The University has been working diligently on expanding mental health resources for students, faculty and staff on campus in several different ways.
Last year, Counseling and Psychological Services, or CAPS, offered students 10 therapy sessions maximum per academic year. Now the University offers sessions on an as-needed basis meaning there is no longer a cap on how many times a student may make an appointment.
The University has also extended mental health services so faculty and staff may also get services.
CAPS offers services that help with stress management, substance abuse, mental health treatment and management, eating disorders and more.
With the opening of the Randall Lewis Center for Well-Being and Research are added resources, such as group therapy sessions. The new group therapy sessions are designated for students, and for faculty and staff separately. The center also occasionally offers grief and loss circles.
Group therapy has never been offered at the University, and extending service to faculty and staff is a great move. Because everybody can benefit from mental health services.
The Lewis center also has meditation from Monday to Thursday, and occasional yoga classes.
Another new mental health resource added to help with mental health is the meditation garden at the Ludwick Center.
The Ludwick Center also has a sacred space available for the campus community, where people can become spiritually active.
Meditation can be an excellent support for coping with stress and well as reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses.
In 2018, one in five American adults suffered from a mental illness, with every one in 25 suffering from a severe mental illness.
Since 2001, the suicide rate in the U.S. rose by 31%.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 10 to 34-year-olds, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Statistics such as these underscore the need for mental health services on campus.
The University has begun to take needed steps toward supporting the campus community’s mental health. For students, faculty and staff, such support is critical to everyone’s success.
While the University does a lot for the betterment of the community’s mental health, these much needed steps should only be the first of many that the University should take in ensuring everyone is taken care of.
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.
