Mental Health Resources At Student Health Center
Being a student at this time of year can be very stressful. That’s why the Student Health Center sponsored its first-ever mental health month to provide students with resources to deal with school pressures. Counselors held a series of workshops and event to give students the tools they need to manage stress.
Dr. Kelly Greco, who oversees the outreach and student counseling services at the center, says mental health plays a key role in how students face many issues on a daily basis. She says wellness programs through the Health Center are very beneficial to students, especially during this time of the year when many students are stressed with final exams. And while she believes that wellness is important in the students’ functioning, she also says that wellness is subjective and the idea of it varies depending on the person.
“How someone defines wellness is unique to that person,” she says. “But when I think of wellness, I think am I functioning to my potential, and when stress comes my way, am I able to cope?” she says.
As a staff Psychologist at the center, she says that much of her job is dedicated to counseling students individually and assisting them through possible crisis. She explains that many factors play into students’ stress, and it is her job to make sure they get through it.
“As outreach, the whole campus community is kind of like my client,” she says.
Many students appreciate the Health Center’s efforts in trying to assist with stress. Most agree that this time of year, with finals and end-of-semester assignments, it is very critical to have support groups to make it through.
“I’ve seen friends of mine go to college and kind of lose it, and I don’t know what they’re support network was like, but having one could’ve been helpful,” says Henry Was, a music major.
But some students say they don’t really look to the Health Center for help, but instead use techniques of their own to cope. Rex Reyes, a student at the School of Cinematic Arts, says he’s been feeling overwhelmed lately and started writing journal entries as a way to ease his mind.
“I hear that it’s good for your mind when you can reflect of certain things and see an escalation of progress,” he says.
Whether or not students choose to utilize the services at the health center, the counselors there believe it is important for them to know that they do have a support group with many helpful resources available to them.
