Alice! Health Promotion Program

Stressbusters are a team of students that relax Columbians by delivering free five to ten minute upper-body rubs at events and programs within the CU community. Stressbuster events may be requested online through the Health Services website. For more information, please contact Kelli Soto, Stressbusters Coordinator, at Stressbusters@columbia.edu

Wind Down Wednesday is a weekly Stressbuster event open to the entire Columbia community on Wednesday from 4:00-5:00pm in the first floor lounge of Wien Hall.

Stress Management Workshops are available through the Alice! Health Promotion Program. In the workshop, students will identify personal stressors and physiological changes triggered by stress, identify and practice a variety of stress management strategies, and discuss ways to fit stress management into a demanding schedule. To request a stress management workshop or find out about Alice!’s other workshops, please visit the Alice! page on the Health Services website.

The Alice! Stress Initiative, a new program through the Alice! Health Promotion Program gives students the opportunity to voice their thoughts about student stress. A coalition of students committed to understanding and addressing stress on campus is being formed by a community organizer who serves as a graduate student assistant at Alice! Students who are interested in being a part of this coalition may contact Meg Bradley at mab2210@columbia.edu.

Go Ask Alice!, Columbia University’s health question and answer internet resource, contains a category related to emotional health and subcategory dedicated to addressing issues related to student stress.

In addition to the services listed above, students may also stop by the Alice! office or make an appointment with a Health Promotion Specialist to discuss stress management. The Alice! office is located in the Health Services suite on the 1st floor of Wien Hall.


Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS)

Individual consultations with CPS counselors
Students struggling to keep up with assignments or to strike a reasonable work-life balance are welcome to consult individually at CPS. All CPS counselors are well versed in helping students negotiate academic stress. In addition, there are staff with specific expertise in this area: Dr. Yaniv Phillips specializes in helping students overcome procrastination, and Dr. Calvin Chin and Dr. Victoria Grosso help students more rationally manage their time.

Workshops and support groups
More information about these and other groups, are available via the CPS website. Note that, in general, students should contact the group facilitator in advance of the first meeting to express their interest.

Overcoming Procrastination Workshop
Students interested in participating in a workshop designed to help overcome procrastination may contact Dr. Phillips at py2120@columbia.edu. The workshop will meet from 5:00 to 6:30 P.M. on four consecutive Mondays, beginning October 20.

Tolerating Stress: A Skill Building Group to Manage Overwhelming Emotions, Tolerate Distress, Improve Relationships and Increase Self-Care Victoria Grosso, Ph.D. (vg2107@columbia.edu) and Patricia Swander, LCSW (pas200@columbia.edu) host this support group Wednesdays, 5:30-7:00 pm. Start date TBA.

Mindfulness Group
Mindfulness is an increasingly popular means of stress reduction, by cultivating greater awareness of unconscious thoughts and feelings that undermine physical and psychological well being. Facilitated by Addette Williams, Ph.D., alw65@columbia.edu. Day and time TBA.

Other Support Groups of potential interest:

• Adult Children of Alcoholics Support Group
  
• Bereavement Support Group
  
• Gay Men's Group
  
• Group for Graduate International Students (This group will begin on October 17, 2008 Lerner Hall, 8th Floor; No initial interview needed.)
  
• Students with Chronic Medical Illness
  
• Women of Color Support Group
  

When the situation is serious:
Students in severe distress--and administrators and faculty trying to support them--should be aware that we always have clinicians available to help, 24/7/365. During normal business hours, and 10-4 on Saturdays, we have staff on-campus. After-hours, students can reach our nurse triage service by dialing 4-9797.