JED Campus

Licensed therapists provide confidential, short-term counseling, up to eight sessions per semester. In-person appointments are available 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM on all three campuses (Westchester, Bronx, and Manhattan). All services are free for currently enrolled students.

To make an appointment: email counselingcenter@mercy.edu or call 914-888-5150.

Mercy has partnered with BetterMynd, an online therapy platform built specifically for college students. Services are available seven days a week, including evenings and weekends.

Each enrolled student can access up to 8 short-term therapeutic sessions per academic year through BetterMynd. Email counselingcenter@mercy.edu to get started and be connected with a counselor who’s a good fit for you.

If you’re in a mental health crisis, BetterMynd’s emergency hotline is available 24/7/365: 844-BTR-MYND (844-287-6963)

For non-emergency inquiries: counselingcenter@mercy.edu or 914-888-5150.

Students show up to class, advising appointments and office hours carrying things we can’t always see. The Red Folder initiative helps faculty and staff recognize signs of distress, understand the spectrum of need and know exactly how to respond and refer students to the right resources.

JED Foundation Mental Health Resource Center
A wide-ranging collection of resources covering many areas of mental health need.

Seize the Awkward — How to Talk with a Friend About Mental Health

Our Approach — The Jed Foundation

• Initial outreach to JED completed and contracts signed, including a partnership with the University of Michigan to administer the Healthy Minds Survey, a validated assessment tool used by colleges and universities nationwide.

• Partnership officially launched February 1, 2025 — beginning the four-year collaboration. Mercy was assigned Michael King as its JED Campus Advisor.
• Work began with Healthy Minds to administer the campus-wide survey, which launched February 3, 2025.
• An interdisciplinary task force was established, and invitation emails were sent to all members. The task force — made up of Mercy faculty, staff and students — is the group responsible for completing the baseline assessment and guiding implementation going forward.
• Baseline Assessment completed by Task Force members and submitted April 28, 2025.
• Baseline Assessment results returned by Campus Advisor August 2025, with Mercy’s specific strategic plan provided.
• Healthy Minds Survey results also returned August 2025. The survey reached all Mercy undergraduate and graduate students, generating 636 responses — an 8.52% response rate.

• JED Campus Advisor Michael King visited campus September 22 – 23, 2025. He met with Task Force members to walk through the Baseline Assessment findings and explained how the strategic plan was developed from those results. 
• He also met separately with student leaders to hear their perspectives on how Mercy currently handles mental health and what resources students are aware of and using. 
• Co-Chairs Dena Whipple and Colleen Powers reviewed the strategic plan and mapped out areas where work is already complete and where effort needs to be focused going forward.

• New JED Campus Advisor, Liz Bracken-Bodie, assigned to Mercy — March 15, 2026.
• Introductory meeting with new Campus Advisor Liz Bracken-Bodie — April 6, 2026.
• Task Force Committee meeting held to share the specific strategic plan and determine next steps for implementation — April 24, 2026.

Postvention Planning Update

• Development of a comprehensive Postvention Policy was identified as the primary priority emerging from the previous JED review cycle.
• Key stakeholders, distinct from the broader JED Task Force membership, have been identified and invited to participate in the Postvention Committee.
• An October 2026 committee meeting has been scheduled to finalize the policy framework and establish implementation priorities.
• Planning efforts are already underway, including the development of a postvention decision-tree framework to guide coordinated institutional response and communication following a campus loss.

JED Hub Updates

• JED recently launched an enhanced version of the JED Hub, which is now available to all Task Force members.
• Key improvements include: 
• Centralized access to the strategic plan, task force membership, and resource library.
• Improved navigation and overall user experience.
• Visual progress-tracking tools that provide a clear view of completed initiatives, upcoming action items, and implementation timelines.

SAMHSA Suicide Prevention and Education Grant Award

• The Counseling Center and School of Social and Behavioral Sciences have been awarded a highly competitive SAMHSA Suicide Prevention and Education Grant.
• The grant will provide $500,000 over four years to strengthen campus-wide suicide prevention, intervention, postvention, and educational programming.
• Funding will support the expansion of evidence-based prevention initiatives, increase awareness and training opportunities, and enhance coordinated support services for students across the university that directly align with our JED Strategic Plan.