With finals just around the corner and holidays down the block, student anxiety has been on the rise.
Cal State Long Beach’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is one place where students can go if they need someone to talk to about stress or depression. According to CAPS Director Brad Compliment, the office sees approximately a 10 percent increase in student appointments at CAPS during the holiday and finals season.
“We’ll see it again during the spring semester,” Compliment said. “The issues are different somewhat when you are getting close to the other semester … seniors are in the ‘what am I going to do now’ phase.”
Students also often change the focus of their appointments, Compliment said. Many still visit CAPS when they are depressed or have anxiety, but they also bring up issues of getting back together with family after a long semester and going into finals.
With the spike in the number of visits, Compliment said that one difficulty is not having enough personnel to serve the student flow. CAPS has to draw on temporary staff during the busy season and work with what the student services budget allows, Compliment said.
“I could use twice as many personnel as I have now,” he said.
Compliment said that CAPS’ main mission is to help students with anything that gets in the way of their academic success. This includes, but is not limited to, relationship issues, stress and family problems.
Senior economics major, Evelyn Sánchez said she appreciates CAPS being there with an open ear during stressful times and “loss of focus.”
“Not knowing how to allocate my time for certain subjects stresses me out,” she said. “Especially when you have a lot of stuff to do … they’re there for you and are listening to you.”
CAPS offers an array of services, from individual counseling, group counseling, online assessments and surveys to workshops that help cope with testing anxiety and social relationships.
Another major part of CAPS is Project OCEAN (On Campus Emergency Assistance Network), which addresses suicide and its prevention. One student that benefited from Project OCEAN’s mission was Jen Ngo, a junior English literature major.
“I personally called in because for the past few weeks and years,” Ngo said. “I’ve been really depressed and suicidal.”
Ngo was given immediate assistance by an on-call psychologist and taken to a nearby hospital. She was evaluated and said she will continue to visit CAPS to help her get back into an everyday routine.
According to Compliment, student surveys are conducted twice a year to get their feedback on CAPS and approximately 90 percent of students served say it has helped them personally and academically. More than 1,600 students have been provided with services through CAPS.
“I definitely recommend [CAPS] to people who question if they’re stressed out or unhappy,” Ngo said. “I also think people think they have to be extreme to go get a therapist, but that is not the case. Most times, it’s just easier to tell a stranger these things.”
The CAPS office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Brotman Hall, room 226, and students also have access to a 24-hour counselor at (562) 985-4001. To schedule an appointment or to find out more about CAPS visit www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/caps.
