James Fox, Campus Carrier deputy news editor

Nathanael Mooney, Campus Carrier staff writer

The Counseling Center of Berry is one of the many resources available to students. In recent years, the demand for the center’s services has gone up significantly. Staff Counselor Connor Pierce has noticed the increase in demand and is actively working to meet it. One of the ways the center hopes to reach more students is through the introduction of group sessions. 

“We are doing our best to get some groups off the ground, which will hopefully be able to take in more students and be more targeted,” Pierce said. “Each group would have a specific topic or conversation going. Right now we have one called ‘Navigating the Journey’ which is a response to the new Berry Journey [program].”

The groups will provide multiple benefits, but the biggest is allowing people to see a counselor much quicker than if they had to wait for a one-on-one meeting. Pierce is a large advocate of the groups and is excited to see them take off.

“With a group it could, in theory, be me and 10 other people, and that is 10 other people that might have otherwise not have gotten that resource,” Pierce said. 

One of the challenges that the center is currently facing is a shortage in supply, as Pierce puts it. The Counseling Center recently had a staff departure that has made it slightly more difficult for students to be seen by the center. The Counseling Center is actively working to bring in new staff members to resolve the issue.

“We are currently onboarding Ariel Mindigo. she is the new director of recreation who is also an associate licensed counselor,” Pierce said. “She should be starting really soon, within the next month. We have two new interns that we are happy to have, and we are looking for some more.”

The last new addition coming to the Counseling Center will be an Instagram account. Pierce is excited about the account and believes it will increase engagement.

“Hopefully the Instagram account will be another way for students to have an online space where the external resources are available, but also we’re going to post memes and have some conversations about serious topics but make it approachable as we can,” Pierce said.

During the process of adding new services and onboarding new people, the staff counselors have worked hard to make sure they continue to help the student body. That help may look different from student to student and Pierce makes it an effort to work for the individual needs of his clients.

“On our end, we remain vigilant in recognizing that not everyone needs the exact same level of care, meaning being diligent that we are giving people what they are looking for, not what we may think they need,” Pierce said. 

Sophomore Sarah Roy started visiting the Counseling Center recently and has had an overwhelmingly positive experience.

“[The Counseling Center has] been really helpful,” Roy said, “They always work with me. I usually don’t meet on the same day or same time every week because its hard for them to fit every student in their schedule, and they’ve been really flexible with me. My counselor has even offered to meet with me at eight o’clock [in the morning] before they open if I really need to be seen.”

Roy emphasized the kindness of the workers in the Counseling Center and their effort to create a comfortable environment.

“I’ve only interacted with the receptionist and Connor, but they are very friendly,” Roy said. “The receptionist has an entire bookshelf of cat Squishmellows and cat pillows everywhere. That brightens my day a little bit whenever I go in there.”

The counseling center aims to create a comfortable setting in order to ease any anxieties students might have about going to visit the Counseling Center.

“It is an extremely brave thing to do, and it is our job to make that as comfortable as possible for people, and I am confident in everyone’s ability to do that here,” Pierce said. 

Despite the current challenges the Counseling Center faces when it comes to staffing, the counselors are optimistic about the future.

“I think we have got some good stuff on the horizon, seriously, whether it be groups, new people, or generally just tweaking our system to appeal and outreach to students better,” Pierce said.