Counseling Services Continue Virtually at BVU
The University continues to meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff in counseling realm by increasing staff in the midst of the pandemic.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds last week spent a portion of her press conference detailing COVID Recovery Iowa, a federally funded resource offering free counseling and mental health resources.
“While the virus is a threat to our physical health, living with its uncertainty over several months can also affect our mental health,” Reynolds says.
At Buena Vista University, free counseling and mental health resources were in place long before the pandemic. However, since the arrival of COVID-19, Julie Anderson, Director of Counseling Services, notes demand for counseling services has risen year-over-year by 35 percent, nearly all of it attributable to stress brought on by a pandemic now in its ninth month.
“The longer it drags on the more cumulative that stress can become,” says Anderson.
Restrictions for physical distancing for safety reasons have inadvertently brought about more feelings of social disconnection, be it loneliness or isolation. There have been job losses in the homes of some students, or hours have been reduced as workplaces shifted staff during this period.
“Seeking counseling has been very helpful. I feel like getting the help makes me stronger and better able to deal with the issues surrounding COVID-19. And not once have I been judged for going to counseling.”
Jaxon Kirchgatter, BVU freshman
“The pandemic has altered all of our lives, but the hope is that it’s temporary,” says Anderson. “We’re also seeing how people adapt and build resilience.”
BVU continues to meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff in the counseling realm by increasing staff in Counseling Services. Mike Walker, a licensed mental health counselor who had been serving as Senior Director of Retention and Student Support on a full-time basis, was added back into Counseling Services on a part-time basis. Walker sees students, joining Anderson and a pair of interns who have built caseloads of their own this semester. The team continued seeing students virtually even as classes moved remote just prior to Thanksgiving through the end of the first semester.
“As counselors, we communicate that increased anxiety is a normal reaction during an abnormal time,” says Anderson. “We offer psychoeducation on coping strategies that can help people navigate in what’s become a new normal.”
BVU freshman Jaxon Kirchgatter recommends BVU Counseling Services for his peers.
“Going to see a counselor during this time is the best decision I’ve made,” says Kirchgatter, a marketing major who quarantined at his home in Lincoln, Neb., for two weeks in early September, following a positive test for COVID-19. The saga represented a rocky start for his freshman year at BVU.
“Seeking counseling has been very helpful,” says Kirchgatter, a pitcher on the Beavers baseball team. “I feel like getting the help makes me stronger and better able to deal with the issues surrounding COVID-19. And not once have I been judged for going to counseling.”
Anderson lauds Kirchgatter for his candor. She also praises BVU faculty, staff, and students for being empathetic, for being active listeners with one another, for being responsive in a time of need. Dr. Willa J Casstevens, BVU Program Director and Associate Professor of Social Work, worked with Counseling Services to develop a student support group that meets on Zoom, a group in which students share experiences related to COVID-19.
“We all need to remind others that there are resources available to help one navigate,” Anderson says.
Even virtual events may represent ways in which students can connect with others and break away from anxiety and worry.
Kirchgatter likes the fact his baseball teammates continue to ask him how he’s doing, as his recovery from COVID-19 revealed he was born with bicuspid aortic value disease, a condition he unknowingly lived with—and competed with—for 18 years.
“Having COVID-19, in my case, might have been a blessing,” he says. “I learned about a heart issue. I also saw what it’s like to not be able to play baseball for the longest stretch I’ve been through in a long time. Being away from the sport, I spoke to my counselor about it, and realized I do love the sport again. I can’t wait to get out there and compete.”
For information about BVU Counseling Services, go to bvu.edu/counseling-services.