Counseling and Psychological Services, or CPS, saw an increase in students coming for drop-in services during the first week of Fall Semester.
CPS had 330 students visit during the first week. Of those students, 163 came in for drop-in service or to get immediate assistance, Paul Castelino, CPS director, said.
Compared to last year, there was a 15 percent increase in the amount of students who went to CPS for drop-in services during the first week of Fall Semester.
CPS has seen no wait times for students at the start of the semester because of an increase in staff.
Student Affairs Administration helped CPS receive five full-time therapists, one full-time psychiatrist and two additional support staff.
“With increased staffing, we were able to see every student who visited for drop-in service during the first week, compared to last year where a significant number of students had to leave and return at another time,” Castelino said in an email.
CPS is recruiting for all those positions except one, which it plans to fill by this spring.
Castelino said CPS has a number of groups starting and is screening students to join therapy groups. Students who seek individual therapy are assigned a therapist within one to two weeks of their drop-in visit.
As the semester progresses, Castelino said the wait times may depend on the demand for services.
“If a student is seeking a particular service or a particular therapist, that can delay the assignment process depending on the availability of that particular request,” Castelino said.
At any time, students also have the option of using drop-in services at CPS when they need to speak with a counselor. Drop-in hours are available to new or returning students who are experiencing a crisis, students who wish to initiate therapy or the clients seeking to return to therapy after a break in receiving services.
Abbie Zehentbauer, a junior studying English, has used CPS services in the past but hasn’t stopped in for a drop in appointment yet this year. She said she thinks the wait times for CPS haven’t been too bad.
“At first, it was kind of hard to find a time that works,” Zehentbauer said. “But once I did, I was able to go every week.”
Zehentbauer said she finds drop-ins difficult to plan and awkward since students see a different person than they’re used to.
CPS collaborates with Campus Care, Campus Recreation, the Survivor Advocacy Program and community mental health agencies to coordinate care, Castelino said. It offers a variety of mental health support services to all students on campus. There are programs, such as drop-in crisis assessments and interventions, mental health counseling and psychiatric assessment and treatment.
Services from CPS include individual and group therapy to help students with acute homesickness to severe trauma.
Kate Randall, a senior studying international business, said she has also had difficulty scheduling appointment times and thinks CPS needs more funding to help students.
Randall said she stopped into CPS on the first day of classes for the initial drop-in process and wasn’t able to get an appointment until two weeks later. When scheduling follow-up appointments, she said it didn’t seem like there were flexible times.
During a Student Senate meeting last week, Randall said the mental health of students should be a priority and spoke about her concerns about funding and staff.
She said she likes that CPS added more staff but thinks there needs to be more professionals available for students. The need for more staff goes back to the issue about more funding.
“From the university aspect, I would like to see more funds allocated towards the mental health center, like CPS,” Randall said. “That’s the only way that anything will work.”
