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SAIC Secrets: Talk it Out [1]
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Date: 2025-05-26 20:46:11+00:00
Have you ever thought about going to therapy? The first step might be closer than you think.
The School of the Art Institute’s Wellness Center is on the 13th floor of Lakeview and has three pillars: the Disability Learning Resource Center to assist students with disabilities and offer accommodations, Health Services for basic medical care, and Counseling Services for mental health needs. They operate separately from each other, but in conjunction.
Students can receive up to 16 sessions of free counseling through Counseling Services per degree program, where a staff of qualified counselors, therapists, and psychologists meet one-on-one with students. Though students can use the sessions at any time, if divided evenly, undergrad students would have two sessions a semester, and masters students in two year degree programs would have four sessions a semester. After all the sessions are used, or if a student asks, the counseling center can make a referral to an outside provider.
To make an appointment at the counseling center, you can walk in during business hours, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., call 312-499-4271, or email [email protected]. However, the counseling center’s website recommends that students call. Students in crisis can also call the same counseling services line 24/7 for an after-hours counselor.
“Frankly, I love it when students walk in,” said Joseph Behen, dean of SAIC’s Wellness Center. “I think that’s a great way to get started. You know, we have a beautiful space here on the 13th floor of Lakeview. There’ll be a receptionist available, our office coordinator to connect with the student, maybe ask some basic questions about what they need and get them scheduled.”
The Wellness Center is in its third year of its second Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for 2022 to 2025. Through the $360,000 grant, called Making Lives Better Together, the center has been able to broaden its resources. Additions include the hiring of a triage counselor to aid students in mental health crises, and expanded Mental Health First Aid Training through an available program on psychiatric crisis support.
Another addition through the grant has been the three online telehealth services that can be found in the Wellness Center’s section of SAIC’s website under Counseling Services. The first is Thriving Campus, a free online directory to find mental health clinicians beyond SAIC. The second is Togetherall, a free and anonymous online peer community. The third is TELUS Health Student Support, with 24/7 support and free confidential counseling services through telephone or messaging, including in multiple languages.
Behen said that the Wellness Center has always had ample resources to support the student body in terms of staffing, budget, and professional support.
“We’re able to carry out our mission well,” Behen said. “The overall mission of the Wellness Center is empathic and compassionate support and care. I would argue that our resources are probably as robust within our Wellness Center as any art school.”
Students who have visited the counseling center have described a range of experiences when interacting with the Wellness Center.
Kyle Gregory Price (MFA 2025), who utilized the center’s art therapy offerings and accommodations, said, “They have been very communicative and listened to my concerns and needs.”
Price, a TA, suggests to new students and peers in the performance department to acknowledge the center’s presence. “I have recommended every incoming student that I have worked with to at least recognize that the Wellness Center is there for them,” Price said.
Sunny Schumacher (BFA 2027) felt that some parts of the counseling were more helpful than others. “A lot of it was coming up with strategies to face some of my issues. I didn’t really use the strategies all that much, but I feel like just talking about it kinda helped in some way,” they said.
Though Alex Lee (BFA 2027) appreciated the center’s dedicated walk-in person, his main concern was the paperwork, hoping for a fast track to speak with someone. “They had me fill out paperwork for longer than I talked to a person, so by the time I could talk to someone, I was like, ‘I’m kind of okay now that you made me write my name so many times,’” Lee said. Lee is an editor at F Newsmagazine.
Lee also had difficulty with the number of sessions available. “Too many of us are in need of psychological resources. What are we going to do with 16 sessions for four years? 16 is not enough.”
Behen acknowledged that these are “troubled times,” both politically and economically, and that students have a range of needs that the Wellness Center has to meet.
“We want to make sure students get the support they need as we have to deal with this world and its challenges, it’s staying as responsive as we can to current, contemporary student needs through the work we do across all of the services here,” said Behen.
Ultimately, Behen emphasized that the Wellness Center wants students to know that there is mental health support available to them at SAIC when they need it.
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