Nowadays, being a college student means more than just someone who is working toward earning their degree. Modern-day college students deal with school work on top of working full-time to pay for their education and many do so while raising their families. 
With many life-obstacles preventing students from reaching the finish line, it comes as no surprise that so many college students deal with stress, anxiety and for some even depression while working toward their degrees.
According to a mental health study conducted by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, (ADAA), college students to be at higher risk of experiencing anxiety and depression while in school.
“Adults 18–25, report higher rates of diagnosed mental disorders than older adults, including anxiety and depression,” ADAA’s study reports. “Additionally, 65 percent of college-aged adults have ever thought they may have a mental condition.” 
To deal with this alarming issues, the Psychological Counseling Services at California State University, Stanislaus (Stan State), offer a series of wellness workshops throughout the semester that specifically target topics that students deal with on campus.
The Director of Psychological Counseling Services, Dr. Daniel Berkow, views the workshops as an outlet to help students who may be new to counseling.
“The purpose of the workshop is to reach out to students who may not come in for counseling appointments but may want information about particular topics,” Dr. Berkow said. “We provide information at the workshops to help the students attending and they get to interact with each other as well as the workshop presenter who are counselors themselves.”
Shannon Matteri (junior, Mathematics) has faced stress and anxiety caused by school and has found ways that work for her to treat these issues.
“I first try to get my mind off school by reading a book, grabbing lunch or a movie with friends, or even taking a nap helps me deal with school related stress,” Matteri said.
Matteri believes by offering mental wellness workshops on campus, students will be able to deal with their issue in a healthy way that won’t affect their education. 
“I strongly believe campuses should get students deal with whatever issue they are currently dealing with,” Matteri said. “One of the reasons students drop-out of school is because they feel like they have no control of the situation and have no other option but to get out.”
A 2011 national survey conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, (NAMI), found that mental health prevents some students from graduating.
“More than 62 percent of students who withdrew from college with mental health problems did so for that reason,” NAMI reported. 
Leslie Castaneda (senior, Psychology), believes that the workshops serve as stepping stones toward acknowledging mental health on campus.
“As a Psychology major I think it’s super important that these workshops are being offered on campus, they are a great step toward destigmatizing the topics these workshops are addressing,” Castaneda said.
The workshops offered this semester vary on topic and aim to target different issues affecting students today.
Stan State students can expect these workshops to help them deal with stress, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders and other topics that are affecting college students at Stan State as well as around the country.
“We work with students on their main issues, we study various research, and work with other clinicians to have our own perspective to present on these types of topic that are important to students at the workshops,” Dr. Berkow said.
The Psychological Counseling Services recommend students to sign-up for the workshops before attending due to the limited space available for some of the workshops.
For more information on the Wellness Workshops, or if interested in signing up for the workshop, students can contact the Administrative Support Coordinator, Tami Weise, at (209) 667–3381 or in person at the Psychological Counseling Services office located in the Library room 185.