Student Mental Health at UMBC

Jennifer Treger, Student Affairs and Melissa Hoffman, Counseling Center

College is a time of change, challenge, and transition. While transition can be exciting and growth-producing, it can also be stressful. Recognizing the signs of distress can be an important step in keeping your student healthy. A student’s mental health is as important as their physical health. When there are signs that a student’s mental health is compromised, these signs may need to be addressed.   

What are the signs to look for?

People in distress or mental health crises do not all experience the same symptoms. The severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms vary depending on the individual and his or her particular illness.

Signs and symptoms may include:

• Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" feelings

• Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism

• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness

• Irritability, restlessness, anger

• Withdrawal from activities or hobbies once pleasurable

• Fatigue and decreased energy

• Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions

• Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping

• Overeating, appetite loss, or change in eating habits

• Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts

• Thinking/talking/writing/e-mailing/texting/posting about suicide

• Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease with medical treatment.

• Not attending class, changes in grades

• Demonstrating bizarre behavior

• Increased use of alcohol or other drugs

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml

We have several resources and programs on our campus to educate about mental health as well as resources for students who are looking to improve their overall emotional well-being:

Mental Health First Aid:  Mental Health First Aid is an 8 hour training that teaches people to recognize the symptoms of mental health problems and provides information on how to get help.   Mental Health First Aid does NOT teach people to be therapists. The dates of the upcoming session are:

Friday, September 27th and Friday, October 4th (you must attend both sessions)

Sessions will be from 1-5 PM in The University Center, room 310. Please contact Jennifer Treger at jtreger@umbc.edu for more information or to register.  This program is free and open to parents.

Counseling Center: If you know or observe someone to be troubled, confused, very sad, highly anxious, irritable, lacking in motivation and/or concentration, demonstrating bizarre behavior, or thinking/talking, writing/e-mailing/texting about suicide please contactUMBC Counseling Center at 410-455-2472. The Counseling Center offers free and confidential services to all current UMBC students in the form of short-term individual, couples, or group counseling as well as workshops, campus presentations, and self-help resources.

Emergencies:  If you know or observe that someone is a potential harm to him/herself or someone else please contact University Police at 410-455-5555 (on campus) or 911 (off campus).

Behavioral Concerns: Some UMBC community members may find themselves confronted with a situation in which they feel uncertain, uncomfortable or disturbed by an individual’s behavior, whether in class, in the workplace or at a meeting or event. University Police (410-455-5555) Student Judicial Programs (410-455-2453), Student Affairs Office (410-455-2393) and members of theBehavioral Risk Assessment and Consultation Team (BRACT) are a resource for you and can help you deal with the situation.  . BRACT is an interdisciplinary team that examines reports of concerning behavior to help identify persons whose behaviors may endanger their own or other’s health and safety.

Just in Case Mobile and Web App: The Just in Case App is a new resource for the UMBC community. Just in Case is a mobile and web application that provides students, faculty, and parents with on and off-campus mental health resources. Just in Case provides users with information for how to handle a mental health emergency, and includes helpful tips for students in distress. This app can be accessed by clicking:http://counseling.umbc.edu/justincase. To install this app on a smart phone, simply access the link on your device and follow the “instructions for download.”

At UMBC, we are committed to ensuring student success by offering these resources for mental health education, awareness, prevention and intervention. It is important to encourage your student to seek out the resources they need to be successful. If you are concerned about your student, do not hesitate to seek consultation and support. At UMBC, students with mental health concerns are never alone.

UMBC Parents and Supporters -

As a service to our families here at UMBC, we are providing an online subscription to Student Health 101 for both your student and yourself. Student Health 101 is a monthly health and wellness magazine just for UMBC students and their families. Each issue contains valuable information that will help your student make better decisions and can help you gain a better understanding of the health and wellness challenges that face today’s students.

The September issue has some great articles including:

• Beginners Guide to Budgeting: How to manage your money one week at a time

• Chart Your Course: Using your syllabus to plan ahead

• UCookbook: Portable Snacks

• FitnessU: Exercise in Small Spaces

And much more…

The Office of Student Judicial Programs (SJP) would like to welcome you and your student to the UMBC Community. Your student is now a citizen of the UMBC community and will enjoy all of the privileges and responsibilities of this affiliation. SJP shares your high expectations for your students and supports UMBC’s dedication to student success and development by drafting, publishing, and enforcing The Code of Student Conduct. The Code of Student Conduct sets forth the standards and expectations that the University has for its student community. As a parent, we know that you understand the importance of setting community standards and guidelines. It is important that students be familiar with the Code so that they know the University’s expectations and their rights and responsibilities as a student. While we do not expect that your student will violate the Code of Student Conduct, potential consequences for violations are also detailed in the Code.  

Please encourage your student to review the Code of Student Conduct in its entirety. The Code of Student Conduct can be found on our website atwww.umbc.edu/sjp.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us. We encourage your student to further participate in the UMBC community by applying to become a justice on the UMBC Hearing Board or Student Parking Appeals Board.  Have a safe and productive year!

The Office of Student Judicial Programs

Obtaining an Internship

Kerry Kidwell-Slak

Associate Director - Internships, Co-ops & Research

UMBC - Career Services Center

Many students enter UMBC knowing that internships are important, but without a lot of knowledge about how to present themselves, where to look for opportunities or when to begin the process of applying.  With this mind, the Career Services Center is offering the 2nd Annual Student Success Internship Conference (SSIC) on Wednesday, November 6, 2013.

The SSIC is designed to help students who are just beginning their journeys at UMBC to find an internship for Summer 2014 by equipping them with the tools and skills needed to have a competitive edge in the application process. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend workshops on topics like resume preparation, interviewing techniques, networking and building relationships with mentors. Presenters will include recruiters and industry professionals from UMBC employer partners like Morgan Stanley, General Electric, and Northwestern Mutual.In just one evening, students will develop the confidence and resources needed to succeed in taking the first steps toward securing a satisfying career.

Sophomore Biology major Miriah Garnett who attended the 2012 SSIC noted, “This was a great opportunity for me to figure what I needed to do as far as getting started to track down internships, who to talk to, and spruce up my documents. I have zero complaints!”

HELPING YOUR COLLEGE STUDENT REDUCE ROOMMATE CONFLICT

College Parents of America  

Roommate conflict is unavoidable.  Although, as parents, we hope that our college student will get along perfectly with his/her college roommate, it is an unrealistic hope.  Whenever individuals live closely together, some amount of conflict is inevitable.  Actually, a little bit of conflict is not necessarily a bad thing.  Students learn important skills as they learn to handle issues with their roommates…. If this is your student’s first time sharing a room and/or living with a larger group of people in close quarters, you may increase your student’s chances of having a good experience by helping her to think through some of the issues that might come up and how she will handle them.  Here are a few things that your college student might consider.

For full story click here.