All of our Uncle Joe’s counselors have undergone 100+ hours of intense training on an extensive range of issues that members of our community may be facing. Undergraduate students of Washington University in St. Louis are welcome to stop by during our office hours or call at any time to talk about any problems or concerns they are dealing with.

Members of Uncle Joe’s will not disclose any information about a client’s identity or situation. However, in circumstances where an individual is in immediate and severe danger, confidentiality is not maintained.

As both a counseling and resource center, we are not only knowledgable about available resources on and off campus for appropriate issues, but we also have an abundant supply of resource materials, pamphlets, and brochures in our office that cover a wide range of issues college students and others commonly face. Further, if a client wants ongoing or additional help, we have referrals to over 100 different organizations on campus and in the St. Louis area.

All of our counselors are Washington University students who have volunteered their time and energy to serve our community.

We are available 24/7 to talk to all undergraduate Washington University students.

Uncle Joe’s encourages all Washington University undergraduate students to come in to talk about any problems or concerns they may have. We are each trained for over 100 hours in a wide variety of topics. Nothing is too small to talk to us about!

When you enter our office, there will always be two Uncle Joes on duty. The office contains two rooms where counselors can speak with students. Upon entering, you will be able to speak privately in one of these rooms with one of the counselors on duty. If both Uncle Joes are speaking with students already, please call our voicemail and leave a message, and another counselor will return your call within 15 minutes.

Uncle Joe’s counselors are undergraduate students trained to speak with other Washington University undergraduates about any issues they may be dealing with. We can refer you to a variety of on- and off-campus resources and also have many pamphlets and informational materials on a wide range of topics.

Prior to becoming active counselors, all Uncle Joes go through over 100 hours of extensive training and evaluations in a variety of topics pertinent to mental health and student life at Washington University. Active Uncle Joes continue training throughout every semester. We are prepared to talk to students about anything they may be dealing with.

Students can call our voicemail 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Excluding university breaks, there are always Uncle Joes available to talk over the phone. If you are looking to talk to someone in person, our office is open every evening from 10:00 PM – 1:00 AM. During reading and finals periods, Uncle Joe’s does not hold office hours, but we are still available 24/7 through our phone line.

Uncle Joes do not answer phone calls directly in order to assure that no caller or counselor is speaking to someone that they know personally. When you call our phone line, it will go straight to voicemail to allow you to leave your name and callback number; an Uncle Joe will call back in 15 minutes or less. If you do not leave a voice message, we will still call back at the number that we recieved the call from.

Our counselors are instructed to call back the provided number a few times, just in case you happen to miss the call for any reason. Please know that this call will come from an unknown number, so if these are blocked on your phone they may not come through. If you've missed our calls or if you have not been called back within 15 minutes, please call again clearly leaving your name and number and we will try again to contact you.

If you have called our number and left a voice message with a name and a number you can be reached at, Uncle Joe’s will always call you back within 15 minutes. If you have not left a voice message, we will still call back the number we recieved the call from. If 15 minutes has passed and you haven't recieved our calls, please check to make sure unknown numbers are not blocked on the device you're calling from, call again, and be sure to clearly and slowly state your number so that we may try to contact you once more.

Our office is located along the Gregg storefronts on the South 40, between Wash U Wash and Student Technology Services. Students can use their university ID cards to swipe into the building during our open hours, either through the door between Wash U Wash and STS or through the side door by the Swap. Signs lead the way through the hallway to our office.

There are always two Uncle Joes on duty in the office during walk-in hours, as well as two others on the phone line. If you know someone who is on duty, you can opt to speak with the other Uncle Joe in the office. If the other Joe is already speaking with someone and you do not wish to speak to the Joe that you know, or if you know both Joes in the office, you can choose to speak to another available counselor on our phone line.

Uncle Joe’s is a confidential service, so the Uncle Joe will not acknowledge or talk to you, unless you initiate contact with them. They will never discuss your visit to Uncle Joe’s with you.

Yes. Uncle Joes are not responsible employees (mandatory reporters), so we are not required to report sexual assault or abuse. Uncle Joe’s will not disclose the issues students come in to talk about unless a counselor has reason to believe that a student may put themselves or someone else in immediate and severe danger. We do not ask students for their names or other identifying information. The only reason we ask for a name in our voicemail is to assure that the Joe that recieves your call does not know you.

Although all Uncle Joes go through extensive, continual training, we are not qualified to provide ongoing counseling services. We are, however, available to talk to students whenever they need us, provided that each conversation is about a different issue. We also provide referrals to counselors at SHS, private practitioners, and other organizations who have received further training and have sufficient expertise to provide ongoing counseling.

Yes, students are more than welcome to come in together to provide support or have a conversation together with Uncle Joe’s. We also welcome students to come in independently if they want to get help for a friend. We have a wide variety of resources available and are available to help students understand how they can best support their friends during tough times.

Yes, we have many pamphlets and other information on a variety of topics related to mental health and the student experience at Washington University. Our Joes are more than willing to help you look for resources online as well, either over the phone or in our office on our devices.

Because we are a confidential service, we cannot disclose any information about the students who come in to Uncle Joe’s. We are used enough to be considered a valuable resource for our campus!

Uncle Joe’s recruits new members every fall semester and trains new members every spring semester. For more information, please visit our Recruitment page, or email unclejoesrecruitment@gmail.com for more information.