WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Students at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) can now obtain mental health support on campus in the university’s new counseling center.
The center is in Kellett Hall, 905 W. Main St., and provides short-term counseling for students who need help addressing the challenges and stressors in their lives, said Lauren Willis, director of counseling services at MSU-WP. Students at the main campus in West Plains and the Shannon Hall campus in Mountain Grove can utilize these free resources, she added.
“We recognize that students face a lot of extra challenges outside of academics, so we want to provide students with the help they need so they can reach their goals in school,” she explained.
For several years, MSU-WP students have had access to counseling services off campus through the university’s professional services contracts with area counseling providers.
But limitations with this service option were revealed in 2021 when the university began participating in the Partners in Prevention annual survey from the Missouri Assessment of College Health Behaviors, said Dr. Angela Totty, vice chancellor of student services. Using this tool university officials were able to see the increase in students reporting mental health struggles and their struggles to access services, including long wait times for appointments with counselors and a lack of transportation, she added.
Student Government Association leaders began discussing the feasibility of having on-campus support personnel, such as a case manager, to connect students to external services, Totty said. After a year of struggle to overcome long wait periods, it was determined to develop on-campus counseling resources that can provide immediate, short-term counseling services to better meet the mental health needs of the study body, she added.
This feedback from students resulted in the hiring of Willis as a case manager/counselor in September 2021 and the eventual development of the counseling center.
“The center’s creation was a result of direct feedback from students who wanted more mental health support,” Willis said. “There’s something different about having someone on campus who understands what students are facing on campus. Since I am here, I’m also aware of other services available on campus that students can access to meet certain needs. Students couldn’t receive this type of support when they were accessing off-campus counseling services.”
Students who wish to meet with Willis, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist, can call or email and schedule an appointment. She will then work with the student to address their mental health needs on a short-term basis.
“If needed, we will meet every two weeks and set goals that can be met within the academic year,” Willis said. “Counseling is such an abstract thing. There can be mental health challenges students face that require long-term counseling and meeting more often which is more than we can provide. We want to tackle those challenges that can be addressed in a shorter time frame.”
Students who need long-term counseling, however, can still benefit from the center. “We will help connect students with counselors in the community who can give them that type of support,” Willis said.
There are no out-of-pocket fees for students to see Willis since the center and its services are covered with funds collected from the Common Fee students pay when they register for classes. The Common Fee covers a variety of student and administrative focused activities, university officials said.
The center will have an additional staff member Sept. 25, Willis said. Lora Davis has been hired as a case manager and will help students connect with other professional resources in the area, such as state agencies, food banks, and physician services, if needed.
“We’re really working to grow the mental health support in a new way by taking feedback from students and adapting as we go to meet the needs the students express,” Willis said.
“Younger generations are recognizing the benefits of counseling and seeing the impact society and culture can have on mental health, so we’re seeing a need for mental health services in this age group because they’re understanding better the need for it and how beneficial it can be” she added.
“Our research and understanding of psychology have expanded significantly in recent years, and I think we’re understanding more about the impacts of mental health at earlier ages and how we can intervene. It’s talked about more and advanced our ability to know how to treat mental health issues,” Willis continued.
The stressors and issues today’s youth face are, in some ways, different from previous generations, Willis said. “Today, we have so much access to ‘bad’ things, negative information, negative news. It’s always at our fingertips. You don’t see the good things that are happening. The exposure everyone is having to negative stressors is not only more often, but also at a younger age. That causes extra distress that might be different than previous generations have experienced, so the same coping skills that helped in previous years cannot be expected to help in the current day. We must approach it differently.”
The counseling center aims to do just that for MSU-WP students, Willis said. She praised the students for sharing their needs with administrators and administrators for seeking and creating a viable solution.
“It just shows the campus really prioritizes student care and student success. We’re supporting students in all facets of their life, not just in their academic achievements. We truly care about our students. They’re not just numbers,” Willis said.
“We are excited to begin offering these services to our students, understanding how crucial it is to receive services when facing overwhelming circumstances,” Totty added. “I am very confident in our staff members and look forward to seeing the positive impact this new department has on the lives of our students.”
You can learn more about MSU-WP’s new counseling center at WP.MissouriState.edu/Counseling.
