Collegiate Times

The students at CNU are able to be seen weekly, if necessary.

There are six full time psychologists on staff to serve approximately 4,800 students which comprise the student body at CNU. One of the psychologists was recently hired to be sure that resources were sufficient for students.

"We try to be on the cutting edge of these things, and April 16 is an example as to why this is so important," Ritchey said.

Ritchey said that from him personal experience, he had seen an increase in students seeking psychological assistance after the events of April 16.

"I don't have the numbers to back that up, but I do think these types of events do cause us to take pause and look at particular things in our own life that we want to address, and I do see some increased attendance in students wanting to come to counseling centers," Ritchey said.

Ritchey said that here are a lot of our students, at CNU, that have very deep and connected relationships with students that were lost or greatly affected at Tech.

"We still feel like we are a part of Virginia Tech-we are VT," said Ritchey.

While the Virginia Tech counseling center may be more busy than usual, the goal of the psychiatrists there is to meet with students within a day of their request.

"We have never had a waiting list and we will always meet with anyone that requests it, whether it is a student or a faculty member to consult about students if they have a concern," Klein said.

Klein said that the center may be able to meet with students weekly on a short-term basis, but for those with severe problems, they may need to seek counseling outside the school's services to receive regular treatment for the entire year.

"We see a lot of the same students, and there is a wide range in the number of times a person comes in ... I think the mode is about three or four times a semester," Klein said.

Klein stated that they are still in the process of looking at the recommendations and changes to the counseling center; but, as of right now they plan on hiring three new officials. One will be a psychiatrist and nurse practitioner. The other two will be psychologists and counselors.

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