Student Health and Counseling Services
Student Health and Counseling Services aims to facilitate the educational experience of students enrolled at UNC Asheville by removing health-related barriers to learning, promoting healthy life patterns, and by teaching students to be knowledgeable consumers in the complex health-care world. 
In order to best serve students because UNC Asheville recognizes that physical, psychological and social well-being are interconnected, Student Health Services and Counseling Center are consolidated into one unit, located in Weizenblatt Hall. The transition to this new model combining counseling, medical care, and health and wellness promotion for our students incorporates the following:
- An interdisciplinary care-team approach to meet the needs of our clients. The medical and counseling staff meet jointly to systematically and regularly evaluate the needs of students whose medical and psychological conditions overlap. The team develops individual treatment plans for students as necessary and reviews their success. Team members may include experts in psychiatry, disabilities, nutrition and related fields, and the co-chairs are Dean of Students Jackie McHargue and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Activities Calvin Kelly.
- Improved access for walk-in clients, emergency response, and urgent referral from the campus. Student Health and Counseling Center hours are adjusted so that students can see counselors and medical professionals at times that best fit their schedules. Building on the Counseling Center’s client-centered culture, the newly reorganized center strives to ensure that any student who requests care will be seen the same day by a counselor and/or medical professional. When students require longer-term care than staff can appropriately manage, they are referred to counseling professionals and medical specialists in the community, who work with UNC Asheville, thus allowing on-campus staff to be available to more students.
- A coordinated, holistic approach to wellness and health promotion, encouraging students, both individually and collectively, to take personal responsibility for their own health and well-being.
Medical Services
Professional staff provide health care for currently enrolled students who have illnesses, injuries or other health concerns. Office visits and medical examinations are free of charge. However, laboratory services, medications and surgical procedures require a small fee. Service is not available to faculty, staff or students who are not enrolled at UNC Asheville. Services include:
- Care for chronic illnesses
- Evaluation and treatment of accidental and athletic injuries
- Family planning counseling
- Physical exams for health screening purposes
- Allergy shots
- Immunizations to meet university requirements
- Laboratory services such as cholesterol screening, strep throat, mono and pregnancy tests, HIV and other STD screening
- A select inventory of birth control pills and antibiotics for a small charge
- Depression and anxiety screening and treatment
- Health education programs for groups and individuals
Counseling Services
The Counseling Center provides three major programs of service, free of charge, to all registered UNC Asheville students:
- Individual counseling
- Group counseling
- Outreach programs
Students generally seek these services for the following reasons:
- Depression
- Anxiety about tests
- Fear of failure
- Relationship issues
- Adjustment to college
- Substance abuse
- Eating disorders
- Family problems
Types of Counseling Offered
Individual counseling is offered to help students overcome academic problems that have a psychological component, such as difficulty concentrating, writing blocks, procrastination, etc. Short-term personal counseling is available for issues that interfere with academic effectiveness (feelings of inadequacy, family and other relationship problems, confusion over life goals, etc.). Each student is permitted up to 12 free individual counseling sessions per academic year (six for part-time students).
Group counseling is offered on various topics, which change from semester to semester depending on staff availability and student demand. There is no limit to the number of group counseling sessions a student may attend. Students attend for the duration of the group, which may be short-term (as few as four sessions) or longer (a semester or academic year).
Workshops that address developmental concerns of students (stress management, conflict resolution, coping with depression, substance abuse, for example) are offered in residence halls and classrooms as well as in the Counseling Center.
Office Hours
Fall and spring semester: 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday; Summer hours are limited.
After-Hours Care
Students who need medical attention outside office hours are instructed to call the Mountain Area Family Health Center, 828.257.4740. Located across from the UNC Asheville main entrance, Mountain Area Family Health Center physicians see students on a fee-for-service basis.
Confidentiality
The staff takes great precautions to ensure patients’ privacy. No information about a patient visit is shared with anybody without the permission of the student. Furthermore, all communication between a student and a counselor is strictly confidential.
Immunizations
Student Health and Counseling monitors the immunization records of all UNC Asheville students to ensure compliance with state law, which requires certain immunizations. These immunizations are free for eligible students.
Student Health Insurance
A university-sponsored health insurance plan is available at a reasonable rate to all students enrolled 6 or more semester hours.
More Information
Student Health and Counseling Center
Weizenblatt Hall, CPO #2720
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804-8514
828.251.6517 or 828.251.6520 (Counseling)
Fax: 828.251.6887