The Weber State University Counseling and Psychological Services Center will celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month by providing more than 30 events for students, faculty and staff. The events are intended to help students become more aware of the issues and learn healthy ways to deal with stress.
Events include booths in the Shepherd Union Atrium, weekly stress relief and coping classes, and lectures from professors and counselors on a variety of topics.
The Counseling and Psychological Services Center runs on student fees. The center is designed to help WSU students, faculty and staff maintain positive mental health. Students are entitled to up to 12 sessions per semester with a licensed counselor on campus. The center itself also offers family and couples counseling, catering to the large nontraditional student population at WSU.
Jamie Brass, a licensed clinical psychologist in the center, said she is excited about the idea of students becoming more aware of what resources the center provides.
“Many times, people seem to think of counseling as an option only if they are experiencing extreme distress or mental illness,” Brass said. “Mental Health Awareness Month gives us a chance to highlight ways that our services can help people improve their mental health and wellbeing, even if they may be doing well overall.”
Counseling and Psychological Services Center director Dianna Abel agreed.
“Mental Health Awareness Month is designed to help students understand important mental health issues and take better care of their own mental health,” she said. “We hope that students will come away from our events with new knowledge and motivation to prioritize their psychological wellbeing as a part of their overall wellness.”
The center has also been working with the Stewart Library to create the Counseling Center Reserve Collection. The collection features numerous self-help books that are now available for checkout with a Wildcard.
Craig Oreshnick, who worked closely on the project, stated in a press release that the project will aid students by “making available self-help books . . . that assist students in targeting areas of self-improvement.”
The Counseling and Psychological Services Center advocates for students to make mental health a priority, aiming to provide as much information to Wildcats as possible about how to better deal with the stress of everyday life.
“We are here to help when people have distressing situations, such as depression, anxiety or relationship problems,” Brass said, “and we are also here to help make sure that people have good skills for managing stressful periods in life.”
Abel said she believes student success can be largely impacted by not understanding the importance of mental health.
“Don’t let issues such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem interfere with your ability to be successful at WSU. Take care of yourself, and let the Counseling and Psychological Services Center help.”
