New faces, spaces and opportunities to serve
Student Counseling Services is excited to introduce two new counselors: Sarah Connor and Natalie Beck.
Sarah Conner
Sarah comes to UAB from Atlanta, where she worked in private practice with adolescents, families and young adults. She is a licensed professional counselor and graduated with her master's degree in professional counseling from Richmont Graduate University.
Natalie Beck
Natalie comes to the Division from Tuscaloosa where she worked as a staff therapist and coordinator of outreach services at the University of Alabama Counseling Center. She is a licensed professional counselor and received her education specialist degree in counselor education and her Master of Arts degree in clinical mental health counseling both from the University of Alabama.
In order to accommodate the expansion of clinical counseling staff, Student Counseling Services have expanded their facility and opened an "annex" counseling site. Counselors Khoi Bishop and Luciana Silva relocated from the main Student Health and Wellness Center and have moved across the street into what is now called "The Wellness House." The Wellness House is now the new home of the growing Collegiate Recovery Community and will be the center of CRC activities, meetings and programming.
The mental health need of UAB students continue to be a critical issue on our campus. Students are seeking mental health support in record numbers from previous years. During the first two weeks of school, requests for counseling from new clients (students who had not been in counseling in our office previously) more than doubled since last fall. Their department has evaluated and revised their scheduling and intake processes to accommodate the growing number of students seeking services and the higher level of needs that students continue to present.
Student Counseling Services is seeking to expand the types of services offered to students in an effort to provide a wide range of support opportunities. Currently, they offer individual and couples counseling sessions for enrolled students. This fall, they are offering three group opportunities, including an Eating Disorders group, a Dialectical Behavior Therapy group, and borderTRANS, a support group for transgender students. They are also piloting an online platform for receiving support through a mix of self-guided online psychoeducation and video conferencing. This new program, called TAO, will allow students to receive skills training and education around depression and anxiety.
The Student Advisory Council for Student Counseling Services will be hosting a Mental Health Town Hall on Monday, Oct. 10, in the Hill Student Center Alumni Theater. Refreshments, T-shirts and resources tables will be open and at 6:30 p.m. and the town hall will begin at 7 p.m. and feature a panel discussion with students, faculty and administrators, including UAB President Ray Watts. The goal of the town hall is to encourage a campus-wide conversation around mental health on our campus.
Finally, Student Counseling Services is also here to support faculty and staff on campus who work front-line with students and may want some assistance in managing difficult mental health concerns that students face. They can provide consultation, education and training by request.