Mental Health Resources

by

In order to clear up any confusion that may have been caused by an article published in the previous issue of the Q, the counseling center has a number of resources and systems in place that ensure that no student ever has to wait to speak with a mental health professional.

Student experiences with counseling center services are generally very positive—when surveyed, positive student feedback was higher than the national average, with 37% of students reporting counseling services as “very helpful” (as compared with the national average of 31%). The counseling center has also been able to meet the needs of 86% of students who have come to the counseling center, with 14% having been referred off campus.

The administration is also currently working to improve mental health and mental health treatment on campus, through efforts like partnering with the JED Foundation, constructing new counseling center facilities, conducting an environmental survey, and hiring a wellness coordinator.

Jean Perez, the Director of Sports Medicine, was recently named Director of Student Wellness. Her role, in her words, is to “coordinate a more holistic approach to well-being on campus, provide resources for students that address all dimensions of wellness, and to collaborate with other areas to integrate what all of the different offices are already doing to contribute to overall student well-being.” Part of this process will be to hire a campus recreation coordinator, who will “coordinate our club and intramural sports, create a campus recreation program and grow our outdoor adventure programming.”

There is also an abundance of people, offices, and resources available on campus that may be useful for students’ mental health—but sometimes it can seem like a bit of a scavenger hunt trying to find the right people or resources. The Q has compiled a list of these resources in efforts to make this process a little bit easier.

Name Contact Person Role Location

Counseling Resources

Counseling Center Counseling sessions are free and confidential. The center offers brief, individual counseling (typically less than 12 sessions), although there is no hard limit on the number of sessions students can have. The center typically schedules in-person intakes within 1-3 days. Even if there is a waitlist, students will still be able to complete an intake and no student with imminent safety concerns will be placed on a waitlist. Clinicians are trained in various empirically-supported treatment modalities appropriate to address a broad range of student experiences, symptoms, and diagnoses.  For students in need of specialized or long-term therapy options, community providers may be recommended. For more information: https://www.goucher.edu/experience/staying-healthy/counseling-services/ First floor of Huebeck (moving to Mary Fisher)
Urgent Walk-in Hours at the Counseling Center Monday – Friday at 1pm. Walk in to the counseling center if you are experiencing a mental health emergency.
After Hours Mental Health Hotline To speak with a mental health counselor after hours, call 855-236-4278. This service provides phone support by licensed clinicians. This is not just a crisis hotline—the clinicians can provide support for something more benign all the way up to suicidal ideation. As opposed to a national hotline, this service is provided in partnership with Goucher’s Counseling Center.   Clinicians are aware of resources both on and off campus.
Baltimore County Crisis Hotline 410-931-2214 A 24-hour hotline staffed by mental health professionals. The hotline is also connected with a Mobile Response Team of mental health clinicians and police officers that offer emergency responses to persons in need of urgent intervention.
Hospitalization Goucher has a memo of understanding with St. Joseph’s Medical Center to encourage ease of communication. If a student opts for hospitalization, they will be transported to the hospital in an ambulance, for safety reasons and in order to receive more immediate treatment. Clinicians work with students to explain the process.
Medical Withdrawal Andrew Wu manages the medical leave policy and consults with the counseling center concerning students returning from medical leave. For more information: https://www.goucher.edu/registrar/leave-of-absence-withdrawal-from-the-college/medical-compassionate-withdrawal-procedures
Psychiatry Services and the Health Center 410-337-6050 Students have access to psychiatry six hours a week through health services. First Floor of Huebeck

Committees

JED Committee Cameron Cox

Monica Neel

Andrew Wu

A committee formed through Goucher’s partnership with the JED foundation. Chaired by Cameron Cox, and led by Andrew Wu and Monica Neel, the group discusses what the college could be doing better in terms of mental health.
GSG Student Life Committee Noah Block

noah.block@mail.goucher.edu

Goucher Student Government committee working around wellness, mental health, and other aspects of student life on campus. Meets in Office of Student Engagement

People and Offices

Jean Perez (New Wellness Coordinator) jean.perez@goucher.edu “My role is to coordinate a more holistic approach to well-being on campus, provide resources for students that address all dimensions of wellness, and to collaborate with other areas to integrate what all of the different offices are already doing to contribute to overall student well-being.

Part of that is the hiring of a campus recreation coordinator, who will coordinate our club and intramural sports, create a campus recreation program and grow our outdoor adventure programming.  Her office will be located in one of the new residence halls (building 1C), in the Wellness Resource Center. We will also be opening an equipment issue room in the Sports and Recreation Center where students can rent out various sports equipment.”

