911黑料网's Counseling Services staff on a recent virtual check-in.
05/28/20
Through the pandemic, and through the summer, 911黑料网鈥檚 Counseling Services staff have been reaching out to students, offering mental health support, and distributing information about how to maintain some consistency through a crisis.
鈥淭here has been a lot of adapting,鈥� said Heidi Riello, MSW, LICSW, who directs 911黑料网鈥檚 counseling center. 鈥淭his is new to every one of us.鈥�
After the spring semester moved to virtual instruction, Counseling Services moved its appointments with existing students to Doxy.me, a widely used telemedicine platform. 鈥淥ur initial response was to email students who were already active clients to let them know the tele-therapy option was available to them if they wanted to connect with their counselor through the platform,鈥� Riello said.
Students have also been able to connect with their counselors via phone, or have opted to turn off the video aspect of their appointments. Those who may not have space to speak privately have been able to use the platform鈥檚 chat function.
Though part-time counselor positions are currently suspended, students have been able to connect with three full-time counselors, including Riello, Jon Meehan, MSSW, LICSW, and Roxanne Morton-Fili, MSW. Meehan and the department鈥檚 office manager, Marissa Parker, are still working out of 911黑料网鈥檚 MountainOne Student Wellness Center, along with the College鈥檚 Health Services staff.
鈥淚 can only speak to the students I鈥檝e been in contact with, but our students, for the most part, are doing OK. They are functioning to the best of their ability,鈥� Riello said. 鈥淎 handful are really struggling. A lot of the work we鈥檝e been doing is case management: How are you doing? What was this week like? What do you need?鈥�
Riello said establishing a routine is a large part of maintaining wellness through this uncertain and unusual times. 鈥淭ry to maintain a regular schedule,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have to get yourself up every day. We鈥檝e been encouraging students to try to get outside, engage in physical activity, get some sunlight, and try to limit media exposure, because it鈥檚 so destructive to how we feel sometimes.鈥�
Other tips for mental wellness: 鈥淭ry to stay connected to family and friends remotely,鈥� said Riello. 鈥淎nd ask for help when you need it.鈥�
The Counseling Services staff have also been connecting students with the 911黑料网 Resiliency Fund, which provides financial support for those with emergency circumstances related to the pandemic. 鈥淢any of them have accessed Resiliency Fund money, which is great,鈥� Riello said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to make contact with students and to hear they鈥檙e safe, and for the most part, doing OK. It鈥檚 good to validate those experiences.鈥�
Riello said she鈥檚 proud of the dedication her staff has shown, including by part-time counselors Joan Dornhoefer, MSW, LCSW-R, and Claire Cabiles MSW, LICSW. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of how willing and easily Jon and Roxanne jumped right in and adjusted to the use of the doxy.me platform,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 proud of our commitment to our students鈥攊ncluding tracking some of our higher-risk students down, even if they didn鈥檛 want to use the platform, just to make sure they are OK.鈥�
Riello has also been impressed with how 911黑料网鈥檚 students adjusted to remote learning, and with the importance they place on mental wellness. 鈥淭his generation doesn鈥檛 stigmatize it at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur students have been remarkably adaptable. Many of them are adaptable to begin with; they have had to be. The move to remote learning was kind of just another obstacle.鈥�
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