Spring Break
Be a bit pushy, says Perry
Wesley Kirk, Contributing Writer
Issue date: 9/30/05 Section: News
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Tragedy has plagued students at the UA this semester. Student deaths along with the two hurricanes have students riding a precarious emotional rollercoaster.
"We have data that indicates that about 25 percent of our students at the university experience depression sometime during the year, at such a level it interferes with their study," said Jonathan Perry, the director of the Counseling and Psychological Services. "We know from surveys we've done here at the university and our utilization numbers that there are a very significant number of students that are dealing with serious psychological and emotional challenges who are not making it to us for help."
Perry said he believes the traumatic events have caused a "rise in the amount of stress in day to day life."
To combat the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, CAPS has devised a strategy to address the needs of those students.
"We attempted to get in touch one on one with all of the students that [CAPS] could identify on campus who were from the affected area or who we thought had a good chance of having close family and friends in the area," Perry said. The organization also extended special orientation for students who joined the UA from campuses closed by the hurricanes. Perry also said CAPS will continue monitoring the students to see if they have further problems.
"We are not contemplating any additional services, but we may go out and do talks with specific groups about the effect of stress that comes from seeing media coverage [of these hurricanes]," Perry said. "We are not being asked for those things right now, because of the outgoing support [from other organizations]."
Perry was unable to provide data showing an increase of students seeking help as a result of the recent calamities, but "We have had an increase [in students looking for coping resources], and expect to see more of this in the next few weeks," he said. Perry suggested this is because a student generally places counseling and therapy second or third in their line of resources after family, friends, and coworkers. Perry expects those who were personally affected by the death of April Love, who was found dead in her Garden Park apartment, to seek help in the weeks to come, presuming most are still in the "acute shock increase stage," he said.
"We have data that indicates that about 25 percent of our students at the university experience depression sometime during the year, at such a level it interferes with their study," said Jonathan Perry, the director of the Counseling and Psychological Services. "We know from surveys we've done here at the university and our utilization numbers that there are a very significant number of students that are dealing with serious psychological and emotional challenges who are not making it to us for help."
Perry said he believes the traumatic events have caused a "rise in the amount of stress in day to day life."
To combat the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, CAPS has devised a strategy to address the needs of those students.
"We attempted to get in touch one on one with all of the students that [CAPS] could identify on campus who were from the affected area or who we thought had a good chance of having close family and friends in the area," Perry said. The organization also extended special orientation for students who joined the UA from campuses closed by the hurricanes. Perry also said CAPS will continue monitoring the students to see if they have further problems.
"We are not contemplating any additional services, but we may go out and do talks with specific groups about the effect of stress that comes from seeing media coverage [of these hurricanes]," Perry said. "We are not being asked for those things right now, because of the outgoing support [from other organizations]."
Perry was unable to provide data showing an increase of students seeking help as a result of the recent calamities, but "We have had an increase [in students looking for coping resources], and expect to see more of this in the next few weeks," he said. Perry suggested this is because a student generally places counseling and therapy second or third in their line of resources after family, friends, and coworkers. Perry expects those who were personally affected by the death of April Love, who was found dead in her Garden Park apartment, to seek help in the weeks to come, presuming most are still in the "acute shock increase stage," he said.
