.

Medical trainees at IU School of Medicine with urgent psychological or psychiatric concerns can access guidance through a 24-hour dedicated phone line: 317-278-HELP (4357). This service is available to trainees at all nine IU School of Medicine campuses for emergencies or urgent needs. A trained mental health clinician answers calls and provides step-by-step assistance to the caller.

Whether you are a new or existing patient, you can schedule appointments by visiting our Mental Health Services Learner portal or by calling our front desk at 317-278-2383.

Your first appointment will be a 50-minute targeted therapy appointment in which you will work with a clinician on strategies to help meet your immediate needs. At the end of that session, you will talk with the clinician about the most appropriate next steps for any additional needs, including ongoing counseling and/or medication management.

Paperwork can be completed through the portal and must be completed before meeting with the provider at the first session. If needed, a referral to a psychiatrist can be arranged after an initial appointment with a counselor.

While we are unavailable to offer services on a walk-in basis, we try to provide services as quickly as possible. Appointments are usually available within a few days of reaching out, and urgent appointments are available for those with immediate needs.

The Department of Mental Health Services offers telehealth via Zoom through our portal. You may choose to schedule in-person or tele-health appointments, depending on your preferences and availability. 

The Department of Mental Health Services takes a number of precautionary measures to protect your privacy and ensure that all services are confidential following strict HIPPA compliance. Additionally, we employ a third party EMR system that has no affiliation with IU School of Medicine, IU or IU Health. Learn more about confidentiality and privacy.

In addition to our dedicated regional campus therapists, we collaborate with local providers and institutions to ensure that all learners have access to comprehensive mental health care regardless of their location. For more information on this, visit the Campus Resources page.

The Department of Mental Health Services complies to strict HIPPA guidelines to maintain and secure patient information. Additionally, we employ a third party EMR system that has no affiliation with IU School of Medicine, IU or IU Health. Learn more about confidentiality and privacy.

Your provider will work directly with you to determine the appropriate frequency and duration for your sessions based on your needs. In general, we use a brief therapy model.

The Department of Mental Health Services (DMHS) offers counseling focused on managing the behavioral symptoms associated with ADHD. For trainees interested in medication management, and/or support with accommodations requests, we first require a full battery of testing

Policy

Accurately diagnosing ADHD and learning disorders in adulthood can be complex. Therefore, at DMHS, we require a complete assessment that includes a clinical evaluation, screening tests, and a full battery of neuropsychological testing to ensure an appropriate diagnosis. Additionally, the testing results will be needed for testing accommodation requests, and psychiatric treatment.

There is a standardized process for testing through DMHS. If the DMHS clinical evaluation and screening tests indicate impairment and the possibility of ADHD, learning disabilities or a thought disorder, patients will be referred for testing.

What information will neuropsychological testing provide?

• Neuropsychological testing can help provide answers as to why an individual is having academic or job-related struggles, which often reduces the anxious or depressive feelings that result from repeated failures at school or work.
• Based on the strengths and weaknesses identified in testing, therapy can focus on teaching strategies that help the individual be more successful at school or work.
• Depending on the diagnosis identified, individuals may be eligible for academic or job-related accommodations that may enable him or her to be more successful.
• If ADHD is identified, the individual may decide to pursue ADHD-specific medications
• Testing results may also rule out other diagnostic concerns (e.g. anxiety or depression) that cause inattention and need to be addressed.

What is included in neuropsychological testing requested by DMHS:

1. Anxiety and depressions screeners (e.g., Beck Depression Inventory — second edition, BDI-II; and Beck Anxiety Inventory, BAI)
2. IQ and achievement testing (e.g., Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale — Fifth Edition, WAIS-5; and Wechsler Individual Achievement Testing — Fourth Edition; WIAT-4)
3. Executive functioning tests (e.g., Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function — Second Edition Adult Version, BRIEF-2A; Delis Kaplan Executive Function System, DKEFS; Bender Gestalt; and Tower of London)
4. Test of attention (e.g., Qb)
5. Personality testing (e.g., Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, MCMI)

If patients wish to undergo testing outside of the DMHS testing process and do not have all the listed categories of testing, they may be required to obtain additional testing before DMHS can provide ADHD-related medication management or accommodations request support. Please note, DMHS can provide some testing in-house (items 4 and 5 on the list), but works with local providers for most testing needs.