Education and Camp Guide 2.1 - Flipbook - Page 15
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, February 1, 2026
may seek us out during final exams and
then decide to come back the following
semester. We see the need to be flexible,” he says.
Goucher also provides a 24/7 crisis
line. “Sometimes they need a quick
grounding moment, or it may be something more serious. Maybe they can’t
sleep because of thoughts racing in
their head, so they call the crisis line
and then come to the center the next
day. That’s a success for us,” Moslener
says.
He adds that Goucher provides “students in distress training” to faculty,
staff and athletic coaches to help them
identify a student who may need help.
“You don’t need to be a licensed therapist to recognize when someone is suddenly less engaged or struggling. They
can approach that individual and make
sure they are aware of the confidential
services we provide.”
Moslener says that many times, students don’t want to feel like a burden
to their friends by talking to them about
their problems. “We remind them that
it’s OK to prioritize yourself.”
Goucher also provides wellness
days featuring yoga, Pilates, acupuncture, chair massages, and dogs to
soothe students’ nerves. Additionally,
food pantries, free clothing and toiletries, and assistance with emergencies
– such as a student who needs help
buying a plane ticket to return home for
a family emergency – also play a role in
managing mental and behavioral health.
of immediate assistance due to stress
before a test or a relationship issue,
they can engage with the platform and
chat with a therapist,” says Jessie Sell,
director of student well-being at Harford
Community College.
When scheduling a therapy session, students can view the profiles of
available therapists and can search for
specific traits such as race, gender or if
they are equipped with skills to address
specific needs of the LGBTQIA+ community, for example. “This gives students more agency when selecting a
therapist,” she says.
She notes that TimelyCare also has
a community platform where students
can engage with peers via a chat function that has safety features built in.
Additionally, there are wellness resources such as meditation and yoga videos.
The platform is used by over 400 colleges and universities nationwide.
Since TimelyCare is for higher education, it’s tailored so that if a HCC
student, for example, expresses anxiety due to basic needs struggles, such
as food insecurity, the platform will
inform them about resources available
on campus at HCC. Sell notes that
community college students are sometimes juggling multiple responsibilities
beyond classwork; many have jobs
and/or families to support, making a
free, 24/7 resource like TimelyCare
especially important.
Other resources available to HCC
students include chair massages, a
relaxation room and programming
throughout the year on stress relief and
mindfulness.
On-Demand Assistance
When college students are struggling, whether it be stress or other mental or behavioral health issues, those
moments of panic don’t always come
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. With this
in mind, Harford Community College
recently began offering students
TimelyCare, an online teletherapy platform used primarily by higher education
students that offers assistance 24/7 –
all at no cost to HCC students.
“As a community college where many
of our students take evening classes or
online classes, we wanted to offer additional mental health assistance beyond
in-person therapy available on campus.
With TimelyCare, they can schedule a
therapy session, or if they are in need
A Relaxing, Safe Space
During Covid-19, and its aftermath,
mental health awareness was thrust
into the forefront. The isolation, fear
of getting sick and lack of in-person
get-togethers exasperated an already
prevalent situation in the U.S., especially among young people.
According
to
Ingrid
SabioMcLaughlin, co-chair of the president’s advisory council at Community
College of Baltimore County, last year
at a student-focused president’s advisory council roundtable, CCBC students presented the idea of a new
sensory oasis, a unique space where
students can de-stress and re-center
on its Catonsville campus. “I believe
that Covid raised awareness of men-
The Importance of Mental Health,
continued from page 1
15
The CBCC Student Sensory Oasis is a relaxing place for students on campus.
tal health needs for our students and
decreased the stigma for asking for
resources to help in this area,” SabioMcLaughlin says.
The new space offers a safe, calm
and accommodating environment for
individuals to help reduce stress and
promotes relaxation and includes soft
lighting, cushioned chairs, rocking
chairs, drawing materials, sensory toys,
fidget spinners and other stress reducing exercises.
Sabio-McLaughlin says that the
space is especially important for neurodivergent students, while also providing
an excellent opportunity for all students
to relax. “Part of the space also includes
an interfaith room for students to practice their faith in a safe setting. Some
of our Muslim students had expressed
reservations about doing prayers on
campus, so this provides a private
space,” she says.
Sabio-McLaughlin stresses that this
was a student-led project, and CCBC
encourages students – who attend the
president’s advisory council meetings,
along with faculty, staff and administrators – to take charge and let CCBC
know what they feel is needed to
enhance their collegiate experience.
“I have to give a special shout out to
Emma Booth, an alumnae of CCBC,
who led this project while she was a
student,” she notes.
Sabio-McLaughlin adds that CCBC
hopes to replicate the sensory oasis
space in its other campuses in the
future.
