The academic year has a way of compressing time. Between teaching loads, research deadlines, administrative demands, and the weight of supporting students through their own difficulties, many University of Utah faculty and staff reach a point where they know they need support but put off actually finding it. Sometimes the hesitation is practical: not knowing what your insurance actually covers, assuming that anything more specialized than a standard therapy session would be out-of-pocket, or simply not having the bandwidth to figure it out.
If you have University of Utah Health Plans, your mental health benefits may be more comprehensive than you realize. These plans include specialized behavioral health coverage administered through the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, and that coverage extends to treatments many people assume are not included.
Anew Therapy, a mental health clinic based in Utah, now accepts HMHI Behavioral Health Network coverage. That means University of Utah employees may have access to a range of mental health services, including some treatments people assume would be out of pocket.
What Is the HMHI Behavioral Health Network?
Huntsman Mental Health Institute is the behavioral health arm of University of Utah Health. For employees enrolled in University of Utah Health Plans, HMHI manages the mental health and substance use benefits. In practical terms, this means that instead of going through a general insurance network for mental health care, plan members access behavioral health services through HMHI’s network of providers.
The HMHI Behavioral Health Network includes a range of clinicians and clinics, and it is designed to connect employees with specialized care when standard approaches are not enough. Many people enrolled in these plans do not know the full scope of what is covered, including treatments like ketamine therapy and TMS that tend to carry a reputation for being expensive and rarely reimbursed.
Coverage specifics depend on the individual plan, so it is worth verifying your benefits directly rather than assuming either way.
Mental Health Treatments Covered Under HMHI
Depending on your specific University of Utah Health Plan, HMHI Behavioral Health Network coverage may include:
- Individual psychotherapy
- Trauma-focused therapy
- Ketamine-assisted therapy
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
- Medication management
- Treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD
Ketamine-assisted therapy and TMS are often discussed in the context of treatment-resistant depression, meaning they are typically recommended when standard antidepressants and therapy approaches have not produced adequate results. That said, they are increasingly used across a broader range of presentations, including PTSD, severe anxiety, and significant burnout-related depression.
The fact that both are sometimes covered under HMHI-managed plans is meaningful for employees who have been told they have run out of first-line options.
Treatments Available at Anew Therapy
Anew Therapy offers several services that may be covered under your HMHI Behavioral Health Network benefits:
Ketamine-assisted therapy uses low-dose ketamine, administered in a clinical setting, to support treatment for depression, PTSD, and related conditions. It works through different neurological pathways than traditional antidepressants, which is part of why it tends to be considered when other medications have not been effective. Sessions are conducted under clinical supervision, and patients typically receive integration support alongside the infusions themselves.
TMS therapy (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) uses focused magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain associated with mood regulation. It is non-invasive and does not require anesthesia. TMS is FDA-cleared for major depressive disorder and is increasingly used alongside other treatments for anxiety and OCD. A typical course involves multiple sessions over several weeks.
Trauma-informed psychotherapy at Anew Therapy is built around an understanding that many mental health presentations, including depression, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation, are connected to earlier experiences. Clinicians trained in trauma-informed approaches work with patients on the underlying patterns that keep symptoms from resolving, not just the symptoms themselves.
The clinic also provides treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD, often using a combination of therapy and medication management depending on the individual’s needs and history.
Why Many Faculty and Staff Delay Getting Help
Delayed care among university employees is common, and it is rarely about not caring about one’s mental health. A few patterns come up repeatedly:
Not knowing what insurance covers is probably the most frequent barrier. When people do not have a clear sense of what their University of Utah Health Plans include, they often default to assuming less coverage rather than more. That assumption can keep someone from pursuing treatments that would actually be reimbursed.
Assuming specialized treatments are out-of-pocket stops a lot of people before they even make the call. Ketamine therapy and TMS both have reputations for being expensive. They can be, without coverage. But for employees with HMHI Behavioral Health Network benefits, the out-of-pocket cost may be significantly lower than expected.
Workload and schedule make it genuinely hard to prioritize. Faculty and staff in healthcare, research, and academic roles often have limited flexibility and a professional culture that does not normalize taking time for mental health appointments. The logistics of getting started can feel like one more thing to manage.
Burnout in academic and healthcare settings is also worth naming directly. When someone is chronically exhausted and emotionally depleted, the cognitive load of researching insurance benefits and finding a provider can feel disproportionate to what they have capacity for. This is one reason knowing that a specific clinic accepts your specific coverage can make a real difference.
How to Check Your HMHI Mental Health Benefits
If you are not sure what your current plan covers, here is a practical starting point:
- Log in to your University of Utah Health Plans portal or review your plan documents to confirm your current coverage tier.
- Look for behavioral health or mental health benefits administered through Huntsman Mental Health Institute. Some plans list this as HMHI Behavioral Health Network coverage.
- Contact Anew Therapy directly. The team can help verify your specific benefits before your first appointment so there are no surprises about coverage.
The process does not have to be complicated. Checking is worth doing before assuming that a treatment is not covered.
When to Consider Specialized Treatments Like Ketamine or TMS
Specialized treatments are not typically a first step, and they are not right for everyone. But they are worth knowing about if any of the following apply:
- Depression that has not responded adequately to antidepressant medications, even after trying multiple options.
- Symptoms that persist despite therapy or that have become harder to manage over time.
- Severe burnout that has moved beyond fatigue into something that affects daily functioning and emotional regulation.
- PTSD or trauma symptoms that have not responded to standard therapeutic approaches.
These situations do not always resolve with talk therapy alone, and for some people, one of these approaches has made a substantial difference after years of partial improvement. If you are in that position, it is worth knowing that covered options may exist.
Getting Started with Anew Therapy
Anew Therapy is a Utah-based mental health clinic that works with patients who carry HMHI Behavioral Health Network coverage through University of Utah Health Plans. The team takes a trauma-informed approach across all services and works with insurance whenever possible to reduce the financial barrier to care.
If you are a University of Utah faculty or staff member who has been thinking about getting support, or who has tried other approaches without satisfying results, it is worth reaching out. A consultation can clarify what is covered under your plan and whether the services Anew Therapy offers are a good fit for what you are dealing with.
You do not need to have it all figured out before you make contact. That is what the first conversation is for. Schedule a free consultation today or call our team at (801) 980-2690.
Are you a University of Utah faculty or staff member wondering what mental health treatments are covered by your University of Utah Health Plan? Anew Therapy now accepts HMHI coverage and offers therapy, TMS, and ketamine-assisted treatment in Utah. Schedule a free consultation today.
