Communication, mindfulness, panic attacks, resiliency, self-care and self-esteem are subjects that even the smartest of students can struggle with.
To support the campus community, Cal Poly Pomona’s Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) is offering a wide variety of free drop-in workshops intended to help out students dealing with these six kinds of situations.
Dr. Rhona Harrison, clinical psychologist and group coordinator, explained that these workshops were created to offer students quicker access to services that teach skills and strategies that can be immediately implemented into students’ daily lives.
“We wanted to offer services to students who may not necessarily need or want counseling,” she said.
Harrison said that with the high demand for counseling services, the workshops offer a service that can be very beneficial for the busy and stressed college student.
Andrea Cervantes, a fifth-year engineering major, highlighted the importance of self-care in her life and said she appreciated how the workshops are offered “no-strings-attached,” without having to commit to attending multiple sessions.
“I take extra time to make sure that I am mentally prepared for everything that I need to get done, so it makes me happy to know that CAPS has this service to help us,” Cervantes said.
In particular, Cervantes expressed a liking for the “Self-Care + Balance” workshop that is offered. Facilitated by Dr. Lideth Ortega-Villalobos, this workshop session provides attendees with information regarding stress-relief, steps to self-care and methods to achieve balance.
Another notable workshop titled “Staying Your Course” addresses the difficulty of persistence while being inundated with varying responsibilities. Facilitator Dr. Arthur Ritmeester outlines an approach to addressing adversity while allowing participants to evaluate what means most to them.
Stephanie Garcia, a fourth-year food science and technology student, pointed out the importance of utilizing free services that the campus provides.
“Not many students understand the value of the things that we get for free on campus,” Garcia said. “Counseling and the workshops are giving us free advice that can be really costly if we went somewhere off campus.”
The workshop series was first implemented in fall 2018 and will be offered regularly each semester.
Each workshop is only 50 minutes long and does not require prior registration. Students simply need to show up to the CAPS office in Building 66, room 116 at the scheduled session time.
For a detailed list of the workshop types and their scheduled times, visit the CAPS website at https://www.cpp.edu/~caps/index.shtml.
Feb. 28, 2018, 8:52 p.m.: This article has been updated.