EJ JACOBS
Special to The Leader
Being a college student can be incredibly stressful and taxing on your mental health. Between balancing a collegiate life and a social life, there is also the struggle that comes with this newfound entry into adulthood. Most students are on the search to find an outlet for themselves to alleviate their stress. This is why SUNY Fredonia offers helpful services to students.
The Student Health Center in LoGrasso Hall provides students with all of their counseling-related needs. The Health Center is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. To utilize its services, students must make an appointment ahead of time as the Health Center does not accept walk-ins. The counseling center puts its best foot forward into being available for students.
Some students say “The Counseling Center [at the Health Center] is really helpful when the timing works for me, but sometimes the wait time to get services in general is very long or I need help outside of the 9-5 hours.”
With the understanding that during the five-day week from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. might not be the best time for everyone, the Health Center has listed on its website some alternative actions students can take if they are in need of student services.
The resources listed include where to go if there is a medical emergency, how to contact the University Police or 911, or where the nearest hospitals are: Brooks Memorial Hospital or Wellnow Urgent Care, both located in Dunkirk, NY. At the bottom of the page, the Health Center also has many COVID-19 resources.
When someone uses the Counseling Center, students can go in with the knowledge that all their information is confidential. Once they come into the office on the day they scheduled their appointment, they fill out some forms at the front desk. Once this has been completed, they can wait to be called into an office where they can have a one-on-one conversation with a counselor.
If this option does not work for a student, the Counseling Center offers other services to meet a variety of needs someone might have. For students who don’t want to meet one-on-one, peer support is offered in the FredWell Lounge in the Williams Center. There, students are able to seek out help from support groups and are given the opportunity to talk with people who might be going through a similar situation.
If a student just wants to deal with the day to day anxieties or take a more independent approach to their mental health, a great outlet is an app/website called myStrength. This is an app where a student can get advice and guidance to handle their personal well being on their own.
More information about Fredonia’s mental health services can be found on the Student Health Center’s website.