LSU Student Health Center and the Ogden Honors College Now Offering Mental Health Services On Site, in French House

BATON ROUGE – The LSU Student Health Center and the LSU Ogden Honors College have partnered on a new mental health initiative, providing students with access to a mental health professional in the French House. 

“Our honors students are academic superstars, but it’s also clear that many of them are struggling: anxiety, depression, eating and sleep disorders – not to mention some full-scale crises,” said Dean Jonathan Earle. “This has been a goal of mine since before the pandemic: offering quality, on-site, embedded therapy in the French House. Now it’s up to the students to take advantage of it.”

Julie Hupperich, executive director of the LSU Student Health Center, explained how colleges and universities across the country are acknowledging the growing importance of mental health services on student wellness, retention, and success. “We are excited to be able to collaborate with the Honors College to invest in one of our priority initiatives, mental health support. We’re fortunate that more students are now willing to seek support – and this initiative is an effort to make it more accessible and convenient.” 

Honors students can schedule appointments by calling Mental Health Service, Student Health Center at (225) 578-8774 and specifying to schedule with the Honors College therapist Julie Lorio, LCSW. In addition, all students have access to same-day, walk-in appointments at the Student Health Center.

Lorio joined the Student Health Center and Ogden Honors College teams in January 2023 as an embedded mental health therapist who provides individual therapy services for Honors students and others. She earned both her Bachelor of Science in psychology and her Master of Social Work from LSU. 

“I am thrilled to return to LSU in this capacity to assist students and promote healthy emotional wellbeing. I hope this idea of having therapists embedded in the department becomes popular across campus, and even nationally, as we seek to address the mental health crisis on college campuses,” Lorio said.  

Beyond individual therapy, Lorio will also be offering a series of Emotional Wisdom Seminars in this semester to help students learn about how to cope with stress and anxiety, emotional resilience and challenging negative thought patterns. She will also partner with student groups like the Ogden Honors College Council to showcase the new initiative. 

“We hope this new resource will encourage Honors students to prioritize taking care of themselves and their mental health as well as help streamline and reduce appointment wait times for the mental health services offered at the Student Health Center,” said Ogden Honors College Council President Tiffany Dang.