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There are many resources on campus available to students, but many don’t even realize they exist or how helpful they can be. One of these resources is the Counseling Center located in Cutler Health Center.
“The overall goal is to help students prevent problems that would interfere with their success,” said Doug Johnson, the Director of the Counseling Center. The Counseling Center has two different ways of accomplishing that goal. One way is through therapy, the other is through prevention and education programs such as the “Food for Thought” series.
The Counseling Center offers individual as well as a variety of group therapies. The group therapies that are offered by the Center are a Women’s Group, a General Therapy Group, and a Meditation and Relaxation Psychoeducational Group.
“The group counseling is a form of psychotherapy where students come together around a common interest or need with a therapist,” said Jennifer Fife, an intern at the Counseling Center.
The Center is also looking into the possibility of a “movie-related group in which movie clips will be shown to facilitate discussion,” said center intern Jay Coughlin. “The focus will be on grief, trauma and loss-based issues.” This is an unconventional form of a group, and the objective will be to watch a clip and try to relate to the issue at hand.
The “Food for Thought” series is an informal gathering to discuss a variety of issues. “We try to get a sense of what the need is in the community and do a series based on that,” said Fife. Topics in past months have included body image, signs of suicide, humor and well-being and eating disorders.
The format of these sessions is a casual, conversation-style. “The purpose is to have a more casual connection, it is less daunting to go to the Counseling Center if you know someone there,” said Fife. The “Food for Thought” series meets on the first Wednesday of every month in the FFA Room of the Memorial Union from noon to 1 p.m. Students are encouraged to bring lunch and join in the discussions.
“One of the points of this presentation is to disprove the bias that `good’ people don’t need help,” said Fife. Many people don’t believe their problem is serious enough to get help for, however, the counselors are available even to talk about roommate problems.
“They [students] think going to counseling is a sign of weakness,” said Johnson. “It’s actually a sign of strength,” said Fife. It is also important to remember that at the Center “we respect confidentiality,” said Coughlin.
The Counseling Center is composed of a staff of 13 counselors which includes 6 graduate student . There is no cost for the Counseling Center’s services for full-time students, and free services are also available for group therapy for part-time students.
Look for yoga sessions offered during the last three weeks of classes. The sessions are an example of the Counseling Center’s prevention and education programs. The yoga classes have been coordinated to help students manage the stress of finals. “We keep looking for ways to empower people and prevent problems,” said Johnson.
For more information about the Counseling Center’s programs and therapies give them a call at 581-1392, or visit their Web site, www.umaine.edu/counseling.
Bangor Daily News