Mental health at Texas State: where to find support — and two things families abroad should know

10 October is World Mental Health Day. Texas State marked it with a simple reminder: your mental health matters, and you do not have to navigate it alone. Here are the university’s support resources — and a few details international students and their families should know before arrival.

Four places to turn

The Student Health Center on campus also offers mental health services alongside medical care.

Two details for international students

The Counseling Center’s crisis page carries two lines the social media post did not mention, and they matter to readers outside the US:

• TimelyCare is for current and upcoming enrolled students, with international access. Waiting to fly, just arrived, or home for the holidays — there is still somewhere to turn.
• Family and friends can get advice too. Counseling Center staff consult with relatives worried about a student. After hours, call 512-245-2208 and choose option 2.

Seeing a counsellor does not mean something is “wrong”

In many families, seeing a counsellor is still hard to talk about. At a US university it is an ordinary service, like the clinic — in the student centre, and confidential.

The first year abroad is often the shakiest: far from home, a new language, a new way of learning, nobody familiar. Reaching out early, while things only feel a little heavy, is far easier than waiting until they feel unbearable.

Parents can help in one small way: before departure, save the Counseling Center number with your child and install TimelyCare together. Not because you expect trouble — so that if the day comes, finding the number is not the first hurdle.

Read also: Texas State and Campus Nature Rx — nature supports counselling, it does not replace it.

Sources: Mental Health Resources at Texas State (Minds Matter) and Crisis/Urgent Support, Counseling Center — all numbers, locations and hours are taken from these pages · Counseling Center · Here to Help · CARE Team · 988 Lifeline. This article describes services; it is not medical advice.