The Counseling Center is dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of UMBC students, and staff are excited to offer new and expanded wellness resources. We hope you will take advantage of these important tools to support your personal development and help you make the most of your UMBC experience.  

New WellTrack Interactive Self-Help Therapy App for Students

The Counseling Center now offers the WellTrack interactive self-help therapy app free to UMBC students. Use the modules to address concerns related to stress, anxiety, depression, and public speaking (this module available only on the WellTrack website). If you want to follow up with a counselor, the Counseling Center staff is here to help. Services are free and confidential for registered UMBC students. To make an appointment, call 410-455-2472 or stop by the offices at the Student Development & Success Center on Center Road (in between Chesapeake Hall and Susquehanna Hall across from Erickson Field).  

Download the WellTrack app and register with your UMBC ID for full access; no identifying information will be shared with counseling staff unless you choose the option to do so. Please note that all of the Counseling Center’s screening resources are for informational and educational purposes only, and are not intended as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.

Mind Spa Expands, Moves to Albin O. Kuhn Library and Patapsco Hall 

Mind Spa is an important campus resource with self-care tools to help you relax, improve concentration and memory, and overall success as a student. Counseling staff have collaborated with staff from University Health Services’ Office of Health Promotion, Residential Life, and the Albin O. Kuhn Library to make it more accessible to all students. Mind Spa has moved out of the Counseling Center and is now available in two locations: Albin O. Kuhn Library, Room 367, and Patapsco Hall, Room 163. A UMBC ID is required to access either space. 

Mind Spa is a quiet space equipped for the practices of mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation, and includes a massage chair, meditation cushions, hot tea, and other wellness resources. You can also check out light therapy boxes from the library location to use in the Mind Spa space or in your room. 

Practicing mindfulness and meditation can have important physical and mental health benefits such as increased concentration, awareness, and regulation of emotions. Studies show that these practices have positive short- and long-term effects on the brain. You might begin to notice benefits from your experience at Mind Spa immediately or after a few sessions.

“These resources tap into our goal to create a supportive culture of care and wellness for our students,” says Alayna Berkowitz, who recently joined the Counseling Center as assistant director of outreach and mental health promotion. “There are many different ways to engage with therapeutic resources beyond the in-person setting. The WellTrack phone app is great for a generation that is using social media and apps more than previous generations. Not all students present for traditional talk therapy, and both WellTrack and Mind Spa offer students other opportunities – through a phone app and quiet spaces – to take care of themselves.”

Berkowitz adds that the Counseling Center’s goal is to make sure its resources and programming take into account the complexity of UMBC students’ diverse and intersecting identities and needs. 

 Learn more about the Counseling Center’s services and resources.

We at Retriever Essentials would like to express our heartiest gratitude to all our collaborators and guests who made UMBC’s first Home for the Holidays event a reality. The event offered a communal atmosphere to UMBC members who cannot travel back home or did not have family living in proximity during this holiday break. The event was celebrated on Thanksgiving Day, November 28^th. 

Through the support of Chartwells team, True Grits Dining Hall became the “home” and through the contributions from the collaborators, the community became one big family. The collaborators brought various food items ranging from classic Thanksgiving dishes to international cuisines. OCA Mocha brought in its fresh coffee to warm up the guest on the cold windy afternoon. The event also included fun activities like board games, arts and craft time, letter writing, and music. The event concluded with a raffle contest where our guest won giveaways and goodies. 

Home for the Holidays brought the campus community together and provided a warmhearted holiday experience to its attendees. We thank all of those who participated in the event and hope that Home for the Holidays continues to become yet another inclusive tradition at UMBC. 

Our key collaborators were: Academic Success Center, Campus Dining Services, English Language Institute, Financial Literacy Committee, Off-Campus Student Services, Office for Academic and Pre-Professional Advising, OCA Mocha, SAHAP Department, Student Government Association, The Campus Police, The Registrar’s Office, The Shriver Center, and UMBC Sustainability.

Here is a recap of the event: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UzdKkwIMStEmsT0n0yP6WZBcTT1nvLD7/view

For more updates from Retriever Essentials please visit our Facebook and Instagram pages.

This Giving Tuesday, will you help support 36 UMBC students who will spend Spring Break 2020 exploring social challenges and potential solutions in Baltimore?

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) participants work with nonprofits, city governments, community organizers, residents, and activists. They develop a new sense of the human-scale impacts and dimensions of abstract, systemic issues: seeing the impacts on the people affected, and understanding a variety of perspectives on the problem. In addition, they develop skills that help them reflect on experiences; share, solicit, and make use of stories; build community; work in partnerships; and analyze approaches to problem-solving to identify what works, and what else is possible.