In Feb. 7 Gaither Terrell succeeded Ernest McCoy as Director of Student Counseling Services. The Guilfordian met with Terrell to ask her about her new job, what it means to be a counselor, and some of the psychological problems facing Guilford students.

Guilfordian: What job did you have before you came here?

Terrell: I was working in the business world as a counselor in an

employee assistance program. It’s like a counseling center in a business

where your clients are employees. I worked a lot with depression,

anxiety, relationship issues.

Guilfordian: Do you think your prior experience as a counselor will

transfer?

Terrell: Oh yeah, yeah.

Guilfordian: Will you be counseling students yourself?

Terrell: Yes.

Guilfordian: Have you worked with young adults in the past?

Terrell: Not college age, but many of the employees I worked with in

the last 14 years in that job were young adults, in the 22-42 age group.

A lot of the same issues apply in terms of stress, depression, those

types of things.

Guilfordian: Do you think that age-group is particularly susceptible to

problems?

Terrell: Well, yes, I think it’s an exciting time in a person’s life, but I

also think there’s a lot of vulnerability because of all the changes …

there’s a lot of growth, but it’s also very stressful.

Guilfordian: What problems do college students typically have?

Terrell: Depression, anxiety about a variety of issues, relationship

issues, eating disorders, sexuality issues, substance abuse issues. And

of course at a college there are a lot of issues about identity, about

separating from your family and developing your own person. A lot of

times it’s the most stressful situation a person has been in and they don’t

having the coping mechanisms to deal with the stress. Sometimes that’s

what we’ll talk about, how to develop better coping mechanisms.

Guilfordian: But sometimes a coping mechanism can actually cause

more stress?

Terrell: Absolutely. Sometimes when we’re under stress we use ways of

coping that end up causing their own stress. Drinking is a good

example because you use alcohol to cope with stress, but it actually

causes more problems. You’ve got the hangover, the behavior you got

into when you were drinking, these things cause stress you wouldn’t

have had otherwise.

Guilfordian: So what are some healthier coping mechanisms?

Terrell: I think boundaries are an important coping mechanism.

Boundaries are how involved we allow ourselves to be in other people’s

lives. If you get over-involved, and take responsibility for what’s going

on in other people’s lives. Then you’re taking on another person’s

stress. And that’s not to say you don’t care about people, and that’s a

real issue for people to work out — how do you care about someone

without taking on their problem.

Guilfordian: As a counselor that must be something you have to worry

about all the time, because you’re always listening to other people’s

problems. Where do you draw the boundary?

Terrell: I struggled with other people’s problems earlier in my career. I

know that if I go home and find myself thinking, really ruminating about

somebody, I know that I have to think about the boundaries there. For

me, it’s real important to try and not take it home with me.

Guilfordian: Can you describe how you would treat a student over the

course of several months?

Terrell: It’s hard to say … I really try to go in the direction the person

needs me. In general, the process would be about listening, and helping

the person to think through as they talk and answer questions. People

come in with a lot on their minds, but they’re not really sure how all the

pieces fit together until we sit and talk. None of the counselors are here

to preach. It’s more of an exploration process. Probably one of the

biggest problems people have treating their issues is that they don’t

want to go see a counselor, because of the stigma associated with

psychological problems.

Guilfordian: What do you think is the best way to get students to

overcome these feelings?

Terrell: I’m glad you asked that. I think my first task is to do just that,

to make us more visible and more approachable, and reach out to the

students. I’m hoping to meet with students in various ways … for

instance, residence hall meetings, clubs. I just talked with a student

about going to the Tea and Talk next week to do a presentation. If

people see the counselors as real people, I think it’s less intimidating.

Guilfordian: You mentioned suicide earlier. Guilford’s counseling center

has been criticized by students, especially in reference to their handling

of suicide attempts. What do you think is the best way to treat a suicidal

student?

Terrell: I can’t really comment on how it’s been done in the past,

because I don’t really know how it’s been handled … We’ve got to deal