The covid-19 pandemic significantly increased issues relating to mental health, particularly for college-aged students. The Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State University examined 43,098 college students seeking treatment at 137 counseling centers during Fall 2020. They found that “the vast majority of students seeking mental health care reported that covid-19 has negatively impacted at least one aspect of life (94%), with mental health (72%), motivation or focus (68%), loneliness or isolation (67%), academics (66%), and missed experiences and opportunities (60%).”
Here are five on-campus mental health resources for St. Joe’s students.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Counseling and Psychological services, otherwise known as CAPS, is located in Merion Gardens on Hawk Hill and in Whitecar Hall on the University City campus. CAPS offers individual counseling as well as group counseling, where students can explore and discuss personal concerns with a staff psychologist or doctoral-level trainee.
CAPS also offers Thriving Campus Referrals, where students can learn more about off-campus community mental health providers who specialize in working with young adults. Additionally, CAPS provides MindWise Mental Health Screening services which is an anonymous online questionnaire that examines behavioral health and provides recommendations and resources based on results.
Appointments can be scheduled on Hawk Hill by calling 610-660-1090 or visiting in person at A504 Merion Gardens. For UCity, appointments can be scheduled by calling 215-596-8536 or visiting Suite 1200 in Whitecar Hall.
SJU Active Minds
Active Minds is a national nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults. Active Minds chapters are student-led, school-based groups that lead conversation, culture change and advocacy throughout their respective communities.
SJU Active Minds is a student organization that seeks to open up the conversation about mental health. The goal, according to organizers, is to create lasting change in the way mental health is talked about, cared for and valued on campus.
President Claire Mondejar ’24 said SJU Active Minds aims to end the stigma around mental health.
“When people think about mental health struggles, they think it has to be some big thing or diagnosis, but you can just be struggling mentally every finals week, every semester,” Mondejar said. “You can just be like, ‘I feel really burnt out from this semester, and this is a safe space for me to go where people are going to understand what I’m talking about.’”
Members of SJU Active Minds will be at the Wellness Fair on Nov. 11 in Doyle Banquet Hall, where they will have a table containing wellness related information activities.
“You don’t necessarily have to be struggling mentally to be part of the club, but I’m sure everyone knows at least one person that’s struggling,” Mondejar said. “So any way that you can help someone have a better day, that’s what Active Minds does.”
To stay up to date with their meetings and events, follow @ActiveMindsSJU on Twitter and @sju_activeminds on Instagram.
SJU HOPE
SJU HOPE is a student-led organization that was founded this year by Nick Farrell ’24, a member of the St. Joe’s University Student Senate (USS). The initiative is sponsored by the USS, which provides funding for events as well as a platform for the group, all led by Farrell.
SJU HOPE meets regularly throughout the semester in addition to hosting different events related to mental health.
“We want to do more peer-to-peer support as opposed to therapist or patient support, where it’s students like you, me, everybody else coming together and just giving their shared experiences,” Farrell said. “This way, you’re getting people who are on the same level as you, who are maybe going through the same things as you, and you just feel less alone.”
Farrell said his own mental health experience inspired him to start the group.
“I started it to make sure that everyone has an outlet to get help because I was lucky enough to have it and there’s a lot of people stuck on the other side that can’t get over the mountain because they don’t have support and help,” Farrell said. “I started it to make sure that everybody on St. Joe’s campus knows that there’s an outlet of support that can help them get over whatever hump they’re facing.”
The organization will be hosting its second event “Hopeful Speakers” on Nov. 29.
To stay up to date with meetings, events and fundraisers, follow them on Instagram @sjuhope and visit their website
https://clubs.sju.edu/uss/calendar/.
Campus Ministry Weekly Examen
Campus Ministry hosts Weekly Examen from 9:15-9:30 p.m. every Thursday in Wolfington Hall. Examen is an exercise undertaken by all Jesuit colleges and universities at the request of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, along with the support of the Jesuit Provincials in the United States. In these 15 minutes, students can give themselves the necessary time to pause, pray, reflect, breathe and listen while thinking over their days.
Aidan Elm ’25 has been attending Weekly Examen since the fall semester of his first year at St. Joe’s.
“With the busyness on campus and working with classes, it can be really beneficial to step back and take that 15 minutes a week to sort of reconnect with your faith and to look over the day,” Elm said.
For the past year, students, faculty and staff of St. Joe’s have engaged in the Mission Priority Examen, a series of self-study exercises designed to reflect on how well as individuals and as a community we live out our core values. Every Thursday, Examen is led by the Mission Priority Examen Steering Committee, where the different exercises survey more than a dozen key constituent groups on campus.
“We start out by centering ourselves and then we go over the day, all the events of the day, maybe of the week and then you reflect on them and think how they can be improved and what you can do going forward,” Elm said.
Follow @sjucampusministry on Instagram to stay up to date with Weekly Examen as well as other programs and retreats that Campus Ministry offers.
Andrew Wolanin, Psy.D., sports psychologist
For D1 athletes at St. Joe’s, sports psychologist Andrew Wolanin is available for counseling and support. Wolanin, who is the founder of Wolanin Consulting, currently serves as the St. Joe’s Athletics sport psychologist, in addition to continuing his private practice, research and writing.
Dr. Wolanin provides one-on-one mental health consultation needs, mental performance needs and educational sessions for St. Joe’s athletes and teams. His services include helping athletes manage covid-19 disruptions to athletic and academic life, post-injury mental health and individual treatment of cognitive behavioral and mindfulness based interventions designed specifically for athletes.