Health, Wellness and Safety

Student Health and Well-Being

A healthy, balanced lifestyle is often challenging to maintain during law school, but it is imperative for law students to develop healthy habits in law school in areas such as stress management, physical health, and maintaining a healthy balance between law school and life outside of law school.

About Our Embedded Counselor

Tora Taylor-Glover is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and is UNC School of Law’s inaugural counselor within the embedded counseling program at UNC’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). The CAPS embedded counselor program places counselors within a host academic department, allowing the counselors to learn the unique culture of the program and tailor services to meet the specific needs of the students.

Available services include an initial assessment of needs, individualized treatment planning for reported concerns, initiating engagement in brief therapy, connection to group therapy services, medication management, and referral coordination. Services are offered both in-person and telehealth. Flexible hours are available. For crisis or 24/7 support, call UNC CAPS at 919-966-3658 or call/text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

To schedule an appointment with our embedded counselor, Tora Taylor-Glover, email her at ttaylor-glover@unc.edu.

Embedded Counseling FAQ

What is the embedded counseling program?

Embedded Counselors are licensed clinicians employed by UNC CAPS and designated to work with a designated school at UNC. Counselors offer brief therapy and also help students get connected to ongoing therapy, medication management, and other resources. Counselors work with students on a range of issues including anxiety, adjustment, academic stress, imposter syndrome, relationships, grief, and other concerns. Appointments are offered in-person and through telehealth. Night and weekend hours are available if needed.

How do I get connected?

Email Tora at ttaylor-glover@unc.edu

What happens once I reach out?

You will receive an email response with scheduling options for your initial assessment appointment. At that visit, you can discuss your concerns and strategize with the counselor around next steps to best to support you. These initial meetings generally take place within a few days. If you are in crisis and need immediate support, walk into CAPS, call 919-966-3568 (24/7), or contact emergency services.

What is brief therapy? Are there session limits?

In brief therapy, you and your counselor will discuss the challenges you are facing and identify specific treatment goals to work on together to address those challenges. While there are not session limits, brief therapy focuses on goals that can be meaningfully addressed in weeks to months, rather than months to years. Often, students will meet with an embedded counselor for brief therapy around a specific issue, and then get connected to open-ended therapy to address broader or more ongoing concerns. Referral Coordination support is available to help students get connected to ongoing therapy, and funding may be available to help cover any associated costs.

Is there costs when I meet with an embedded counselor?

No, your insurance is not billed and there is never any cost associated with meeting with an embedded counselor. Services are also available in the summer to students that are physically located in NC.

Where is our counselor’s office located?

The fourth floor of Van Hecke-Wettach Hall.

Is my information confidential?

Yes, meetings are confidential, and your information is protected under HIPPA. The only times a therapist would break patient confidentiality would be if there was an immediate safety concern, concern for abuse or neglect of a child or elder, or if records were subpoenaed. CAPS/Campus Health records are entirely separate from hospital/UNC Health records – they are not in EPIC.

Will receiving mental health treatment pose a problem when applying for the BAR exam?

The mere fact of treatment, monitoring, or participation in a support group is not in and of itself basis on which admission is denied; the Board of Law Examiners routinely admits individuals who demonstrate personal responsibility and maturity in dealing with fitness issues. The Board encourages applicants who may benefit from assistance to seek it. The Board does not seek information that is fairly characterized as situational counseling. Examples of situational counseling include stress counseling, domestic counseling, yield counseling, and counseling for eating or sleeping disorders.
 
Evidence of rehabilitation is one of the main factors the Board uses to determine whether past problems should lead to denial of an application.”  The North Carolina Lawyer Assistance Program (NCLAP) can help you establish this evidentiary chain of stability, and it is advised that you contact them as soon as possible.

Campus Health Services

Campus Health Services has been charged with providing ambulatory primary medical care, mental health services and wellness programs along with selected specialty services including obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics, and dermatology to the eligible Campus Community. Those eligible for services include regularly enrolled students progressing toward a degree, spouses of enrolled students, postdoctoral fellows and spouses, former patients not currently enrolled but expected to return in the immediate future, and selected non-student patients seeking specialized CHS services.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

CAPS is committed to addressing the mental health needs of the student body through timely access to consultation and connection to clinically appropriate services. CAPS offers psychological and counseling services including:

• Individual
• Couples
• Group therapy
• Urgent consultation and crisis intervention
• Medication evaluation/management

Wellness services provide education and health promotion programs in the areas of:

• Fitness and nutrition
• Academic success
• Alcohol and substance use
• Stress management
• Sexual health
• Relationships
• Sleep
• Veteran Health
• Body image and eating disorders
• Grief and loss
• Medical conditions
• ADD/ADHD
• Meditation and Mindfulness
• Suicide Prevention

If you are having a psychological crisis after hours, on a weekend, or university holiday, call 919-966-3658.

