The Retreat
Loyola University Maryland Counseling Center's Newsletter
Spring 2024 Edition
Fresh Check Day Recap!
Athletics and Counseling Center Partnership
As an NCAA Division I institution, Loyola is home to over 450 intercollegiate student-athletes (more than 10% of its student body) who compete across 17 different programs. Due in part to their intense scheduling demands and the hyper-visibility of their lives, student-athletes navigate stressors that can uniquely impact their mental health and emotional well-being. These can include long weeks attempting to balance full courseloads and personal lives with daily practices and workouts, team meetings and film review, injury rehabilitation, travel to and from competition, and the emotional highs and lows of a competitive season. It also includes the many pressures elite athletes face in and out of their sport to perform at a high level consistently. With all of this and more bearing down on them, it is no surprise that athlete mental health continues to garner increased awareness on a national and global scale.
In recent years, Loyola’s Counseling Center has worked to strengthen and expand its partnership with and support of Loyola Athletics. With several licensed sport psychologists on staff and a full team of therapists who work individually with student-athletes, the Counseling Center offers a robust and unique mental health services model designed to support Loyola Athletics. This work has largely focused on three aims: increasing the visibility and accessibility of existing mental health resources for athletes, tailoring new services and programming to meet the unique needs of this community, and fostering a “culture of mental well-being” across Loyola Athletics.
Partly due to these efforts, student-athlete utilization of Counseling Center services has risen significantly in recent years. Data show that approximately one third (33%) of Loyola varsity athletes access mental health support through the Counseling Center each year, using the full range of services (Let’s Talk sessions, group therapy, individual therapy, emergency and consultation services, and referral support). The Counseling Center has also developed various new initiatives, including: numerous psychoeducational presentations and workshops for teams each year; a drop-in support group for athletes coping with long-term injuries (“Mind, Body, Connection”); and a consultation series for Loyola’s coaches (“Coaches’ Corner”). Recently, all 50+ Loyola Athletics staff and administrators, including coaches and sports medicine, completed suicide prevention training facilitated by Counseling Center staff. Furthermore, beginning Fall 2024, the Counseling Center’s training program for local graduate students will also include a track focused on student-athlete mental health services. Finally, a summary of some of the “Mental Health and Sport Psychology Services” available to Loyola athletes can also be found on a new page of the Loyola Athletics website.
Women of Color Wellness Retreat
The Women of Color (WOC) Wellness Retreat will be held on Sunday, March 17, 2024 (10am-4pm) at Loyola's Timonium campus! This experience is intended for BIPOC students who identify as women (inclusive of cis, trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive). Retreat sessions will support 50 attendees in 1) increasing the mind-body-spirit connection through mindful practices, 2) increasing awareness of physical health and wellness, 3) and connecting in community. Transportation is available (If you need transportation, please meet at the Boulder shuttle stop at 9:00am with departure time at 9:15am). Breakfast and lunch will be provided as well! Each participant will also receive a Wellness Kit, including a journal, tote bag, and more self-care surprises!
Register for the retreat by Friday, March 15th on The Bridge!
LGBTQ+ Resource Fair
The 2nd annual LGBTQ+ Resource Fair will be held on Tuesday, March 19th from 12pm-2pm in McGuire Hall. Come join a celebratory space with on- and off-campus resources to support the Loyola LGBTQ+ community. Come out and discover what resources Loyola, Baltimore, and Maryland more broadly have to offer your community!
Please reach out to Dr. Sunny Swift (he/they) at 410-617-2273 or eswift@loyola.edu for any questions! Light refreshments provided; we’d love to have you!
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024, 12:00 PM
McGuire Hall
Find more events on The Bridge!
New Workshop: Grief Unveiled
Grief Unveiled will have 2 more sessions this semester – Friday 3/22, and 4/26 from 11am to 12pm. For any questions about this workshop, please contact Lucy Anson at eganson@loyola.edu
Resources at The Study
Social Media Spotlight
Looking for a daily dose of the science behind happiness? Check out The New Happy! The New Happy provides daily newsletters and podcasts all about happiness and what it means to “live a New Happy life”.
Our counselor, Julie, champions The New Happy newsletter as messages that are “brief, helpful, profound, yet simple”. Follow The New Happy on Instagram, or subscribe to their daily newsletter today!
Social Justice Mission Statement
Mission/Value Statement for Social Justice for the Loyola University MD Counseling Center Statement
The Loyola University Maryland Counseling Center is committed to fostering just, equitable, and affirming experiences through our direct service with students and our engagement within the greater campus community. We acknowledge the impact of systemic oppression, harm, and erasure that are often at the root of trauma, distress, loss, and unhealthy ways of connecting with self and others. The work of liberation and social justice exists at the core of what it means to build a psychologically healthier and safer world for all of us. We hold diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice as foundational to ethical mental health practice. We strive to increase the accessibility of our services, especially for those most harmed by oppressive systems, as we provide support for all our students. Through reflection, professional development, clinical service, training, programming, and advocacy, we aim to contribute to a campus culture that is affirming, responsive to our collective impact, and celebratory of all intersecting identities. We aspire to uphold these values, and adopt a stance of self-reflection, accountability, and reparative action whenever and wherever we may fall short.
