Though day-to-day stresses may be of primary focus for many students, a new program seeks to afford them time to address deeper issues in their lives.
Counseling and Psychological Services has recently introduced Personal Growth Services programming, a series of interactive workshops, discussion groups and lectures designed to improve and sustain students' mental health through methods other than traditional individual psychotherapy.
"Life at Duke can make you be so focused that you lose touch with yourself," said Gary Glass, coordinator for outreach and developmental programming. "Most people think we only deal with mental illness, which might keep a lot of students away who might benefit from our services.... We do help with that, but we are also committed to helping students develop their strengths."
The topics chosen for the workshops and discussions are based on the most frequently repeated concerns in students' individual counseling sessions, Glass added.
The Personal Growth Services programs currently offered include workshops such as "Got Major?" to help undecided students find their academic paths, "Stress for Success" to teach students to not only manage stress but use it to their advantage, "BodySong" to address students' relationships to food and hunger and "Emotions in Motion" to educate students about mood regulation.
Glass said CAPS originally offered a workshop called "Manhood: A Cost/Benefit Analysis" because men's issues are not as frequently addressed as women's concerns in campus gender discussions. The workshop was postponed due to lack of interest, but CAPS plans to reschedule it.
Because students often cite the hook-up culture and relationships in general as sources of distress, there will be a Personal Growth Service workshop offered later this semester dealing with those topics.
"All of the personal growth workshops are designed to be helpful to all students, regardless of whether they're struggling with a particular concern or just want to learn some ways to increase their general well-being," Mandi Singer, a postgraduate psychology fellow who is teaching the "Emotions in Motion" workshop, wrote in an e-mail.
Coordinators of several of the sessions said the program has already received much support from students.
The "Emotions in Motion" workshop is full, and a second session will begin in March, Singer said.
"We're hoping it will become a regular workshop that gets offered once or twice a semester if students find it helpful," she added.
Another popular class, "Shake Your Stress," focuses on movement and facilitates the connection between mind and body through creative dance to the sounds of multicultural music.
Paula Scatoloni, coordinator of eating disorder and body image concerns for CAPS and instructor of Creative Dance, said this semester's class filled within two days. Since last semester, the class has increased in popularity mostly among international students.
"Offering avenues for healing that are different from traditional forms may draw students that we might not ordinarily reach," she said. "[The Personal Growth Services] are an avenue for students not interested in traditional forms of therapy."
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