Helping Students With Mental Health

There used to be a stigma attached to the need for mental health services. Erika Sheets, who is the Director of Onondaga Community College's Counseling Center & Community Care Hub, has seen that stigma all but vanish in her five years here. "There was a time when we would see students in the hall we knew and we wouldn't say anything to them for confidentiality reasons unless they said hello to us first. Recently I had a student shout out my name, call me over, and tell their friend 'this is my counselor. You need to set up an appointment with her. She's awesome.'"

Tuesday October 10 is World Mental Health Day, an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health issues and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. "It's great to have this day and have it recognized," said Sheets. "In this office, every day is mental health day."

The Counseling Center & Community Care Hub Office assists students with non-academic issues so they can be successful. It's located in the Gordon Student Center in room G230, at the end of the Student Central counter next to where students have their photos taken for their Lazer ID Cards. Mental health-related services offered there include:

• individual short-term counseling,
• referrals to SUNY Upstate Medical University's Telepsychiatry Network,
• referrals to community providers for long-term counseling,
• crisis intervention,
• after hours support through "Contact" by calling the Counseling Center & Community Care Hub's main number (315.498.2675).

Throughout the semester an organization titled Black Health will be hosting mental wellness workshops on campus. Topics include:

• October 20 - Self-Care and Burnout Prevention
• November 17 - Healthy Relationships & Boundaries
• December 8 - Financial Wellness and Mental Health

All workshops will be from 12:15pm to 1:15pm in room G230 of the Gordon Student Center. "When they do their workshops, they don't call it a support group... they just start talking about things. The students don't even realize it's turning into a support group," said Sheets.

Future plans include a counselor of color affiliated with Black Health having regular office hours on campus, and mental health-related programs in the residence hall.

The Counseling Center & Community Care Hub has numerous community partners who appear on campus regularly to offer assistance to students. You can find a complete listing of the partners and their scheduled appearances at the bottom of this webpage in the section titled "Community Agency Visitation Schedule." Partners include agencies such as ACR Health, Planned Parenthood, and Vera House.

If you are interested in helping students, there are openings for qualified professionals as a mental health counselor and a counseling office assistant.