Social Justice Committee Description/Introduction Statement
The Social Justice Committee for the Loyola University Counseling Center seeks to address needs and opportunities within mental health and well-being initiatives to center diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and liberation. Through outreach with campus partners and student groups/organizations, we strive to work within our system to increase awareness and spaces of belonging. Our aim is rooted in our Center’s understanding of wellness that emphasizes the strength and empowerment encompassed in our intersecting mosaic of identities.
Public Health Campaign Spotlight -- Suicide Prevention
Public Health
Each year, the Counseling Center develops public health campaigns for the Loyola community focused on various topics related to mental health (e.g., gender inclusion, grief and loss, healthy relationships). These campaigns draw on the latest psychological research to support increased awareness, prevention, and systemic growth and change across our campus when it comes to mental health-related issues.
Throughout the Spring 2024 semester, the Counseling Center has been updating and reintroducing a public health campaign we roll out every few semesters focused on Suicide Prevention. The goals of this campaign include educating our community about suicide prevention, including myths, facts, and warning signs related to suicide, providing resources and tips, and increasing help-seeking as well as feelings of connectedness and care across our community. Our approach to this campaign centers a broad, holistic, inclusive, and systemic understanding of suicide prevention. This includes but is not limited to the importance of addressing issues such as food and housing insecurity, inequities and harm in education and healthcare, discrimination and identity-based violence, and the overall work of building communities and systems in which all of us feel a sense of belonging and safety.
As with any of our campaigns, community-wide support and engagement around this topic is critical. We invite the entire Loyola community, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators to get involved in this campaign, whether that includes partnering with the Counseling Center on specific programming or initiating a conversation with peers or colleagues around the topic. Resources and content for our Suicide Prevention campaign can be found on digital and printed posters around campus, our Instagram page (loyolamd_counselingcenter), and a section of our website (www.loyola.edu/suicideprevention).
In the Library
In Break The Cycle , author Muriel Buque delivers the definitive guide to healing inherited trauma. Weaving together scientific research with practical exercises and stories from the therapy room, Dr.Buque teaches listeners how trauma is transmitted from one generation to the next and how they can break the cycle through tangible therapeutic practices, learning to pass down strength instead of pain to future generations. When a physical wound is left unhealed, it continues to cause pain to it continues to cause pain and can inflict the whole body. When emotions are left unhealed, they similarly cause harm that spreads to other parts of our live, hurting our family, friends, community members, and others. Eventually, this hurt ca injure an entire lineage, metastasizing across years and generations. This is intergenerational trauma.
The Resilient University: How Purpose and Inclusion Drive Student Success by Freeman A. Hrabowski III, Peter H. Henderson, Lynne C. Schaefer Philip J. Rous
Freeman A. Hrabowski lll was one of many leaders who followed the science during the pandemic and followed his heart in the fight for racial justice, even though the science was often playing catch-up with the virus, and campuses were playing catch-up on the history of race in our country. This precarious position often left higher education leaders in the disquieting position of making decisions with only partial or changing information. Drawing from lessons learned in real scenarios, the authors provide practical recommendation for empowering colleagues, cultivating resilience and courage, and sustaining purpose and inclusion with institutions.
Stress Resets, by Jennifer L. Taitz
Written by Dr. Jennifer L. Taitz, a clinical psychologist who specializes in teaching mindfulness-based behavioral skills to manage intense emotions and situations, Stress Resets provides 75 scientifically proven ways to improve how you respond to stress, both in the moment and the long run. There are accessible yet powerful exercises like dipping your face in ice water to quiet your body and mind; adopting a half smile to change your mood from the outside in; singing your irrational negative thoughts to reduce their believability; building a hope kit so you can remind yourself of what’s possible in tough moments; and making a pie chart of your life to gain perspective. By incorporating these into your days, you can stop the cycle of obsessing, panicking, and avoiding and instead effectively approach what matters to you most.
Break The Cycle - Dr. Mariel Buque
The Resilient University - Freeman A. Hrabowski III, Peter H. Henderson, Lynne C. Schaefer Philip J. Rous
Stress Resets - Jennifer L. Taitz
Friends of the Counseling Center -- Dr. Justine Khadduri, Director of the Study
Dr. Khadduri, Director of Learning Support, joined Loyola in August 2023. She earned her BA in Government and Secondary Education from Franklin & Marshall College, MA in Educational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, and PhD in Educational Leadership (with a concentration in Educational History and Philosophy) from Notre Dame of Maryland University. Dr. Khadduri has worked in a variety of capacities in K-12 and higher education over the past twenty years including serving as Academic Dean, Program Development and Implementation Director, Learning Support Director, Middle and High School History Teacher, and Adjunct Professor.
