Photo: Wellness Center’s new location in Buntrock Commons Gaby Perez/The Olaf Messenger
While navigating mental health as a college student can be a challenging venture, several resources at St. Olaf exist to make this important form of self-care accessible.
The Counseling Center, located at New Hall 46, provides a variety of mental health services, including individual and group counseling sessions, nutrition counseling sessions, consultations, informative workshops, and referrals. The Counseling Center is a confidential resource for students as well as college faculty, staff, and parents to receive care.
On Mondays through Fridays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., the Counseling Center offers “Let’s Talk” sessions, where walk-ins can meet briefly with a counselor for a consultation. While “Let’s Talk” sessions are not formal counseling appointments, students are given a space to share their concerns, receive support, and are directed toward appropriate resources.
Currently, the Counseling Center has a waitlist for regular counseling appointments, per a statement on their website. Students can email counselingcenter@stolaf.edu to be added.
St. Olaf students also have access to TimelyCare, a telehealth service that provides mental health and medical care around the clock. On the TimelyCare platform, students are allotted 12 free regular counseling sessions per academic year, and additional appointments cost $79. The platform also offers the “TalkNow” service, an on-demand option for students to receive mental health and crisis support as needed. TimelyCare resources can be accessed internationally, though the college recommends students download the mobile app and the St. Olaf VPN prior to exiting the country.
The St. Olaf Wellness Center, located in Buntrock Commons 120, also offers a variety of mental and physical health resources for students and community members.
Peer support and coaching, in the form of both one-on-one meetings and educational events, provides students with support, advice, and information tailored to their individual needs by trained Peer Educators. These services are not confidential. Though student information is kept private, if a conversation with a Peer Educator indicates that a student is in any danger of harm to themself or others, the Wellness Center has an obligation to refer them to an appropriate campus staff member for further help. This includes information related to Title IX. The Wellness Center also provides free health and self-care supplies for walk-ins, including chapstick, sexual health supplies, aromatherapy samples, sleep masks, and cheerful, mental-health affirming stickers.
These cheap and accessible resources are here to support the St. Olaf community. With the semester coming to a close soon and finals approaching, it is important that St. Olaf community members prioritize not only their physical health but mental health too.
Vera Sablak is a senior art history and biology major from Concord, Massachusetts. She loves coffee, chatting, and chilly weather. Her most favorite food of all time is grilled cheese and she could spend hours in a plant store. Other than writing Mess articles, Vera loves to write songs and is practically playing the guitar at all times. One day, she hopes to be a florist and the owner of a combined coffee and flower shop.