Programming and Outreach
University Counseling Services provides various workshops, programs, and screenings to the campus community throughout the year. We plan these programs in an attempt to provide students, faculty, and staff with up-to-date outreach events that attend to these needs. Please contact the office if you are interested in any outreach activities.
Some of the progams offered by Counseling Services in the classroom, residence hall, and in departments are:
QPR - Suicide Prevention Training
SAFE ZONE Training
Grief and Loss
Stress Management
Sexual Assault
Eating Disorders
and many more...
1. Screenings
At various points throughout the semester, University Counseling Services provides screenings to the Southern community. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to take part in these free and confidential screenings. Based on the assessment scores, a counselor may make a suggestion for a referral to University Counseling Services, or a community or private practice off campus.
Students can access the online version of the below screenings, plus others at: https://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening/login.asp?keyword=SCSU
Screenings Fall 2008 and Spring 2009:
Depression Screening and education week
events schedule: TBA
eating disorder Screening and education week
events schedule: TBA
Alcohol Screening (Run by Drug and Alcohol Resource Center)
See their website for schedule of events.
2. Suicide Prevention Programming
University Counseling Services implemented a comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program on campus in fall of 2003. The center staff is available to train the campus community about suicide signs, symptoms, and interventions. The training and program is designed from a national model called QPR - Question, Persuade, Refer.
By attending a two-hour training session participants will;
1. Be educated about suicide prevention strategies currently available.
2. Increase their comfort level in assisting students, faculty, and staff to appropriate mental health resources either on or off campus.
3. Be familiarized with the epidemiology of suicide in America, common risk factors, and available statistical information, which best describes the prevalence of suicide in America and those populations most at risk.
4. Be able to abate potential crisis situations by utilizing effective skills learned in the training.
5. Be able to manage difficult scenarios in classrooms, on campus, or in residence halls with affected persons with an easy-to-follow, step-by-step procedure.
This program is offered each semester and is part of the outreach that University Counseling Services provides on a regular basis. Therefore, the long-term benefits of this one time program will be ten-fold as more and more of the campus community become trained.
If you have any questions about this program or would like to set up a training for your department, colleagues, student group, classroom, or residence hall, please contact University Counseling Services at (203) 392-5475.
Ulifeline.org
Southern Connecticut State University is one of over 300 colleges and universities in the country linked with ulifeline.org. On this site, students log in and are able to download information about various mental illnesses, ask questions, and seek help anonymously via the Internet.
We encourage students to utilize this site if they have any questions about mental health issues. It directly links to Southern's counseling site (this site) if students want to make an appointment with us.
In the "Self-Help" section of this site there is a page that provides details about suicide signs, symptoms and prevention.
3. Safe Zone
Safe Zone
Safe Zone is a program run by Counseling Services that aims at combating homophobia on Southern's campus. The training allows faculty, staff, and students to explore their own feelings around homophobia and challenges them to think critically about the myths and misperceptions that perpetuate discrimination and hate crimes on college campuses. This training also provides participants with the tools they need to become allies to students or staff who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning.
Once training is complete, participants are presented with a SAFE ZONE symbol and pin they can display in their work environment/residence hall, etc. This symbol represents support and understanding about the issues that affect gay students on campus and that the person displaying the symbol can be a resource for students in need of advice or someone to talk to.
The goals for the program are:
1. To assess our own feelings about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues and homophobia. (Awareness)
2. To increase our knowledge and understanding about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues and homophobia. (Knowledge)
3. To develop action plans on how to improve the environment of Southern for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender staff and students. (Skills and Action)
Our goal in University Counseling Services is to provide education, awareness, and support for students who are gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual. In so doing, we hope to create a climate on Southern's campus that allows students to feel safe to organize and express their individuality in different ways.
