By Scarlett Birge, student news writer, Office of University Communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – These are stressful and uncertain times due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19). To combat higher levels of anxiety, depression, fear and other mental health concerns, Campbellsville University’s CU-Well Counseling Center is now providing two free resources. The first is free online counseling. The second is free online community groups. Both are available to any person living in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
“Human beings weren’t built for isolation; we are built for community. There’s something very powerful and very encouraging about talking to people who are in the same situation that you are,” Dr. Ken Hollis, program director of the master’s in marriage and family therapy program and associate professor at Campbellsville University, said.
The CU-Well Counseling Center is the training center for the Campbellsville University Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy program. CU-Well is staffed by student interns, faculty and licensed marriage and family therapists who provide mental health counseling at no cost to those who are not able to afford to pay at this time due to the global coronavirus pandemic and national economic crisis.
“Both our individual and our group sessions are being offered on a secure Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) compliant platform. The only people who will have access to the individual sessions or groups are those who’ve made arrangements to attend,” Hollis said on the security and safety of the sessions being offered.
Individual therapy is available seven days a week. The online community groups will be offered Monday through Saturday. There are three group session offerings each day. The first session at 10:30 a.m. is for families with children under the age of 11. At 3 p.m. the second session is held for adolescents aged 12 to 17. The last daily group session is at 8 p.m. for people aged 18 and older.
Group sessions are not for specific concerns like individual therapy sessions, but rather for a sense of overall connection in managing stress and uncertainty during these times.
“Group therapy sessions have been designed simply to offer support and community. This will be an opportunity for people to connect with other people in a safe environment,” Hollis said.
The CU-Well Counseling Center is a training program for master’s level students preparing to become licensed mental health professionals. To learn more about receiving services from the CU-Well Counseling Center, call (502) 694-1444.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 11,900 students offering over 100 programs of study including Ph.D., master, baccalaureate, associate, pre-professional and certification programs. The university has Kentucky based off-campus centers in Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset, Hodgenville and Liberty with instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro and Summersville. Out-of-state centers include two in California at Los Angeles and Lathrop, located in the San Francisco Bay region. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.
Campbellsville University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award certificates, associate, baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the status of Campbellsville University.