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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1977)
it or was. 'ffireejii tion of I By DEB KILGORE Depression is the most common control^ psychological problem of students at both Texas A&M University and the 1 University of Texas, said Dr. Wade Birch, director of Texas A&M’s Per sonal Counseling Service, and Mari- Pizza posted ml lyn Hatfield, executive director of °f theft UT’s Counseling-Psychological Services Center. Hatfield said, “Most (UT) stu dents come in because they are de pressed for a variety of reasons. Their second most important con cern is improving their self-esteem. Their third concern is developing relationships with friends, and the fourth worry is making good damn biisj. 1 ever tu, are si : turn thtj »s any calf try to lefj ;i g down.' dnedifaij rowdedlf. release ll< r es on ll t and even, et into if i capacil® ionshipl*. snt and Ik ale,” both sider tic, bnl ross. athe ours logical d. read u offers ki ersonnel, ‘ding of the rj purchase din I class ciation. \FTS Got a vice? Seek advice WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1977 Ask the problem-solvers Similarly, Texas A&M students are concerned with solving depres sion, loneliness, relationships with friends and self-esteem problems, Birch said. “In counseling students, certain problems or themes tend to reoc cur,” Birch said. “The most com mon theme is what I call ‘resolving the parent-child relationship.’ It is going from relating to one’s parents as a child to relating to the parents as an adult. “Another problem is called ‘form- ’ a personal value system.’ The student must decide what is best for him in terms of alcohol, drug use and boyfriend or girlfriend relation ships,” he said. The selection of a future job is an important and often troublesome ;etinj>, to decision, Birch said. Some parents White Hsldemand that their kids make a cer tain grade point ratio and graduate in four years. Texas A&M students themselves are very grade- uipmenl. exas AM d Enginee pants will technifj conscious and competitive, Birch tation, >: said. >-directa. tionalhg Aggies and UT students also have abilities! similar counseling services to solve medial4 these problems. Both Texas A&M’s lechanici and UT’s counseling centers offer individual, group and emergency counseling. Counseling is free and available to all students at both uni versities. Faculty members are not counseled at Texas A&M, but UT faculty members are counseled on a correct:! one-time basis, oidait At Texas A&M, most counseling is on an individual basis and comes under the personal-social category, Birch said. "Over 50 percent of our cases in- lite witf rolve problems ranging from boyf- towardl fends to suicidal thoughts to in- awardofl lompatible roommates,” Birch re ported. The counselors do a lot of listen ing and forming alternatives for stu dents. However, students don’t have to have serious problems to use the services, Birch said. “We are primarily here to assist students with typical con- 0 normal cerns. In fact, 95 percent of Texas A&M’s student population is quite normal,” he said. The counseling service also offers marriage and human sexuality coun seling, group and career counseling. The psychologists are trying group counseling in two areas. They have general development groups and topical groups, like assertive ness training. The group counseling is successful because the staff gets student feedback, Birch said. Like Texas A&M, personal-social counseling on an individual basis is predominant at UT. However, Hat field said, “We (psychologists at UT) are geared to short-term counseling to help students solve their im mediate problems and stay in school. We don’t have the staff or time to do long-term therapy for so many students, so we refer them to UT’s health center or an Austin psy chologist. ” UT’s group counseling is also di vided into two areas: personal growth groups with group therapy and focused groups. “Personal growth groups help students become more aware of their own feelings and learn how to deal with others,” Hatfield said. “Group therapy helps students clarify and solve important issues,” she said. Focused groups assist in develop ing specific skills, like assertion skills and relaxation methods, she explained. “More women ask for counseling because it’s OK for women to talk about thier problems. It’s not accept ed for men to let out their emotions Birch said. However, Texas A&M and UT differ in some services offered. Career counseling is offered at Texas A&M but is not included in UT’s counseling service. But UT’s