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Self-Evaluation Tools and Information

Not sure whether you need or want to get help? Here are some tools that can help you decide.

Support You Can Download

If you’re sure you’re not in crisis and would prefer to try to help yourself in a more independent way, here is an app you can use for support.

Ashland Healthy Mind App

The Ashland Healthy Mind app, available on Android and Apple devices, provides tips and tools for stress prevention and management, health services, meditation, calming media and anxiety reduction. It may also provide you with links to Ashland University and community mental health services.

Support for Meditation, Prayer and Reflection

Whether you want to pray with someone, ask someone to pray for you or just meditate or reflect in peace, the following can help.

Quiet Spaces

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to help with maintained focus and clear attention, as well as reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. There are several quiet spaces you can use for meditation or other calming and peaceful activities.

At the Jack and Deb Miller Memorial Chapel:

  • Prayer Garden - You will find our prayer garden on the library side of the chapel. It offers beautiful landscaping, other artistic elements and benches.
  • Alone with God (Prayer Room) - You will find our Prayer Room directly inside the library entrance of the chapel. The space includes journals, prayer resources and write-on-the-wall prayer space.
  • Lower and Upper Chapel Spaces - The upper chapel sanctuary is open for prayer each morning, Monday through Friday, from 6:30 to 8 a.m. Faculty and staff can reserve either the upper or lower chapel spaces during the week as long as the space has not yet been reserved. To reserve chapel spaces, contact Tiffany Sanders, Christian Ministry administrative assistant, at tsanders@ashland.edu.

Elsewhere on Campus:

  • Seminary Prayer Garden
  • Library
  • Rec Center Meditation Room

Get Help

Where to Get Help Right Now

CRISIS TEXT LINE: Text  4hope to 741-741. You are not alone.

24-Hour Hotlines

If you are in danger, please use a safe computer or phone that an abuser does not have direct or remote access to. If you are in immediate danger, dial 911.

Important Local Numbers for Ashland, Ohio
  • Police: 419-289-1911
  • Ashland County Sheriff: 419-289-3911
  • Fire/Ambulance: 419-289-2911
  • Ohio State Patrol, Ashland: 419-289-0911

On-Campus Support Centers

  • Center for Academic Support - Ashland University’s Center for Academic Support provides resources to students that focus on the individual needs of our students with an emphasis on academic success. We offer comprehensive and individualized support services in the following areas: scheduling, accommodations or accessibility, homesickness, roommate troubles, tutoring and advising.
  • Student Accessibility Center - Accommodations include, but are not limited to: extended time for testing; attendance policy modification; classroom access; sign language interpreter service; assistive technology. To request accommodations, contact:
    Silvia Henriss
    419-289-5904
    shenriss@ashland.edu
  • Student Health Center - The Ashland University Student Health Center strives to provide quality healthcare for all students. Services provided include, but are not limited to:
    • Routine physical exams
    • Care of acute illnesses (fever, cough, sore throat, ear problems, rashes, vomiting)
    • Anxiety
    • GYN exams/pap tests/STI testing/birth control
    • Immunizations
    • Loan of medical equipment, such as crutches

On-Campus Psychological Counseling Services

At Ashland University we provide free personal, social, academic and career counseling services to our students. These are just a few of the needs we can help you address:

  • Time management
  • Depression management
  • Premarital and marital decision making
  • Counseling for personal concerns

You can find us online at Psychological Counseling Services

You can find us on campus at Hawkins Conard Student Center.

Oscar McKnight
Associate Dean of Students
Director, Psychological Counseling Services
419-289-5307
omcknigh@ashland.edu

You can be assured that personal concerns will be treated as COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL, within the parameters of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Licensure Board of the State of Ohio.

People You Can Talk to at the AU Office of Christian Ministry

Safe Haven Rape Crisis and Domestic Violence

If you or someone you know is a victim/survivor of domestic violence or sexual assault, help is available 24/7 at our 24/7 hotline: 419-289-8085. Get to a safe place and call someone for help.*

*If you are in danger, please use a safe computer or phone that an abuser does not have direct or remote access to. If you are in immediate danger, dial 911.

Our services are available to you and are always free and confidential.

  • To schedule an appointment, call 419-282-6097 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.).
  • If you feel as though you cannot come to us, one of our trained employees will come to you or meet at a neutral, safe place.
  • Don’t worry about the next steps yet. Next steps in this process can be scary. Our biggest priority is your health and safety. We’ll work with you to figure out what’s next.
Services Offered through Safe Haven

We stand by you and help you lead a healthier life as you get the care you need. We also offer these specific free and confidential services:

Local Counseling Services

Other Resources

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN)

Whether you're looking for support, information, advice or a referral, our trained support specialists are ready to help.

