As the Washington winter season approaches, with shorter days, gloomy weather, and long days of classes, students returning to campus after the holidays may start to feel the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). A recent survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 45% of Seattle residents reported feeling depressed for several days during the first two weeks of February. The rate was the highest in the nation in 2023. This phenomenon might be explained by the lack of sunlight and community many Washingtonians experience.  

As many students are prioritizing self-care this winter, it is important to know that there are free services available to UW Bothell students which can additionally help promote well-being. The campus Counseling Center provides many mental health counseling services and is planning to introduce exciting new group therapy sessions this winter. Whether you are navigating SAD, anxiety, or college adjustments and stress of transitioning to adulthood, the counseling center is equipped to support your mental health as a student. 

This winter, the campus Counseling Center is introducing a new Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) group therapy service. Dr. Taone, the D&D therapy facilitator, led a group D&D therapy session at UW Tacoma, and it was met with much success, due to which he is now enthusiastically bringing this service to our campus this upcoming quarter. In an interview, Taone believes it was successful because, “there is a combination between the general popularity of D&D and the benefits of addressing things like social anxiety in a fun and structured way that will hopefully land well with the students at UW Bothell.” These sessions help with “building social confidence in groups, learning how to identify and name your inner experiences, and a general emphasis on learning more about yourself through roleplay and interacting with others … learning how to cooperate with others, building social confidence and connections, challenging social anxiety, the list goes on,” explains Taone. The sessions can run up to 80 minutes and will be hosted weekly on Wednesdays 11 am – 1 pm.  

The Counseling Center’s mission is to “facilitate students’ adjustment to college and their personal and psychological growth in becoming well-functioning and socially responsible adults.” They do this by offering many mental health services throughout the year, including individual one-on-one therapy sessions, which are their most popular service. This service include single therapy sessions or weekly or biweekly sessions throughout the year. The center can even help connect students to a long-term support through their case manager, Cindy Gonzalez, if off-campus specialized care is needed. In the past two years, the Counseling Center has introduced group therapy sessions, neurodivergent consultations, crisis consultations, psychiatry consultations, and case management. Group therapy sessions meet weekly and have a variety of relevant topics like anxiety, creative expression, bridging cultures, social confidence, and of course D&D this winter. Along with formal group therapy, the center also offers drop-in workshops like Mindful Monday (ARC Fitness Studio Mondays 1:15-1:45pm) to bring more accessible options for students. Dr. Hoffman, the psychologist and coordinator of the group therapy and neurodivergent services program, states that these services, especially group therapy, have growing interest, and there is now a waitlist for the neurodivergent consultations. To learn more details about all their services, visit https://www.uwb.edu/well-being/counseling/services/.   

Resource are free and available to all UWB students. The Counseling Center is for everyone to utilize; Dr. Hoffman seeks to remind students that “mental health is a practice not a destination. You do not have to wait until you don’t have it to do something about it.”  

Currently, the Counseling Center serves around 350 students yearly and sees an average of 170 new students seeking services every fall. Compared to traditional therapy, the professionals on campus are “intimately familiar with the struggles of college students from roommate concerns and failing classes to family dynamics and transitioning into adulthood.” Dr. Hoffman emphasizes that the center tries to “cater [their] approach is to be as flexible as possible with scheduling and services” since students have busy lives and need flexible hours. She goes on to explain that one of the reasons they started offering group therapy sessions was to “both address specific mental health concerns and build a sense of belonging and community on our campus” in a way that felt accessible to students. When programming and deciding on what to offer, the center uses student needs and feedback to make decisions. Through verbal feedback, satisfaction surveys and information from faculty, student workers, staff and student organizations, they carefully cater to needs and make decisions on what and when to offer services. As they work to diversify services available, Dr. Hoffman mentions, “We know that one-size-fits-all is not the right fit for us, our campus, or our students. This is reflected in the variety of services that we now offer.”  

The Counseling Center is located at UW1-080, where students can go to book appointments or drop-in for crisis appointments. Their hours are Monday-Friday from 9am-4:30pm. Students can contact the center at uwbcc@uw.edu to book appointments, join group therapy sessions, leave suggestions, requests, and questions. As winter approaches, it is the perfect time to learn more about this resource to reach your mental health goals for the upcoming year. Visit https://www.uwb.edu/well-being/counseling/ to learn more and sign up for group D&D therapy sessions coming to campus this winter!