Shrink your worries
By Hayley Sylvester
Classes stressing you out? Miss your family back home? Feeling “stuck” creatively? Having problems with anxiety or depression? Just need to talk?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then the Counseling and Student Support Services (CS3) can help you.
We all face difficulties in our lives and sometimes we can’t deal with those problems by ourselves. Counseling and support can help students with homesickness, creativity blocks, relationship issues and also provide disability services and outreach programs.
According to the Director of CS3, Dr. Tamara Knapp-Grosz, the staff saw over 4,500 students last year. They employ a fulltime staff and 13 doctoral and graduate interns. Counselors have training in a variety of areas like substance abuse, cognitive or behavioral therapies and relaxation therapies.
Most students prefer one-on-one counseling to group therapy. Knapp-Grosz says, “Try group therapy twice. Students learn it’s fun after all. They also learn they’re not alone. Groups are accepting and provide support for each other, though it often means hearing difficult feedback. There is no judgment.”
Maybe you’re still hesitant. You’re worried someone might recognize you in the waiting room. You’re worried about discussing your feelings because you might get shipped off to a hospital. You’re uncomfortable about lying on a couch and sharing your daddy issues.
Good news: Pat Mooney, a counselor and accommodation specialist, says, “We don’t judge. Records are confidential. No one will send you to the hospital unless you’re in imminent danger of hurting yourself or others. The environment here is safe.” Mooney also doubles as the Pizza Fairy who hands out pizza to frazzled students during finals week.
Knapp-Grosz agrees. “CS3 is a safe place to talk about your problems. Sometimes it helps to have an extra point of view to show your situation in a different way. A little feedback makes a big difference.”
The school’s counseling services are short-term, there is no waiting list and no one gets turned away. “Come in sooner rather than later before the problem becomes too hard to handle,” Mooney advises.
Ready to tackle that problem? Here’s information on how to contact CS3:
By phone: 912-525-6971
By email: counseling@scad.edu
In person: visit Room 124 in Bradley Hall to learn about the free services CS3 offers.
You can also connect with the Pizza Fairy on Facebook by searching for “SCAD Pizza Fairy.”
