If there are students feeling tired or stressed out by college, exams or just life in general, the Counseling Center has just the place to help them relax.
The newly expanded Relaxation Zone, located in Brister 302, is a state-of-the-art environment for students to stop and take a break. Any student can come to this facility twice a day for 30 minutes each visit and enjoy some of the de-stressing features it has to offer.
“It’s a place where you can come and decompress,” Nikita Lockett, a graduate student, said. “That’s 30 minutes out of your day where you’re not thinking about the next paper due, or your next discussion question or how you’re going to get field hours in.”
The Relaxation Zone first opened in 2012 under the direction of Dr. Jane Clement, the director of the Counseling Center. Beginning as a small room with a single chair, the Relaxation Zone has expanded into a facility with a Zen garden, plants, paintings, privacy panels and several other features specially incorporated to help students experience tranquility, like massage chairs, which Lockett has an affinity for.
“They massage from neck to feet, and there’s heat,” Lockett said. “You can time them and program the chairs to do specific areas.”
Biofeedback machines teach students breathing and stress management skills by using a system of sensors and pads to monitor heart rate and other functions.
Victoria Maher, licensed master social worker for the Counseling Center, realized students stress and do not take the time to decompress.
“When you teach them those skills, you can see how much it really changes their daily life and how they can work through their problems a lot easier than just having a meltdown and then getting through it,” Maher said.
The Relaxation Zone has proven very successful over the past few years in helping students manage their stress. The number of students using the facility increased by 400 percent last year alone, Maher said.
After taking a survey on their stress level ranking from one to 10, the average student reported their stress level went down by a factor of two points. Maher said stress is not avoidable, but not everyone needs formal counseling to handle his or her problems.
“Some people just need a little boost, and that’s what this is: a place for people to come and just unwind, turn your phone off and just sit with yourself,” Maher said.
Beginning Sept. 30 the Relaxation Zone will be open for all students from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. To get more information or schedule an appointment, students can go to the Counseling Center in Wilder 214 or walk in Brister 302 anytime from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
