Psychiatry Services

The first step to UHS Psychiatry services is to schedule an Access Appointment. 

This appointment can be scheduled by phone at 608-265-5600 (option 2) or online through the MyUHS  portal.   

During the Access Appointment, a counselor will meet with you to discuss your needs and to connect you to resources and services, which may include UHS Psychiatry. 

UHS Psychiatry seeks to meet students where they are at. To support this, we offer telehealth appointments. This enables our team to provide care to  students who might be quarantining, isolating, or studying around the state. If you would like to reserve a private campus space for your telehealth appointment, there are options in residence halls and libraries. First, book your Access Appointment appointment and then reserve a space.

• Residence Halls: click  “Resources” 
• College, Memorial, and Steenbock Libraries
• Business School Library 

If you currently take psychiatric medications prescribed by an off-campus provider, the first step is to schedule an Access appointment and then complete releases of information so UHS can request records from your current/previous providers.

The transfer of care process can take several weeks. We recommend you schedule an Access Appointment as soon as possible. During the transfer process, you should continue to contact your community provider regarding any medication questions/concerns and for refills.

Psychiatry appointments for transfer of care cannot be scheduled until UHS has received and reviewed a student’s health records.

UHS Psychiatry will not provide prescriptions/refills before being seen for psychiatry consultation at UHS.  

For UHS to be able to request records from your current/past providers, you will be asked to complete Release(s) Of Information (ROI). These can be completed in  MyUHS portal, or a downloadable form is available here: uhs.wisc.edu/about/privacy/health-information-management/.

Contact your current provider to let them know that records are being requested and are needed prior to scheduling an appointment with a UHS provider.

The initial one-hour appointment with a psychiatry provider is a consultation provided by a psychiatrist or a psychiatric nurse practitioner. UHS Psychiatry services are covered by your student health fees. You should arrive to the appointment at least 15 minutes early to complete required surveys.

During the appointment, the  provider will ask you questions about your mental health, other aspects of your physical health, your medication history, and your background.

You and the provider will discuss treatment options, including medication if appropriate. Referrals to talk therapy, primary care, or other services may also be given.

Prescriptions may not be written at the first appointment. Students need to work with their previous prescriber during this initial process to ensure an adequate supply of medication (one to two months).

For UHS to prescribe stimulant medication, we need neuropsychological testing and/or records from the age of 12 or younger that give you a diagnosis of ADHD, with supportive information around this diagnosis.

More information can be found on our ADHD fact sheet here: uhs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/ADHD-fact-sheet.pdf.

If you do not have an ADHD diagnosis prior to the age of 12 or neuropsychological testing that gives you a an ADHD diagnosis, it will be very unlikely that UHS will be able to prescribe stimulant medications.

If a student is prescribed a stimulant medication by a UHS psychiatry provider, the student will be required to sign a medication contract, which includes possible drug testing. Failure to abide by this agreement, including any use of illicit substances, will result in psychostimulant medications not being prescribed or refilled.

If you are interested in seeing a psychiatry provider in the community, you can contact your insurance company to identify in-network providers.

If you need additional assistance with this process, UHS Mental Health Services Care Managers can work with you on this process. To access care management services, please schedule an Access Appointment.

If you need to miss a Psychiatry appointment, call 608-265-5600 (option 2) to cancel by 5 p.m. the day before the appointment.

Cancelling Psychiatry appointments after that time will result in a late cancellation fee of $10. If you do not cancel prior to your appointment time, or you arrive to your appointment more than 10 minutes late, you will be charged a no-show fee of $20.

We understand that—on rare occasions—there may be extenuating circumstances that prevent you from calling. If we made an error in scheduling you or you believe you deserve special consideration for a no-show/late cancel fee, please download and complete this No-Show/Late Cancel Appeal Form within two weeks of the missed appointment.

Contact your pharmacy to request refills of medications prescribed by UHS providers. The pharmacy will contact UHS if refills authorizations are needed.

If the pharmacy is unable to assist you, call UHS at 608- 265-5600 (option 1, then option 4) or send a secure message to your Psychiatry provider in MyUHS.

Make sure to contact your pharmacy and/or provider before you run out of your medication(s). Providers need at least two business days to respond to refill requests and at least four days for controlled medication refill requests (e.g., ADHD stimulant medications).

When making refill requests, make sure you have a follow-up appointment scheduled with your Psychiatry provider. Call 608- 265-5600 (option 1, then option 4).

If you think that your UHS Psychiatry provider is not a good match for you, we encourage you to discuss your concerns directly with your provider. Our providers understand that not all client/patient/provider assignments are a good fit and will help facilitate a transfer to a different provider, as appropriate.

Due to the limited availability of psychiatry appointments and a high demand for services, students are only allowed to change UHS Psychiatry providers once. If the new provider is still not a good fit, you will be referred back to your original provider or to a community provider.

If you have questions about this or any other policy, we can connect you with the Associate Director of Psychiatry.

Based on your symptoms and unique situation, we may refer you to psychiatry providers in the Madison area for intensive or long-term treatment which UHS does not provide.

UHS Psychiatry providers do not “prescribe” emotional support animals (ESAs).

UW Housing residents

If you live on campus, you will need to contact McBurney Disability Resource Center and they will provide you with a form that may allow you to have an ESA.

If your  provider feels it is appropriate, they may complete a section of the form, which includes the following questions:

• What is the requester’s diagnosed condition/impairment?
• How long have you been working with the requester regarding this condition/impairment?
• What are the specific symptoms/limitations the requester is reporting that make it difficult to reside in University Housing (or apartment, etc.)?

Off campus housing

If appropriate, your provider may write a letter that includes similar information to that of the McBurney form for your landlord. Again, this is up to the discretion of your provider. Please schedule an appointment with your provider to discuss this.