The coronavirus pandemic is pushing our country into a mental health crisis. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of people reporting anxiety and depression reached an all-time high in September, hitting young people the hardest. As students continue to contend with mental health issues related to the pandemic, the services of John Jay’s Counseling Services Center couldn’t be more important. “Pre Covid-19, most students were coming to us for anxiety, depression, trauma, academic-related problems, interpersonal issues, and family concerns,” says Gerard Bryant, Ph.D., John Jay’s Director of Counseling. Now, as our communities are still battling the impact of Covid-19, those issues have been magnified. “As a result of this pandemic and isolation, we’re seeing students dealing with more depression, more anxiety, more problems with family, and more financial problems—a great deal of financial problems.” According to Bryant, the loss of jobs and different kinds of support have brought up many inter-family conflicts. Students are also contending with the stress of not having space or privacy to do their classwork. “There’s a whole host of problems in addition to what we saw before the pandemic.” We sat down with Bryant to better understand the services that the Center can provide, and break down some myths about mental health services.
“As a result of this pandemic and isolation, we’re seeing students dealing with more depression, more anxiety, more problems with family, and more financial problems—a great deal of financial problems.” —Gerard Bryant
If a student wants to speak with a counselor about mental health issues, what do they do?
First, they need to locate how to get a hold of us. We have a webpage on the John Jay website with all the services that we offer, but the main takeaway is that students can set up an appointment by contacting our Associate Director of Counseling, Cory Head (CHead@jjay.cuny.edu or 212-887-6239). When a student speaks to her, she’ll find out what general issues the student is facing and then schedule an intake with one of our clinicians. That can be either a licensed mental health professional or a graduate student who is in training for a master’s- or doctoral-level degree. This usually happens in a couple of days, not more than a week from the time the student initially called. The student would then meet with that counselor over the phone, Zoom, or even FaceTime. That first session is primarily getting background information. Afterward, the student would be assigned a counselor to start one-on-one sessions.
Can the student choose what type of counselor they’d like to see?
All of our counselors are generalists and they are used to dealing with a full range of problems. Here’s the difference; a student may prefer to meet with someone who is the same gender as them, or the same age, or ethnicity. We have a very diverse staff, so we can probably find somebody that the student would feel comfortable being matched with. Those things are all asked at the time of intake, asking who the student would prefer speaking with, and then they are matched up with somebody appropriate.
What can a student expect once they start regularly seeing a counselor?
First, we get to what the heart of the issue is, and the beauty of having a Wellness Center is having a whole host of resources. We try to help the student understand all the resources we have to help them—emergency funding for financial problems, a food pantry for food-insecurity issues. We also assist students with relaxation techniques for things like anxiety and depression. Meditation, positive self-statements, and other coping methods are often used to combat the stress-related problems that the students may be facing. Our job is to connect students to resources that help with their mental health concerns.
“Going to a therapist is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. It takes a lot of courage. The three hardest words to string together in the English language are: I need help.” —Gerard Bryant
Are there any myths or misconceptions about the Counseling Center that you’d like to talk about?
The biggest misconception is that you’ve got to be “crazy” to go to the Counseling Center. Unfortunately, that myth can be perpetuated by many of the students’ family members. They come from cultures that might believe that to go see a therapist means you’re “insane” or you’re “crazy.” That is a myth. A total myth. Some of the healthiest people out there actually have a therapist, and they are healthy because they see a therapist. Going to a therapist is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. That’s the biggest problem, people believing that seeing a therapist is a sign of weakness. In fact, it takes a lot of courage. The three hardest words to string together in the English language are: I need help. If you can say that, you are always ahead of the game.
How has the pandemic impacted mental health overall?
The word “unprecedented” has been used so often, but there is no better word to describe what is going on here. The impact is unprecedented. Not just short-term issues, but the long-term effect on the mental health of this country is devastating. Part of the problem is that we don’t see a way out of this. There’s a lot of unknowns. When you are dealing with an unknown, it produces a lot of anxiety and depression. We’ve already seen the tremendous impact this pandemic has had on both Hispanic and African-American communities. That’s not only on mortality but also in terms of mental health. It’s really important for people to try to reach out for help.
Without giving any personal details, can you give an example of how the Counseling Services Center has helped students?
We’ve had a few students who have tested positive for Covid-19. That was devastating news for them, absolutely devastating. On top of all the stuff that is going on in their homes and with their family, they’re now dealing with the disease directly. Some of them were already in counseling, and some of them came to us for counseling. They were just glad that they could go somewhere and share this information in a confidential setting without being judged. Thankfully, many of them have recovered and are okay. I believe part of that recovery was being able to talk about the impact of the disease and not isolate themselves. They were able to share their thoughts, their fears, and their sadness about what was going on in their lives.
“I just want to encourage every student out there to feel free to come to our services. They are free. They don’t cost you any money.” —Gerard Bryant
Any other last thoughts you want students to know about the Counseling Services Center?
I just want to encourage every student out there to feel free to come to our services. They are free. They don’t cost you any money. They are part of your student activity fee. We do have counselors and we are trying to increase the number of counselors we have, as well as the number of hours that we are able to provide service. We’re also available almost 24/7 because we are a remote operation right now. We can talk to students, pretty much, any time of the day, but students have to take the first step and ask for help.