1) What is your favorite memory in the study?
My favorite memory was the first time I met with peer tutors, undergraduate and graduate assistants, and coaches. There was a beautiful and inspiring energy that manifested from each person’s excitement for the semester.
2)What might someone be surprised to know about you?
I am an avid kayaker! There is nothing more serene and lovely than being on water.
3)What's your favorite breakfast food and why?
Though not a food, one of my favorite breakfast items is coffee. It is one of the best ways to start your day!
4)What's something everyone should know about the study?
The Peer Tutors and Coaches in The Study are incredible. They possess great content knowledge, and they have amazing spirit and positive enthusiasm for learning and teaching.
5)What is your favorite part of the study? 6)What do you love about your job ? 7)What inspires you?
My favorite part of the study is also what I love about my job and what inspires me: people. The Study provides a space for people to gather and dialogue, share experiences, learn, and laugh.
8)Who are some of your biggest influences?
The biggest influences in my life have been the many students I have had the honor to partner with in and out of the classroom. I am inspired because each student has a unique and remarkable passion that will bring forth much goodness in this world, and it inspires me to do my part each day.
Community Partner Highlight
Phone Number: 1 (866) 508-7084
Charlie Health is an accessible online option for teens and young adults seeking intensive mental health care in an outpatient environment. It is an amazing website for students, you can get immediate access, and it works with your busy schedule. Have classes strictly in the morning? Charlie health has options that range from morning noon and night from Mondays- Saturdays.
FAQ
- They work around students' schedules are open from Monday- Saturdays
- Easily accessible , you can be at college or at home
- Specialize in multiple forms of mental health like, Depression, Trauma, Self-Harm, Substance Use Disorders Personality Disorders
- They work with you and help you with your insurance
- “89% of clients reported improvements in self-harm”
- “95% of clients reported improvements in symptoms associated with depression”
- They have many methods to help mental health including, Individual Therapy, Family Therapy, IOP Groups, Art and Music Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy
- It's a great program for students because it is so accessible
Join the Green Bandana Brigade!
Have you seen green bandanas on students' backpacks around campus?
The Green Bandana Brigade’s goal is to spread awareness of campus, local, and national resources for students coping with mental health concerns. An individual with a green bandana on their backpack or in their office is identified as a safe, nonjudgmental person to approach with mental health-related difficulties. They know about available resources and they can provide resource cards to assist others in getting help and support. None of us has to be alone in our struggles.
How do I join?
In order to earn a green bandana and become an advocate for mental health, one must complete an online mental health training, Kognito. At the end of the training, the participant will be presented with a certification of completion. Bring the certificate to the Counseling Center to receive your green bandana and set of resource cards.
Learn more about the Green Bandana Brigade online!
Join Togetherall!
All Loyola undergraduate and graduate students can access free online mental health support with Togetherall, any time, any day.
Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you to explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment.
What is Togetherall?
- A community where members are anonymous to each other, they can share how they are feeling & support each other
- Accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- Clinically managed with trained professionals available 24/7 to keep the community safe
- Self-assessments & recommended resources
- Creative tools to help express how you’re feeling
- Wide range of self-guided courses to do at your own pace
Yale Happiness Corse Spotlight
The Science of Well-being online course
This course, offered by Yale University, will offer a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life. The course is currently available for no cost.
Course summary
What is this course about? It is a course that you explore the field of psychology and how it teaches us to be happier, how to feel less stressed, and how to thrive in college and beyond.
FAQ
- Only takes Approximately 19 hours to complete
- Flexible schedule!
- Skills you’ll gain: Gratitude, happiness, meditation, savoring
Mood Bosting Recipes!
Strawberry Smoothie
How are they mood boosting?
Did you know strawberries are great for boosting your mood. They are rich in anthocyanins which have anti-neuroinflammatory properties, which benefit brain and emotional health. Strawberries can even lower your chances of getting sick. And of course they are delicious!
Only 3 Ingredients!
-Milk (any kind will do)
1 cup milk
-Frozen Strawberries
1 ½ cups
-Sweetener (of your choice)
1 tsp
Steps
1)Add all frozen strawberries and milk to blender and blend for 1-2 minutes
Tip: slowly add milk in to get preferable thickness
2)Then add the sweetener of your choice along with the amount you choose. I typically use regular granulated sugar and it always tastes great, but honey and others will taste just as good.
3)Have fun with it! Be creative and add toppings of your choice, personally I love to add freshly sliced mangos on top of mine 😊
4)Finally, enjoy your creation and feel that mood boosting!
About Us
Website: www.loyola.edu/counselingcenter
Location: Humanities Building 150
Phone: (410) 617-2273
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loyolaumcc/