Stress Management and Other Resources for Meredith Students

Anxiety is the number one reason why Meredith students come to counseling, a trend seen by college counseling centers across the country. Learning to tolerate distress, cope with challenges, and build resilience can help your student have a more enjoyable, productive and successful college experience. The Counseling Center/Disability Services office and the Student Health Center are located in Carroll Hall and have a variety of stress management offerings and support services for students.

Counseling Center

• Tension-Free Tuesdays: An ongoing, drop-in workshop on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. to introduce techniques for relaxation and calming, stress reduction, and countering fearful thoughts with balanced perspectives. Takes place in room 213 Carroll or various locations across campus.
• Individual Counseling Sessions: Counseling sessions with licensed professionals are free, confidential and short-term in nature. Appointments can be made by calling (919) 760-8427 or stopping by the front office, 208 Carroll Hall. Our newly renovated waiting room, courtesy of the Class of 2017 class gift, has several relaxing features including coloring pages, Play-Doh, soothing music, a water feature, and a tabletop “zen garden” with sand to rake.
• Relaxation Room:  Engaging the senses helps focus the mind and calm the central nervous system. The Relaxation Room is a quiet place with yoga and meditation DVDs and yoga mats, essential oils, coloring pages, weighted blankets, and a variety of comfortable seating options for reading, napping, or just chilling. The room, 202 Carroll, is open to all students and available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and can be reserved via the sign-up sheet outside the door.
• Problem-Solving Hour: Students can see a counselor during our drop in Problem-Solving Hour for a variety of counseling and disability issues, including requesting stress management techniques. Problem-Solving Hour has one-on-one, 15 minute sessions with a counselor on a first-come, first-served basis on MWF at 10 a.m. No appointment necessary.
• Crisis Services: Drop-in Crisis Hour for any issue that is preventing a student from meeting her daily commitments to class and/or work, Monday through Friday at 1 p.m., no appointment necessary. The on-call counselor is available 24/7 during the academic semesters for mental health emergencies where a student’s safety is at risk. The on-call counselor can be reached by calling the RD on Duty (919-612-6250) or Campus Police (919-760-8888).
• Disability Services: If a student is experiencing anxiety to the degree that it qualifies as a disability, accommodations may be available once a student is certified with Disability Services. For more information, please visit meredith.edu/disability-services

Student Health Center

• Koru Mindfulness group: Koru Mindfulness is an evidence-based curriculum designed for emerging adults who are seeking better ways to manage stress, but more importantly, enhance their lives and develop the wisdom that will guide them as they make important life decisions. Launched in Fall 2018, 37 students participated in the four-week Koru series.  Decreases in perceived stress, sleep problems, mindfulness, and self-compassion were found to be significant, greater than three points on a ten point scale, after just four one-hour sessions. Koru will be offered again this spring. Email Mary Johnson, Director of Health Services, at mbjohnson@meredith.edu for more information.
• PEARLS: The Student Health Center and Director of Health Services partners with the campus’ peer educators (PEARLS) throughout the semester to distribute stress-busting materials, hold pause breaks, and creative activities such as drawing, knitting, and clay molding. Future events this spring include: The F word: Failures guide resilience, Random Acts of Kindness Week, Tackling the garden of life: a hands-on look at resilience, and three different Reading Day events related to study techniques, stress management, and sleep hygiene.
• Lewis, the therapy dog: College is stressful and so is adjusting to a completely new environment. Therapy dogs can bring a smile and sense of calmness to students dealing with stress, anxiety and loneliness. Meredith College piloted an in-house therapy dog through Health Services last fall and it was very well received by the campus community. Lewis is available for group sessions and for individuals by appointment. Visit the Student Health Center on Instagram @livewellmc.

Other Campus Resources

• Academic Advising: Support for choosing a major, determining a manageable courseload, and learning time management skills are all available through Academic Advising. academic@meredith.edu
• Campus Police for safety issues: (919) 760-8888.
• Career Planning: Finding a career path can involve periods of uncertainty and challenge. The Office of Career Planning offers comprehensive services to support students to succeed in careers aligned with their strengths, values, and goals. Visit them on Twitter @MeredithOCP or email career@meredith.edu
• Chaplain: Our chaplain, Donna Battle, offers confidential counseling services for students, faculty and staff in need of support for spiritual, religious, and personal issues. You can reach her at dcbattle@meredith.edu
• Civil Communication: The Civil Communication Working Group fosters respectful communication and conflict management on campus.
• Dean of Students: The Dean of Students Office specializes in connecting students to the right people on campus and is especially helpful when a student faces health challenges that impact her academics. Contact Dean Ann Gleason at gleasona@meredith.edu
• Financial Aid: Money matters can be a source of anxiety, and the Office of Financial Assistance helps students understand their financial resources and commitments. A student’s financial aid counselor can be found on this webpage: meredith.edu/financial-assistance/financial-assistance-staff
• Learning Center: The Learning Center offers peer tutoring in a variety of subjects, which varies each semester. Appointments can be made online through the MyMeredith portal.
• Residence Life: Disagreements and competing needs with roommates and suitemates can be stressful. The RAs (Resident Assistant) and RDs (Residential Director) are a wonderful resource for helping to resolve roommate and suitemate issues. reslif@meredith.edu,
• Retention: Brandon Stokes, Director of Retention and Student Success, connects students with resources when their challenges impact their ability to stay enrolled at Meredith. kbstokes@meredith.edu
• Student Advisors: Student Advisors are sophomores, juniors, and seniors who assist incoming first-year and transfer students in orientation, registration, and overall adjustment to campus life. https://www.meredith.edu/first-year-experience/student-advisors