Counseling-Psychological Services Center does offer 5-10 minute self- help tapes and 24-hour telephone counseling. The tapes give information and suggestions on how to handle everyday problems from dealing with depression to how to choose a major, Hatfield said. They are avail able 24 hours a day and she said they are very popular with students. Telephone counseling provides a continuous counseling service for immediate personal crises, Hatfield said. Telephone counselors do nothing but answer the phone. They are trained to know when it is a real emergency and have a direct line to the health center and the police de partment. Many students prefer to call in for help since they don’t have to identify themselves, she said. UT also has a walk-in team of psy chologists on duty that take care of emergencies and new clients that come in without appointments. Texas A&M’s emergency services are similar to UT’s. The personal counseling service has one psychol ogist free each morning and after noon, Monday through Friday, to respond to real emergencies, Birch said. At night, from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., one psychologist takes care of all emergencies that occur that week. “If an emergency occurs after of- “Over 50 percent of our cases involve problems ranging from boy friends to suicidal thoughts to incom patible roommates," Birch reported. fice hours, call the police depart ment or health service and they will decide if the student needs to see a psychologist then or the next morn ing,” Birch added. Birch and Hatfield agreed the fol lowing signs indicate an emergency may exist: ■i- Discussion of suicide, includ ing how, when and where. -r Unusual behavior changes, like unexplained crying, inability to sleep or acutely increased activity. -r Physical illness, like severe headaches or chronic digestive problems. 4- Drug or alcohol abuse. (Drug and alcohol problems are confiden tial except when another person is endangered.) The majority of Texas A&M stu dents requesting counseling are women who are either sophomores or juniors, Birch said. “More women ask for counseling because it’s okay for women to talk about their problems,” Birch added. “It’s not accepted for men to let out j their emotions.” At UT, juniors, seniors and graduate students compose the majority of those seeking counsel ing, with equal number of men and women, Hatfield said. Texas A&M’s center counseled 1,185 Aggies in 1976-77 with six psychologists, four interns and one psychiatrist. UT’s center counseled over 10,000 students with 11 psy chologists, six interns and five psychiatrists. Birch said, “We are inadequate in psychiatric help. The American Psychiatric Association says one psychiatrist is needed for every 20,000 people. Since we have 29,000 students at Texas A&M, we need another psychiatrist.” The staff cannot administer drugs without a psychiatrist or a doctor. Is Ago ie Cinema Presents Cat on a ‘T-Iot Tin ‘Roof Vvfed nesd ay Nov. 30 300 pm Rudder "Theater $1*2 £>ith ID. SH • Tired of a long bus ride? • Fed up with driving so far to class? • Afraid of losing your deposit? Now You Can Make Your Move! • We guarantee your loss of deposit • Shuttle Bus Route - 10 minute walk • Friendly & Helpful Staff — Ask for Betty or Sylvia — •Id College Main Apartments The present psychiatrist. Dr. Robert Potts, only visits here three hours twice a week, Birch said. Texas A&M also needs more psy chologists. “We always have a heavy schedule and a waiting list of about 30 students, so we have little time left for preventing crisis through programs,” Birch said. Hatfield said UT’s center is adequately large for the number of students enrolled. However, she added that during exams there are not enought psychologists to coun sel students. “UT’s center got going after the Whitman shooting incident. (Whit man shot 13 and wounded 44 per sons from the bell tower on the UT campus in August of 1966.) It put a focus qn the availablity of counseling and caused our counseling service to grow,” Hatfield said. POOH’S The PARK Amusement Center 1907 Texas-C.S. 693-5737 CASUAL FASHIONS for GUYS & GALS TOP DRAWER Culpepper Plaza The Department of Philosophy and The Department of Sociology present Professor David Miller The University of Texas at Austin “The Sociology of George Herbert Mead” Thursday December 1, 3:00 p.m. Rudder 701 “Process, Time and History” Friday December 2, 4:00 p.m. Rudder 404 The Public is Invited Coming: December 15 Angelelli on The History of Logic PREPARE FOR. MCAT • DAT • LSAT GMAT • OCAT • VAT Our 39th Year ? 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