Collegiate Times

The Cook Counseling Center is opening a new program that could help students wrap their minds around a vital element of collegiate success: focus.

The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Series is taught by counselor Matt Bitsko at the Graduate Life Center on Thursdays from 1 to 2 p.m. The program will run until April 20, Sarah Kate Valatka, staff counselor, said.

The MBSR is a way of re-teaching your mind to focus on the present moment. Mindfulness techniques offer relaxation and stress reduction by increasing awareness of the self, body and mind. This workshop is a way to help with relaxation, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, sleep disturbances and daily hassles, Valatka said.

Another program new to the counseling center since last semester is the Peer Assistance for Learning program. This is a volunteer program coordinated by the center where participants are trained to make presentations on a variety of topics, Valatka said.

PALs is a student-run program where peers who are participants interact with other college students. The program offers the opportunity to help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and helping students understand when to seek treatment.

Volunteers are responsible for teaching students how to learn in college, improving student's academic performance, making presentations, present sessions on stress management, participate in campus-wide mental health-awareness activities and design and distribute promotional materials.

To apply to be a volunteer for the PALs program, a student should have good study skills, enthusiasm, commitment, group facilitation skills, time-management skills, public speaking skills and be dedicated to promoting mental health among college students. Students can apply at any time, Valatka said.

Another program the Cook Counseling Center offers is the psychiatry program with Dr. Gary Rooker, and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners Vicki Arbuckle and Cynthia Gibbons.

There is a misconception that the center does not provide psychiatry, said Arbuckle. In the New River Valley, there is a shortage of psychiatrists, so there can be up to a three-month wait to see one. For students at Virginia Tech, however, psychiatry is available with a waiting period at a maximum of two weeks, Arbuckle said.

There are a lot of things students have false impressions of when it comes to psychiatry, said Rita Klein, assistant director and head of clinical services.

?One thing that confuses a lot of people is the difference between a psychiatry appointment and a counseling appointment,? Klein said. ?A psychiatry appointment is more for medicine and treatment. It's not the place to come if you're in a bad break-up.?

Medication is mostly recommended when there are physical problems that have been around for a while. Medication for psychiatry works best with therapy, said Arbuckle.

Students can also get referrals from other counselors to the center and student fees already cover the cost, said Klein.

The counseling center encourages students to work with counselors and come in to set up appointments and use the programs for their benefit.

?We want to meet student needs through our services which include counseling, psychiatry, workshops, outreach and volunteer opportunities,? Valatka said.