1. There's a 24 hour On-Call Counselor
This is probably the least known fact of the SDCC. In the case of a traumatic event that happens outside of normal business hours or you really just need to talk to someone for a little while, you can call 508-831-5540 and have a counselor to talk to. And if you don't want to call them up, you could always email them at any hour of the day at sdcc@wpi.edu. They really are here for us as much as they possibly can be!
2. Its address is 157 West Street
In case you need more clear and direct directions, I'm going to be as detailed as possible here. If you start at the fountain, walk past Stratton Hall and Higgins Lab and keep going straight until you hit the street that goes down the hill (the one with a sidewalk on only one side of the hill). Keep walking down the street (this is West Street) and stay on the left side in the bike lane to make your life a little easier when crossing Institute Road. When you get to Institute, cross it and keep walking straight. About half of a block down from that intersection, there should be a yellow townhouse-looking building with a rather small sign that says SDCC. You've made it! Congrats!
3. Making an appointment is fairly easy
If you're anything like me, making appointments is something to be dreaded because it usually means having to hope that you have enough open slots of time to make an appointment, and you have to talk. On the phone. To the receptionist. And yeah, I hate talking on the phone as much as the next millennial, but the receptionist is super friendly and helpful and she'll make sure you get an appointment just fine! But there's still the option of walking into the SDCC during business hours and making an appointment with her face-to-face, which in my opinion is much less stressful than a phone call, even though it may take a few extra minutes.
4. It's totally OK to change counselors
The counselors really are OK with you switching to someone else. I know you don't want to hurt their feelings, or to make it seem awkward if you just stop seeing them and start talking to someone else at the SDCC. But I can promise you this, they are trained professionals whose job it is to benefit the mental health of the students at WPI. They understand that if there isn't a working connection between them and you, then trying someone else is in everyone's best interest. But you don't have to take it from me, you can ask your current counselor how they would feel if you wanted to explore your other options.
5. There's a list of bios for the counselors
There's a pretty comprehensive list of the current counselors on the SDCC's website (more exactly, seen here). There's a brief synopsis of each of the counselor's roles on campus, and their major philosophies on therapy and mindfulness. Looking through these while you are trying to decide who might be a good match for you is highly recommended!
6. You really don't need to have an 'issue' to see someone
Take this from me, please. I know seeing a counselor has the stigma of being for those who 'need' it. But their services are not only extended to students with diagnosed mental illnesses. The SDCC exists for the benefit of all current WPI students. WPI is a very stressful school. They get it, because a lot of them have heard from a lot of different students about it. If you ever have a really tough schedule for a week lined up, please consider scheduling an appointment with someone at the SDCC to talk through it, and who knows, maybe they'll be able to give a little bit of calming advice, or just put things in perspective for you!
7. Walk-in hours are 1-2pm Monday through Friday
If you really want to talk to just anyone who is available on any given day, your best bet is definitely walk-in hours. They are really great for that quick introduction to getting to the SDCC and getting a taste of what counselling is like if you're on the fence about making an appointment. They're also really awesome for just guilt-free venting sessions to someone who you don't talk to every day. Maybe if you feel like you might be burdening your friends if you complain about certain topics, you can feel comfortable talking to someone who listens as a profession.
8. They give referrals for psychiatrists and other services in the area
I honestly don't know a lot about this one because I don't have a lot of personal experience with this, but I talked to friends and they said really positive things about the SDCC's referrals. The SDCC have a lot of off campus resources that they can point you in the direction of, especially if there's something that they don't have the resources for themselves.
9. You can ask a friend or an RA to walk you there
One of my friends tells me that she's not sure she would've started going to the SDCC had her RA not offered to walk to the door with her. That's entirely reasonable, and I'm certain that if you're on the fence about going to the SDCC, you should ask your RA or a trusted friend if they could walk with you to the door so that it doesn't seem so daunting to get there. If you'd like to get there on your own, that's your own decision to make, however a lot of people on this campus would be more than willing to walk you there if you simply asked!
10. There are mental health screenings you can take online
This is a new one that I found out quite recently. There's a link on the SDCC's website that I only found because I was doing research for this article and wanted to try to find as many hidden gems as I could. This one is one of the coolest things that probably goes the most unnoticed on their website, in my opinion. After a little bit of searching again, I was able to bring up that link again, and I'll leave it here. This is a website specifically for WPI students where you can take a few different types of screenings, such as depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, etc. Taking one of these screenings might make the difference between trying to overcome something you're not quite sure is there, and tackling something with a name head on with the support of counselors at the SDCC and many online resources.
The SDCC really is here to help us all, and they want to promote a healthy-minded atmosphere here at WPI! I really want to thank Active Minds at WPI for the great information, and for just being a wonderful group of people to be a part of! I hope this was helpful for you all, and that I might change the stigma in someone's mind that counselling is for anyone!
