September is full of preparations for bubbling cauldrons and giggling goblins, but there are a few skeletons in the closet that surround this month and need to be addressed. The month of September is nationally recognized as Suicide Awareness month, and although mental health is dedicated to another month, suicide and mental health both go hand-in-hand, so to feed one monster is to feed the other indirectly. Going to a school as academically challenging as Missouri S&T can and will continuously wear down and deteriorate one’s mental health. Additionally, because of social stigmas, pride, and other factors, some students are not willing to reach out when they need help or do not know how to find help. Luckily, Missouri S&T offers many different outlets and resources for students who are struggling with mental illness, thoughts of harming themselves, or even students who are concerned about the well-being of their friends or colleagues. Along with UCare reports, the university offers free, voluntary counseling services to students.
The campus offers counseling services in which students can speak to professionals about problems they may be facing, and students can go on any basis they choose (once a week, once a month, once a semester, etc). On top of counseling services, students have access to what is called a UCare report. This report is completely anonymous and can be filled out regarding yourself or another friend or colleague that a student is concerned about. Once the UCare report is filed, the school will contact the student who the UCare report was filed about and will reach out and offer services to aid in any way possible. The student will not know a UCare report was filed about them, nor will they be forced to attend counseling with the school.
Counseling Services promotes self-awareness and skill development to support individual success and well-being. Counseling offers a variety of services to the Missouri S&T campus community including individual, group, and crisis counseling; consultation; care coordination; presentations and programming on many topics; the StressLess room; the Van Matre resource center of self-help materials; and the Faculty/Staff Assistance Program (FSAP). Mental Health counseling is provided through a solution-focused brief treatment model to Missouri S&T students and benefit-eligible employees. Services are confidential within ethical and legal limitations and provided by licensed counselors and psychologists at no additional charge. Concerns commonly addressed include self-improvement, adjusting to change, coping with stress, motivation and self-management, interpersonal and relationship issues, depression and anxiety, and career development. Group counseling is an effective, interactive, supportive, interpersonal form of therapy. Counseling Services offers many groups based on campus need and interest. Some current and past groups are Building Social Confidence, Miners for Recovery, Test Anxiety, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and issue-focused support groups such as ADD/ADHD, Graduate Student Support, Autism Spectrum Disorder, etc.
Counseling Services actively promotes student learning, persistence, professional development, and graduation through its outreach programming services on topics such as mental health, mindfulness, resiliency, teamwork, stress management, conflict resolution, and time management.The Van Matre Resource Center, a self-help library, contains a wide range of materials. Topics range from communication skills to parenting, career exploration to dealing with depression, anxiety, and abuse. Materials are available for checkout. The variety of resources that the school offers can be found at wellbeing.mst.edu.
