College life can throw a great deal of stress on new students, causing serious problems both physically and emotionally, so the University of Memphis has provided ways to aid students with their health issues.
The U of M Student Health & Counseling Services provides programs and state-of-the-art facilities to help students with their stress and medical needs. Among these facilities is the Student Health Center, which provides confidential medical assistance with no access fee. With the health center being located on campus, it is the quickest and most convenient way for students to receive medical aid if they become sick or injured, or suspect such conditions.
“If a student is physically ill during business hours, they should utilize (the) health center on campus,” Linh Luu, assistant director of Student Health & Counseling Services, said. “It’s a walk-in clinic, no appointment is needed. If medical staff determine that student needs higher level of care, they will make referral or request transport to the hospital.”
The Student Health Center has the means to tackle a range of minor medical issues, from fitting crutches and giving flu shots to using X-rays and running lab examinations. The health center also boasts a staff of fully licensed medical professionals, lab technologists and health educators. Students can even get prescriptions and receive medications or other medical products from the health center dispensary at a low cost.
Students can find the health center at 3770 Desoto Avenue, between the library and the Blue Line shuttle stop, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except on Tuesdays when it opens at 9 a.m. The health center treats all current U of M students, as long as their university-issued ID is shown. Students can call the health center directly at 901-678-2287, but for emergencies, dial 911.
Not every medical issue a student faces is physical, however. Mental and emotional health can be just as impactful on a student's life, requiring a different type of aid from Student Health & Counseling Services.
The Counseling Center, located in 214 Wilder Tower, helps students deal with a wide array of psychiatric and interpersonal issues, from general concerns, personal hardships and depression to relationship difficulties, attention deficit problems and drug and alcohol abuse.
Staff psychologist Randolph Potts said all students have to do to be counseled is walk in and say “I need to see somebody.”
“If they feel they need help, either because of general worries about can they survive here in college because it’s new and difficult and challenging or overwhelming or overstimulating…whatever the issue might be, they don’t have to call and make an appointment,” Potts said. “They will be seen in a matter of minutes by somebody who will find out just what’s going on, what kind of help do they need.”
Along with its many outreach programs, the Counseling Center has several techniques for providing psychiatric help such as one-on-one sessions, couples counseling and support groups. Potts said one of most important parts of the center is the safe environment and confidentiality between student and counselor.
“Whatever it might be, you’ll have a safe confidential place to deal with it,” Potts said. “Confidential, meaning Mom doesn’t have to know about it, your professors don’t need to know about it, your roommate won’t need to know, your RA... nobody needs to know about this unless you want to tell them.”
Students who do not seek counseling but want to relieve stress on their own can also go to the Relaxation Zone, located in 302 Brister Hall, next door to Wilder Tower. The Relaxation Zone is built to help students experience tranquility with features such as massage chairs, a zen garden and biofeedback machines.
The Counseling Center has walk-in hours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, although its hours of operation extend beyond those times. The center can be called at 901-678-2068, and its 24-hour Crisis Center Hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-TALK.
Potts said the health and counseling centers work as a unit to take care of all of a student’s physical and emotional needs.
“Those things that impact medically tend to impact you emotionally and vice versa, so we try to work in a coordinated way,” Potts said. “We try to make it where it’s integrated, the behavioral, emotional aspects of well-being with the medical aspects of well-being, so they’re very much part of the same process of being successful in your academic experience.”
Robert Maichrowicz, associate director of the counseling center, said these services are important because they keep students healthy, which in turn allows them to stay productive and achieve their dreams.
“Getting help with physical and mental issues may help the student perform their best at school, and for some students it may be the difference, especially for the counseling services, between staying in or dropping out of school,” Maichrowicz said. “It can be important to utilize these services so that a smaller problem doesn’t become a bigger problem.”
Maichrowicz said he believed the Student Health & Counseling Services truly made a difference in the lives of students.
“I have worked at the Counseling Center at The University of Memphis for 21 years and have seen many, many students helped by these services,” Maichrowicz said. “Some students were able to stay enrolled in part due to these services. And our crisis services are 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, and we have saved lives through our crisis intervention for students, for example, who have been suicidal.”
