CWC offers lesser known services

Last year, 40 percent of students had an appointment at the Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC), a number that is quite impressive compared to other campuses.

“The stigma of coming in and talking to somebody, for most students, I think is smaller [than other schools]. At New College students are smart enough to utilize services that they think might be helpful to them,” CWC Director Anne Fisher said.

The remaining 60 percent of students that did not stop into the CWC last year might be unaware of some services it offers.

 

TAO: Therapist Assisted Online (TAO) is a way in which students can juggle busy class schedules, part time jobs and their social lives while also making time to follow pre- packaged modules online on their smart phones. After a student has had a meeting at the CWC, they can be approved for the seven week process. TAO specifically targets students diagnosed with anxiety.

Group counseling: A common problem amongst most college campuses is being able to have enough resources in order to be able to talk to as many students as possible, even amongst small liberal arts colleges. Like TAO, group counseling aims to remedy this by allowing more than one student to come in at a time for group therapy. The CWC currently offers group counseling in resiliency skills and interpersonal processing. Students must first make an appointment with the CWC to talk to the person in charge of the group counseling before being approved.

Licensed psychiatrist: Students in counseling at the CWC also have the option to set an appointment with a licensed psychiatrist every Friday morning. The benefit of this is not having to leave campus, although students do have the option to have meetings off campus.

Pick-ups from Walgreens: Walgreens has partnered with New College to send prescriptions that students can pick up on campus every afternoon. Walgreens does not, however, limit itself to just prescriptions, students can also pick up miscellaneous items such as band aids, cough drops, or anything that Walgreens sells. Students may set up an account with the store with their debit or credit card, as long as their insurance is accepted at Walgreen’s.

Acupuncture: Every Thursday morning, acupuncture is offered in conjunction with the East West College of Medicine. The service is free and allows acupuncture students, under the supervision of their instructor, to treat students with a range of potential concerns from stress to mental illness. The CWC can fit about eight students each week. Students should set up appointments Thursday afternoons in order to have a place for the following Thursday. Spots do fill up quickly.

Victim Advocate: There is a victim advocate hotline which students can utilize to speak to the school’s Victim Advocate spokesperson at (941) 504 8599.

The CWC does aim to be able to talk to as many students on campus as possible. This proves to be an issue even on a “relatively small” campus of approximately 800 students. The CWC sees on average between one to two hundred students per week. The CWC has several potential solutions to this problem, such as possibly opening up another health clinic on campus, however additional funding may be necessary.

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