As a student and during these very eventful times, I have started to notice how much stress that the people around me are experiencing but also how normalized it has become.
While we know that small amounts of stress can be healthy, we also know that too much stress is not good for our mental health. So here are a few resources that Whittier College offers for their students.
The Counseling Center
The Counseling Center webpage offers a great number of resources, from crisis/non-crisis phone numbers, online group therapy, and even free apps for support. They also offer hours on the phone to have a mental health consultation with a counselor and no appointment is required.
According to the Counseling Center’s FAQ, about 15% of the student body makes appointments each year. Given that these are free appointments for all enrolled Whittier College students, this resource should be taken advantage of!
Navigating Stress Group
As for students who aren’t interested in a one-on-one setting with a counselor, the Counseling Center has just announced their own “Navigating Stress Group” via Zoom, that will be happening every Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. PST. The speaker of these meetings is Ferzin Irani, who is a second year PsyD student at California School of Professional Psychology at the Alliant International University in Los Angeles and currently a counselor trainee here at Whittier.
She has established some great ground rules for students joining the discussion, to create a safe space for students like listening respectfully, avoid making assumptions, and what is said in that space will stay in the space. She also plans to talk about topics like what emotions versus feelings are, how to set proper boundaries, and different calming strategies, all of which I think can be incredibly helpful for every student.
Talk Space
Another wonderful group on campus, the ASWC Senate, has also announced that this month they will be hosting a “Talk Space” for all students via Zoom, to voice their concerns about the current events and the social climate. The space is meant to let students decompress together, in light of all of the events going on around us. They have also set guidelines to create a safe space, like sharing the time for everyone to talk, supporting learning, and listening to understand.
It’s easy to get lost in recent events and not have the outlet to talk about it, causing emotions to build up. This discussion could be a great solution for that.