Peer Listeners 443-632-7799 Peer listeners are available from 7pm-2am every night. Peer listening occurs in person. Every semester, there is a week long peer listening training, during which Peer Listeners do role playing and focus on listening skills and some content areas, such as stress, anxiety, sexual assault, and depression. They are trained in basic resources on campus so that they can provide references. They don’t offer personal advice. Peer listeners are a very confidential resource because they don’t report out–they report up, to Cynthia Terry. The program, developed by Roshelle Kades, has been in existence for over 7 years.
Office of Religious and Spiritual Life Chaplain Cynthia Terry

cynthia.terry@goucher.edu

and Rabbi Josh Snyder

josh.snyder@goucher.edu

Cynthia Terry: “As chaplain of this community, I am eager to work with all members of the Goucher College community—students, faculty, and staff—as they explore their spiritual values and commitments, express their religious traditions, search for meaning and value, and seek answers to their questions. I also understand that, as chaplain, I can be a companion in life’s journey, through the painful places of illness, depression, addiction, grief, and abuse, as well as through joyful celebrations of achievement, accomplishment, and important relationships.  I am a confidential resource.”

Rabbi Josh: “As a Rabbi, I’m available to students for pastoral counseling as they desire.  That doesn’t mean religion has to be a part of it, though questions of spirituality and meaning arise.  I’m available to any student regardless of religious background, and I can be emailed to set up a time. Mostly I am an active listener, a first step, and can help recommend other resources for students to seek out.”

Chapel (Chaplain); Interfaith Center (Rabbi)
Office of Student Development and Outreach Cameron Cox

Cameron.Cox@goucher.edu

and Alexandra Graves

alexandra.graves@goucher.edu

In the Office of Student Development and Outreach, Cameron and Alexandra support students through prevention, intervention, and support efforts for students across campus.  Both members of the office serve as case managers, supporting students facing hardships, those experiencing crises, and those struggling with other common barriers to success. We work differently with each student, so students have a personalized guide to help them develop and execute a support plan to get back on track.  Cameron and Alexandra assist students through various challenges such as: academic concerns, social/emotional distress, and other personal conflicts. In addition, Cameron serves as chair for the JED committee, a mental healthcare program on Goucher’s Campus, runs the Brother to Brother Affinity program, and serves as a member of the Residence Life staff.  Alexandra helps in leadership efforts for the department, works with students returning to campus from a leave of absence, and is currently working on the development of resiliency programming at the college.

You can learn more by visiting the Student Development and Outreach website, https://www.goucher.edu/experience/staying-healthy/case-management-and-student-support/

If you want to meet with Alexandra or Cameron, you can email us directly at care@goucher.edu

Welsh 205
Office of Accessibility Services Arnell Hadley

Best way to contact: email (access@goucher.edu or arnelle.hanley@goucher.edu ) or set up a Starfish appointment.

Office of Accessibility Services works with Goucher’s Counseling Services and Case Management Services.  Together we work to connect students to the appropriate resources on or off campus. Additionally, Arnelle frequently works with some student’s providers on creating accommodations that are appropriate for the various stages of their mental health. Her communication with the student and their provider is ongoing as things can change at any moment. Alumnae/i House 120
Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL) Santa Wallace sawallac@goucher.edu

Lindsay Johnson

lijohnso@goucher.edu

Cass Freedland

cassia.freedland@goucher.edu

The Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL) offers structured opportunities for engaging in community-based work, both through reflective volunteerism and classes that link their course content to off-campus community experiences. The connection between well-being and community engagement has received a great deal of scholarly attention; in fact, last year, Goucher’s CBL Office was part of a four-campus national study on well-being and thoughtful civic engagement. Studies have found that the work itself can be psychologically rewarding through connection with others in the community. In addition to this, when guided and reflected upon, community-based learning though volunteerism and classes can help to:

  • build one’s sense of a civic society
  • promote feelings of independence and freedom
  • encourage one to better understand one’s own privilege and identify power structures within colleges and communities,
  • and develop social connections that promote general well-being.

The Office of Community-Based Learning, in The Arsht Center for Ethics and Leadership, welcomes students to engage in one of our 8 volunteer programs, learn more about our Student Leaders for Civic Action program, or embrace the 30+ academic courses that incorporate community engagement each academic year.

