Second term blues
A few ways the counselling and career centre can
help you deal
MELISSA HIEBERT STAFF
With school back in full swing, it is easy to get lost in a whirlwind of stress and anxiety. For many, winter break is hardly enough time to fully recuperate and be ready to face another long, arduous term. Fortunately, the university counselling and career centre has a number of different ways to make the remainder of the school year a little easier.
“We’ve been around for about 40 years now,” said Dr. Donald Stewart, the director of the centre. “ We have a pretty clear sense of what brings students to our department.” He says that one of the busiest times is in second term around midterm time, when students are beginning to burn out after an already strenuous first term. Though academic stress is one reason why students venture up to centre on the fourth floor of University College, students’ problems vary from relationship issues to depression and anxiety.
Students can talk one-on-one to counsellors by showing up at one of the daily drop-in times. From there, they can talk about their particular problem and be referred to the appropriate service, be it individual counselling, group counselling, or otherwise.
“We’re a very popular resource on campus,” stated Dr. Stewart. “A lot of the programs developed as a way of being more immediately accessible to students,” Dr. Stewart explained.
One way in which accessibility to students has been increased is through workshops and group counselling sessions run by the centre. The staff members of the centre run the group sessions, and are usually assisted by students studying psychology or related fields.
One group session that is on the agenda for 2006 is called ”Mastery of your anxiety and worry,” designed to help people with excessive anxiety or worry that is getting in the way of living their lives. The program starts on January 24 and runs every Tuesday from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. for five weeks.
Another session, called ”Managing your mood,” is designed to help people who experience depression and depressive symptoms. This program runs three different times throughout the year, with each session lasting six weeks. The next session starts on January 10 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
For those stressing out over midterms, two sessions are offered around the end of January to help manage exam stress. This is mainly to help people who get stressed out during their exams, sometimes to the point that they forget the information they have learned. There are two sessions, occurring January 20 and 24.
The career centre’s services are wide-ranging. Another includes a career-planning workshop that runs throughout the term. The workshop is comprised of two sessions, with the first session discussing career planning strategies and career self-assessment. The second session helps students evaluate potential career options and will also include an overview of various career resources. Additional sessions with the facilitating counsellor are also an option.
Perhaps one of the most popular sessions that the centre offers is the “Chill out at noon” meditation group. This is a drop-in program that runs for a month, Monday to Thursday at noon. Students who are feeling stressed or just need some quiet time can join others in relaxing meditation and visualization exercises.
Whether you are looking for specific counselling or you just need to take an hour out of your day to meditate, all of the programs offered are designed to help students deal with the stresses of school and life, and help make the upcoming term a little easier to deal with.
You can sign up for any of these groups or get more information about them at the counselling centre at 474 University Centre, the same place where all of these sessions are held. Information on drop-in times can also be found at the centre.
