Iowa City: UI Launches Comprehensive Mental Health Push for Students

The University of Iowa's mental health infrastructure now includes C.A.R.E.S., a scenario-based training program completed in September 2025 that replaces the former Kognito suicide-prevention module. Embedded within CSI:1600 Success at Iowa—a required online course for all new first-year and transfer students—C.A.R.E.S. stands for Connect, Acknowledge, Respond, Engage, and Support. Through realistic simulations, the program teaches students to recognize signs of distress in themselves and peers, offer support, and refer others to the University Counseling Service for professional help.

At the heart of UI's strategy sits the Suicide Prevention Coalition, a multidisciplinary group led by the University Counseling Service that meets monthly to implement research-driven tactics focused on intervention, training, and postvention care. The coalition includes faculty, staff, and student representatives—ensuring that voices from the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate and Professional Student Government shape the policies affecting them.

A tangible symbol of this commitment emerged in spring 2025 when UI distributed over 450 physical 'hope boxes'—curated collections of personal reminders and comfort items designed to serve as crisis resources. The university expanded the concept with a virtual hope box accessible online, offering students articles, videos, and interactive tools for emotional regulation and mindfulness exercises anytime, anywhere. Plans call for distributing thousands more during the 2025-26 academic year.

The University Counseling Service provides free, confidential mental health services to all students, including individual therapy, relationship counseling, and support groups. This comprehensive approach reflects a broader recognition across higher education that robust mental health systems are essential to student success and well-being in the post-pandemic era.

UI's student-centered design extends beyond campus. The university's Scanlan Center for School Mental Health partners with the Iowa Department of Education to address mental health needs across Iowa's preK-12 system. This statewide commitment underscores how the university is leveraging its resources to tackle a crisis affecting all of Iowa—where 1 in 13 high school students have attempted suicide one or more times.