Heels Care Network

The Heels Care Network is the online home for mental health care at Carolina. Users can filter through nearly 150 resources to find the ones that best meet their needs.

The site also includes:

• Strategies for helping someone in distress
• A mechanism for families or friends to notify Carolina when a student is struggling and could benefit from additional outreach
• Ways to get involved in mental health promotion efforts on campus

Basic Needs

Basic needs refers to the essential goods, utilities, services, or resources required on a regular basis that are needed to achieve and maintain physical and mental well-being. UNC offers basic needs assistance for students facing challenges with food security, housing security, and financial security. All Carolina students – including law students – are eligible for Basic Needs resources and services. For support through UNC, students can go to https://dos.unc.edu/student-support/basicneeds/. Law students may also reach out to the Student Development Office for confidential assistance.

SAFE@UNC

Safe.unc.edu is a portal for everyone in the Carolina community looking for information and resources about discrimination, harassment, sexual violence, interpersonal violence and stalking.

BarCARES (NC Bar Association)

BarCARES is a confidential, short-term intervention program provided cost-free to law students at UNC School of Law. The program is there to help you by providing confidential assistance and brief, solution-oriented counseling. BarCARES is designed to offer no-cost assistance in dealing with problems that might be causing distress and can be used to help with:

• Personal Issues: crisis intervention, depression/anxiety, substance abuse (drug or alcohol) and financial concerns
• Family Issues: marriage/relationships, children/adolescents, parenting/family conflict
• Work Issues: professional stressors, case-related stress and conflict resolution
• Student coaching onstress/time management, etc.

Only you, your counselor and anyone you choose to tell will know if you use the BarCARES program. The counselors are licensed professionals, bound by the confidentiality requirements of their profession.

Although the North Carolina Bar Association, local bar groups and law schools provide funding for the BarCARES program and monitor its overall operation, they have no access to the names or other identifying information of any program user.

To learn more or to schedule a visit, call either 919.929.1227 or 1.800.640.0735 and ask to speak with the BarCARES Coordinator, or visit www.barcares.org.

NC LAP (NC Lawyer Assistance Program)

NC LAP is a service of the North Carolina State Bar which provides free, confidential assistance to lawyers, judges and law students in addressing mental health issues, including problems with drugs or alcohol, and other life stresses which impair or may impair an attorney’s ability to effectively practice law.

Includes assistance with:

• Anxiety, stress, burnout and balance
• Depression and suicide
• Anger management
• Compassion fatigue
• Alcohol or drug problems
• Process addictions (food, gambling, etc.)
• Grief and loss 
• Over-Functioning 

Please call 919.719.9267 for further information or assistance.

Accessibility Resources & Service

The goals of the Department of Accessibility Resources & Service is to assure that all programs and facilities of the University are accessible to all persons in the University community and to develop programs and services that permit students to, as independently as possible, meet the demands of University life.

All disabilities are medical conditions, but not all medical conditions are disabilities. To be eligible for services, students must provide documentation that provides information about a substantial limitation to one or more major life activities, specifically as it applies to meeting the demands of University life, in and/or out of the classroom.

Campus Recreation

Campus Recreation provides recreational programs in a safe and accessible environment, which enhances the social mental and physical well-being of the entire University community.

• Recreation Facilities
  • Hours of Operation
• Group Fitness Classes
• Intramural Sports

UNC and Town of Chapel Hill Safety

The UNC Police unit is an accredited agency dedicated to the welfare of the university community. Its staff members provide guidance on parking, transportation, special events and other police services.

A list of safety programs and tips can be found on the following websites:

• Safe@UNC
• Alert Carolina
• Town of Chapel Hill Alert Carolina

Sign up for Alert Carolina – update your cell number so the university can reach you in an emergency.

Please know the increased number of alerts sent by Alert Carolina is intended to make the campus community more aware and informed about criminal activity.

Helpful Phone Numbers

Emergency or life-threatening situation, Dial 911

• David Wright, Assistant Dean of Student Development: 919.843.9076
• UNC School of Law Front Desk: 919.962.5106
• Kathrine R. Everett Law Library: 919.962.1321
• UNC Main Campus Dean of Students Office: 919.966.4042
• UNC Police/Public Safety (non-emergency): 919.962.8100
• Chapel Hill Police: 919.968.2760
• Campus Health Services: 919.966.2281
• Counseling and Wellness Services (CWS): 919.966.3658
• Compass Center for Women and Families: 919.968.4610
• Orange County Rape Crisis Center (OCRCC business line): 919.968.4647
• OCRCC 24 Hour Crisis Line: 919.967.7273 or text 919.504.5211