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Students coping with anxiety and stress related problems can resort to the Seton Hall Counseling and Psychological Services CAPS workshops throughout March and April.
Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health problems on college campuses, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America website.
The one-hour workshops at the CAPS office in Mooney Hall started on Monday. March 7 at 11 a.m., and will run on following Mondays at the same time and on Fridays at 2 p.m. throughout March. There are no dates and times set for the month of April yet. Interested students can call the CAPS office and CAPS will set a times and dates for April based on collective student availability.
The workshops reflect the CAPS mission statement, “Our mission is to foster the psychological health and well-being of our students in order to enable them to thrive, develop, and achieve academic success.”
Dr. Mary Kelly, CAPS staff psychologist, said the workshops are designed to motivate, teach and to offer alternative options to students who are dealing with anxiety.
The main difference between anxiety and stress, according to Kelly, is that anxiety develops from future-based worries while stress is from the current demands placed on the person.
Kelly said that students have to get rid of stress in healthy ways, such as participating in the workshop, maintain self-care and avoiding alcohol or drugs to cope with their problems.
Alex Robson, a freshman undeclared major, said that people should consider CAPS for any problems that they are experiencing.
“Using CAPS you don’t know until you try,” Robson said. “Some people might not use it but it is significant for others.”
Tamila Garayo, a sophomore public relations major, said that she would attend the workshops if she was experiencing extreme stress.
“I don’t want my personal life to interfere with my school work so I would do anything to alleviate the tension and help ease things,” Garayo said.
Nay-Quan Bloomer, a senior fine arts major, described where stress lies in his life and where it comes from.
“In my everyday life I see stress within my school work and especially when I do not comprehend the material,” Bloomer said.
“Students said they found the tips and strategies we taught them to be helpful,” Kelly said. “That’s what we really are here to do, to teach students how to build a toolbox of strategies to help you to cope when you’re feeling stressed or anxious.”
The implementation of March and April workshops was due to this positive student feedback from the workshop held in fall 2015.
Despite the positive results from the workshops, Jordan Louis, a sophomore biology pre-med student, said that she would not attend the sessions.
“I wouldn’t attend a workshop because I feel like dealing and coping with stress and or anxiety is an experience that needs a lot of self-reflection,” Louis said. “You have to pay attention to yourself, listen to your body, and determine what helps you and what makes you worse in order to cope.”
Students interested in attending the CAPS workshops can sign up at the CAPS office if they are already clients. Students who are not already clients and want to attend the workshops must meet with Dr. Mary Kelly beforehand.
Reservations for April are currently taking place and students interested in the remaining March workshops should call CAPS Thursday, March 10.
Sedria Thomas can be reached at sedria.thomas@student.shu.edu
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