Living the life of a college student can be stressful in a multitude of ways. Wichita State has a strong resource available to students to help them with self-organization and stress reduction- the Counseling and Testing Center. 

Center Director Maureen Dasey-Morales considers the services it offers as an extension of students’ academics.

“I see this as a part of a student’s well-rounded education,” she said.

The center is staffed by five clinicians with doctorate degrees and two with master’s, working toward their doctorate.  These clinicians focus on helping students, staff and faculty with their ability to interact with others, on personal well-being, and coping with stress.  

 “Without those [traits], no matter what your grades are, you’re not going to be successful in the working world,” Dasey-Morales said. 

All the clinicians are considered “generalists,” and have the skill to help with a variety of issues: relationship difficulties, conflict resolution, anger management, stress and anxiety, self-esteem and self doubt issues, depression or general unhappiness, and time management and student skills, she said.

In addition to being generalists, some have an area of specialty, too. 

One clinician works with people with learning disabilities and attention deficient disorder; another in suicide prevention, sexual assault, dating violence, and alcohol and drug abuse; a third specializes in eating disorders; and a fourth in behavior disorder, Dasey-Morales said. 

“We’ve always been able to get clients in with a week,” she said. “Always, if there is a crisis, we’ll get them in immediately.”

She said the Center is trying to decrease the time between scheduling non-crisis situations.

Each clinician sees about 22 clients individually a week for 50-minute sessions for about 4,700 hours of interaction each year, Dasey-Morales said. Their five group sessions are being formed for the fall semester. No times or topics have been selected yet.

Client contact is not the only service the Center provides. 

Each month a clinician gives a topical presentation titled “Words for Wellness” in Room 206 in the Heskett Center at noon. They are free and open to everyone.

“And there’s food,” Dasey-Morales said.

The dates and topics are: Managing worry & anxiety, Oct. 7; Get some zzz’s, Nov. 4; Good enough parenting, Dec. 2; Burning the candle . . . at both ends, Feb. 3; Hit pause, March 3; Finding a balance in life, April 7; and Healthy relationships, May 5. 

“The topics were chosen using feedback from WSU students on areas that negatively impact academic performance as indicated by the 2012 National College Health Assessment data,” Jessica Provines, associate center director and training coordinator, said.

Another function the Center offers is academic testing. This is for students who have missed scheduled exams and certification tests that gauge students’ ability to succeed in an academic program. 

Call 979-3440 to make an appointment. The Counseling and Testing Center is located in Room 318 on the third floor of Grace Wilkie Hall, near the Heskett Center and Ablah Library.