Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric services through Cook Counseling Center are through referral from a qualified mental health or medical care provider. Virginia Tech students who are enrolled, have paid the student health fee, and are established in on-going counseling are eligible for referral review. The psychiatry team is comprised of psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and residents. Our department is proud to be a teaching facility with partnerships with VCOM and Lewis Gale.If you are not already in treatment with a mental health or medical provider, you will begin by scheduling an appointment with a Cook Connect Clinician. Students currently connected to a Cook Counseling counselor can have a discussion about seeking a psychiatry referral. Students seeing a counselor outside of Cook can have them fill and fax the outside provider referral form.
The counselor will evaluate your symptoms by performing a background screening and assessing the results. It is up to your counselor to recommend psychiatric services if they are needed, however, they may also recommend individual therapy, group therapy, or participation in one of Cook Counseling Center’s workshops (such as relaxation training). If students have a current prescriber able to continue meeting with them, Cook will likely encourage this relationship to continue. We encourage students moving to the area to be prepared with several months of prescriptions ready.
More information can be requested from Cook Counseling Center at 540-231-6557.
Services include:
- Psychiatric evaluations and treatment
- Psychiatric medications
- Individual and group therapy in collaboration with counseling staff
- Treatment for ADHD (Stimulant medication requires psychoeducational testing by a credentialed licensed mental health or medical provider. Psychoeducational testing is comprised of more than one assessment or measure, and will include evaluation of cognitive functioning and rule out other diagnostic causes of symptoms. This type of evaluation is outside the scope of Cook Counseling Center, but Cook staff can help you find providers who offer this testing.)
Outside Provider Referral to Cook Counseling Center
If an outside provider wishes to refer a student to the Cook Counseling Center for counseling or psychiatric services, they are requested to submit the Outside Provider Referral Forms packet.
If a student is utilizing TimelyCare for their individual therapy needs, the student should email Jenny Dye at jdye@vt.edu to discuss psychiatry referrals after they have had at least three individual therapy appointments this academic year.