Come to Van Meter 105 to talk and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, or visit our website at https://www.goucher.edu/learn/beyond-the-classroom/community-based-learning/.
Title IX Office Lucia Perfetti Clark: lucia.perfetticlark@goucher.edu

and Peer Educators

The Office of Title IX connects students to short-term resources such as legal counsel and other victim services. Lucia oversees the sexual misconduct policy and the nondiscrimination policy. The Office only provides accommodations when a student requests them specifically, as each case they handle is unique.

Goucher Title IX: https://www.goucher.edu/title-ix/

ACE (Academic Center for Excellence) https://www.goucher.edu/learn/academic-support-and-resources/ace/request-an-appointment ACE provides self care sessions that include Sleep-Based meditation known as Yoga Nidra that supports the immune system and helps with restoring the mindbody and improves memory and retention.  Academic Coaching sessions with Peejo Sehr are centered around mind/body practices that address academic success from a holistic wellness lens. ACE offers holistic Academic Support and is not a mental health support provider. Our programs are focused primarily on stress management to support academic learning.

For more info: https://www.goucher.edu/learn/academic-support-and-resources/ace/

Julia Rogers Building, room 233
First Year Mentors First Year Mentors receive training about the transition to college and how that transition can impact mental health. In training, First Year Mentors talk in general about different situations involving mental health and how to refer students to the proper resources. Mentors help their group of first year students in their transition to college, and students can contact their First Year Mentor if they would like help figuring out where to go next.

Groups for students

RIO (Recognition, Insight, Openness) Tim Moslener (Counselor)

tim.moslener@goucher.edu

RIO stands for Recognition, Insight, Openness. The psychoeducation-based group is built around skill development and actively engaging in self-Reflection and learning. There are multiple sessions over the course of the semester, so there is always one about to open up again. Contact Tim Moslener for more information.
Meditation Group The Meditation Group meets weekly in the Chapel Undercroft, an excellent opportunity to learn and practice meditation. Chapel Undercroft
Student Bereavement Group Cynthia Terry

cynthia.terry@goucher.edu

Each semester, Cynthia Terry offers a Bereavement Group for students who are dealing with the loss of someone important to them. Chapel Undercroft

Events

Fresh Check Day Occurring in the fall semester, Fresh Check is a resources and activities fair with the goal of improving mental health through raising awareness of mental health challenges and providing resources with which to tackle those challenges. The event was developed and is supported by the JED Foundation, a national non-profit that works to promote emotional well-being and reduce the risk of suicide and serious substance abuse among young people.
Happiness Hunt Occurring in the spring semester, the Happiness Hunt is a multi-day campus wide group scavenger hunt involving the various offices associated with mental health resources.
Restore the Night Restore the Night is a weeklong campaign of events and workshops that intend to raise awareness, create a sense of solidarity, and ultimately work to put an end to sexual and gender-based violence. Past campaigns have included a resource fair, a masculinity workshop, an activism teach-in called “Know your Title IX,” and the creation of a zine featuring the voices of survivors.
Relaxation Stations The Office of Student Engagement (OSE) sponsors Relaxation Stations during finals week. The goal of Relaxation Stations is to offer some stress reduction activities during finals each semester as we know this is a high stress time.

Other

Kognito A self-directed avatar-based online training with specific tracks for students, faculty and staff. The training uses role play simulations of conversations to have participants try different approaches that they might use in real life and get feedback on those approaches. Made free to Maryland colleges through a statewide grant, the training is available to any interested student, faculty, or staff member at http://kognito.com/maryland. Peer Listeners and Resident Assistants have already completed the training.
Charm City Stories Intercollegiate Literary Journal for Mental and Physical Health On Friday, April 6th, Charm City Stories, Baltimore’s first student literary and art magazine of mental and physical health, released its first publication. Several Goucher students were published in the journal. The current team of Charm City Stories editors, consisting entirely of JHU students, hopes to have more students from other schools involved in editing the publication in future years. To read the publication online, visit charmcitystories.com. If you’re interested in applying for an editor position for next year, click here to fill out an application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeV8pkhuw70NKOcwf_rL-jcQe-CIFfAuf3sSIrOTzwAHm_TZA/viewform
Commuter Student Lounge The lounge is open to commuter students to hang out and relax. Ath 147
Groups that have existed in the past Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC): planned events, and tabled around issues such as eating disorders, sleep, and suicide prevention.

Mediation Group: Students were trained in mediation

Other student groups that may provide spaces to destress Outdoor club, Climbing Club (rock climbing), Cooking Club
 Resource Sheet Compiled by Neve Levinson and Madeline St. John

Featured Image from OneClass 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

*