Elon University’s Student Government Association hosted its annual town hall in East Commons. The discussion focused on the mental health resources that Elon’s campus offers to students.
SGA hosted a panel of students as well as Director of Counseling Services, Anita Hodnett.
Hodnett spoke about the different services that Counseling Services offers such as individual and group counseling. Hodnett recognized that the current open hours don’t accommodate everyone’s schedules, therefore offering TimelyCare virtual services is beneficial.
Counseling Services is made up of both professional staff as well as graduate trainees.
Another service offered within Counseling Services is the free and anonymous mental health screening on its website.
According to Hodnett, everyone can benefit from counseling services.
“It is not easy to know that things might be falling apart, or that you're not feeling good, or that you're not having a good moment, or day, or year,” Hodnett said.
One way to work on mental health other than going to a counselor directly is by joining one of the ten support spaces or workshops available, according to Hodnett.
“Dungeons, Dragons, and Therapy is one of our most popular ones,” Hodnett said. “This group takes the core elements of the game, but challenges the participants to set goals to improve their behavior and mindset in a real world by using the fictional world, where they come up with a character and that character is able to represent themselves and help them to work through different goals that they would like to achieve in play format.”
Hodnett said the best advice for someone who is hesitant about counseling is to be persistent.
“Keep trying to think about it, keep reminding that person that you're there for them,” Hodnett said.
Another on-campus mental health group on the panel was Peers Empathy, Assistance and Referral Support, also known as Peers EARS. This group allows for student to student conversations about mental health.
One of the Peer EARS consultants, sophomore Caroline Niedermeyer, said no issue is too small.
“People might think that their issues aren't enough or valid, or enough to go to counseling, but I found that trusting yourself, your intuition, and knowing how you're feeling is completely true,” Niedermeyer said.
Senior Hannah Parsons, another Peer EARS consultant, said this service is more relatable than going to normal counseling.
“I think one of the best things about Peer EARS is that it provided the space for relatability and for people to see that other students have been in the same boat,” Parsons said.
Hodnett and the other student speakers encourage those who are interested in learning more about counseling resources to follow its Instagram for the most up to date information.