By: Heath Anderson
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – According to a recent survey from the Arkansas Traveler, 71% of students said their anxiety increased after the outbreak of COVID-19.
The Pat Walker Health Center offers mental health services through its CAPS program, which stands for Counseling and Psychological Services.
Sophie Nourani is a student at the University of Arkansas who identified some areas of her mental health she could use help with and reached out to CAPS.
“Just finding ways to better interact with others, and set boundaries with people,” Nourani said. “That’s something that I wanted to work on that I really couldn’t do myself.”
She’s not the only one that CAPS has helped.
Zac Brown, assistant director of communication for the Pat Walker Health Center, said that student’s reports of symptoms have been more severe since the start of the pandemic.
“What that means is that students who are seeking mental health services through CAPS are reporting that they are having increased symptoms of depression and anxiety as a result of not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but also just the ongoing social crisis that we have seen over the last couple years.” Brown said.
Mental Health is a blanket term that includes things such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, and CAPS helps people as best they can with any mental health concern.
Services include one on one phone calls, individual meetings, and group sessions.
Nourani joined a group session with people she didn’t know, something she hadn’t done before.
While she said it felt awkward to her at first, she began to open up to her group, and hearing other people’s perspectives helped her with her own experience.
“I was able to think about it differently and be like ok, this is how I should try it next time.” Nourani said.
She no longer uses CAPS, but said the program helped her in ways she couldn’t have done without.