This Month: Think MHM!

OK. You’re on a university campus, so you’ve likely heard some of the latest acronyms like BFF (Best Friend Forever) or LOL (Laugh Out Loud). But, what about MHM?

WHAT IS MHM?

It’s Mental Health Matters. Yes, your mental health is important and counselors are here to help you maintain a sense of wellness. Everyone, including you, will experience distress at some point in life whether it’s grief over the loss of a loved one, stress over financial burdens, depression, homesickness or relationship issues. But, you don’t have to struggle alone!

Help is available for you and those you know through counseling. Counselors are located here at the University of West Georgia (UWG), in grade schools, businesses and throughout most local communities.

So, what exactly is counseling? Think of it as an hour in which you can chat with an objective person, who will listen to you attentively without judgment or bias and will help you reach a point of growth and resolution. It’s not anything that’s taboo or even voodoo or something for people who are “crazy” or outcasts of society.

Counseling is for everyone!

How Can I Receive Counseling? At the UWG, you can get counseling at the Student Development Center, http://www.westga.edu/~sdev/ , located at 272 Parker Hall, by calling (678) 839-6428. You can also find some national, state and local counseling resources and information on mental health issues on the new UWG Cares webpage, www.westga.edu/UWGCares.

So, is a counselor different from a psychiatrist or psychologist? Yes, counselors focus solely on non-medical treatment (individual talk therapy) aimed at helping individuals explore problems in all areas of their lives while psychiatrists attend to a person’s medical needs. Unlike psychiatrists, counselors cannot prescribe medication, but support individuals taking medication when needed for certain issues in conjunction with counseling. However, you don’t have to be on medication to get counseling!

Counselors and psychologists differ in that psychologists generally have a background focused more on psychological testing.

Because April is Counselor Awareness month, you are being asked to “Think MHM” and encourage others to do the same. Text someone and tell them to “Think MHM”, and when they ask what you are talking about, share this information with them.

Remember: You have a mind so mental health should matter!