August 20, 2009

Purdue offers variety of mental health services for students

"The start of the school year is an exciting time for many," said Susan Prieto-Welch, director of the Counseling and Psychological Services. "However, it also can be a time of unexpected stress. International and first-year students, in particular, may be caught off guard with the transition, and that can lead to anxiety, mood changes and sadness. It can even lead to grieving for families, relationships and hometowns that are left behind."

In 2008 Counseling and Psychological Services, which also is known as CAPS, implemented a triage program to provide students quick access to senior clinicians to determine where and through what service a person will be best served. Students who have concerns or need to speak with someone should call 765-494-6995. All services are confidential.

An on-call therapist during workday hours also can consult with faculty, staff or students who are concerned about someone's behavior or something written in an e-mail or paper.

Warning signs can include significant change in behavior, such as mood swings, poor academic performance, becoming isolated, increased involvement with alcohol or other substances, or unexpected poor hygiene. People also can watch for comments, such as "not sure it's worth it" or someone wishing they were "not around," which might be communicated verbally or posted in e-mails, or on Facebook or MySpace pages.

CAPS staff have participated in training and supervising graduate students who provided suicide prevention and awareness training for this year's residence halls assistants. Therapists will continue to serve as liaisons with each residence hall's staff throughout the year.

Other services CAPS offers include group and individual therapy, assessment for learning disabilities and attention-deficit disorders. Other resources are listed at the Virtual Counseling Center, https://www.purdue.edu/caps

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Susan Prieto-Welch, 765-494-6995, slprieto-welch@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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