National Sexual Assault Hotline. Free. Confidential. 24/7: 800-656-HOPE (4673)

Live Chat online with a trained staff member who can provide you confidential crisis support:

Your privacy and safety are crucial. Please make sure you are in a safe place and that you are using a secure device and Internet connection. Please note that while we have taken numerous measures to keep your communications safe while using our site, no Internet transmission is 100% secure.

A Digital Panic Button to Get Support from Trusted Contacts

The notOK App™ is a free digital panic button you can use to get immediate support via text, phone call or by your GPS location.

We notify your trusted contacts that they've been selected as your support group, so when you're feeling vulnerable but struggling to ask for help, you'll just open the app and press the large, red notOK® button. It's okay to be notOK!

Suicide Warning Signs and How to Help

​​To provide effective mental health first aid, you must first be familiar with the warning signs of suicidal ideation. Signs that someone may be experiencing suicidal thoughts can include:

  • Threats: verbally threatening to kill themselves.
  • Obtaining lethal means: gaining access to firearms, dangerous drugs, poison or other means.
  • Talking about death: bringing up death or suicide in conversations, writing about dying or posting on social media about suicide.
  • Drastic mood swings: hopelessness, feeling trapped, rage, anger, irritability, anxiety or vengeful thoughts.
  • Risky behaviors: acting recklessly or increasing drug or alcohol use.
  • Uncharacteristic behaviors: sleeping too little or too much, avoiding friends and family members, giving away prized possessions and expressing goodbye sentiments to loved ones.

Verbal suicide threats are among the most serious suicide warning signs. Some people may think that if a person talks about killing themselves then they aren’t serious, but this is not true. Someone who talks about ending their life may already have a plan to do so. As a mental health first aider, take every suicide threat seriously, even if it sounds like a joke or offhand remark.

More than 70% of people tell someone they are thinking of suicide or show other suicidal warning signs before taking their own life. Always take the warning signs of suicide seriously.

If you believe you or someone else needs immediate help, call the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255. Or, chat now at National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The preceding information came directly from The Recovery Village website.

LGBTQ+ Support Services and Information
It Gets Better Project

The It Gets Better Project inspires people across the globe to share their stories and remind the next generation of LGBTQ+ youth that hope is out there and it will get better. 

Go to www.itgetsbetter.org to watch inspiring stories shared by people just like you. Visit our Get Help page to find LGBTQ+ youth support services in your community. Or, sign our pledge to commit to a world where all LGBTQ+ are free to live equally and know their worthiness and power as individuals!

Tim Gunn’s message: https://youtu.be/9GGAgtq_rQc

Love on a Mission

Loveonamission.org is a nonprofit organization working to provide a safe place for our LGBTQ youth. Our goal is to have our own facility and to have available an emergency bed shelter for those who find themselves homeless after coming out to their families.

PO Box 2541
Mansfield, Ohio
loam.lgbt@gmail.com

Facebook

JED Foundation

6 E. 39th Street, Suite 1204
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-647-7544
www.jedfoundation.org

JED exists to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for our nation's teens and young adults. The following are just some of the programs JED offers:

  • Set to Go - Preparing for college is more than just academics and testing.  Being emotionally ready creates the greatest opportunity for success. Here you'll find information, tools and guidance to help you thrive as you get ready to leave high school.
  • Half of Us - Mental health issues are a reality for millions of people across the country. Young people are especially at risk, with half of college students reporting that they have been stressed to a point where they couldn’t function during the past year. The impact of mental illness is so devastating that suicide is the third leading cause of death among all people ages 15-24. Nearly all mental health issues can be improved with proper treatment. When we decrease the stigma around mental health and encourage help-seeking, we can change and save lives. Through Half of Us, mtvU and The Jed Foundation aim to initiate a public dialogue to raise awareness about the prevalence of mental health issues and connect students to the appropriate resources to get help.
  • ULifeline - Feeling Overwhelmed? Videos may help. The Jed Foundation’s Mental Health Resource Center provides essential information about common emotional health issues and shows teens and young adults how they can support one another, overcome challenges and make a successful transition to adulthood.To explore what’s available, go to the JED Foundation's Resource Center.
  • Love is Louder - Love is Louder is a community of people working together to create a world where we all feel more connected and supported. Join our email list or follow us on social media to get updates and more ways to get involved.
  • Help a Friend and Self Evaluator - The Self Evaluator was developed for ULifeline by Duke University School of Medicine and screens for thirteen of the most common mental health conditions that college students face. This screening does not provide a diagnosis, but identifies problems that could be impacting thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
The Recovery Village

Adjusting to new environments and new people, along with many other aspects of student life, can increase the risk of college substance abuse. In fact, according to a study at Columbia University, almost 50 percent of full-time college students admit to binge drinking or abusing prescription drugs and almost a quarter of those students met the medical definition of having a substance abuse dependency.

At the Recovery Village, we strive to be a helpful resource by connecting those battling addiction and their families with the help they need to get their lives back on track. For more information visit the Recovery Village website or call 855-839-9806.