Internet Resources
Recommendations for Use
This section of the Counseling Service website offers you links to a variety of health and mental health related websites. While we have reviewed all of these sites and found them useful, we cannot affirm the validity and accuracy of all the material on each of these sites. Self-help resources such as these can be valuable along with work you are doing in individual counseling or a support group facilitated by a counseling professional.
However, we do not recommend self-help resources as the only source of treatment for significant mental health concerns. Online resources are not meant to and cannot replace the specialized training and professional judgment of a health care or mental health professional. You should always consult a trained mental health professional before making any decision regarding treatment choice or changes. You should not discontinue treatment or medication without first consulting your physician, clinician, or therapist.
Via the listings on our site, you may also decide to link to other sites. Please also note that some online discussion forums may require registration information (such as your name and e-mail address). You should review the privacy and anonymity safeguards on any sites that require such information. Also consider instructing your browser not to use cookies or to prompt you each time a site wants to use cookies. A cookie may allow a website to record information about you or track where you have been on the site or on the Web.
When assessing the usefulness and accuracy of mental health information on the Internet, be sure to check the following:
- When was the information posted? Is it the kind of information that should be regularly updated or revised?
- Is a referenced source for the information provided? How credible is this source? Is it, for instance, a professional journal or another reputable publication? Is the information published by a professional association, university, or health care insitution?
- If the information contains an author's credit, what is his or her professional background or expertise?
General Resources
The following sites offer information and/or links to a wide array of mental health topics or sites.
- Great Rivers 211 (free, confidential community information, referrals and crisis line services 24 hours a day)
- Iowa 211 (Iowa's information and referral database for health and human services)
- American Psychological Association Help Center
- College Mental Health - American Psychiatric Association
- The Student Counseling Virtual Pamphlet Collection
- What a Difference a Friend Makes
- Go Ask Alice!
- Psych Central
- Updates to The Insiders Guide to Mental Health Resources Online by J. Grohol
- ULifeline.org
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
- World Federation for Mental Health
Depression
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Resources
- Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
- Outfront Minnesota—the state's chief GLBT organization
Alcohol/Drugs/Addictions
- Web of Addictions
- Addiction Search
- Children of Alcoholics Foundation
- Facts on Tap
- Substance Abuse Treatment Facilitator Locator (SAMHSA)
Adoption
Medications
Health
- National Institutes of Health—Health Information
- Directory of Health Links—U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- The National Women's Health Information Center—Office on Women's Health, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services