USC mental health resources amid unrest on college campuses

Following a series of violent events on college campuses last week, more USC students have been seeking out mental health resources and counseling. “They’re coming in to kind of process things that are going on and what that means for them,” said Dr. Vanessa Abernathy, USC Annenberg’s new embedded counselor.

Abernathy has worked at Keck for over three years and stepped into this role at Annenberg in place of Dr. Kelly Greco, who had served as Annenberg’s embedded counselor since fall 2022.

In an email sent to Annenberg students on Monday, Dean Willow Bay encouraged students to reach out and utilize available resources. “We hope you find support in our academic community where we listen and engage one another with kindness and approach each other’s lived experiences, ideas and views with empathy and understanding,” Bay wrote.

In the past week, Abernathy held extended drop-in hours on Tuesday, September 16. Starting September 23, she will continue offering drop-in sessions on Tuesdays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Annenberg School for Communication Room 304 and on Thursdays via Zoom.

Across the broader USC campus, students continue to raise concerns about school safety and increasing political polarization.

Harmony Benton, a first-year pharmacology and drug development student, said some of her peers now feel less secure in their school environment.“In one of my classes, some people are saying they are afraid to go on campus,” Benton said.

Sophomore electric and computer engineering student Maximilian Piech echoed this sentiment. “I’m really not happy to be living in a country where there’s so much chaos, so many violent attacks, and that the sense of a threat could be a real thing,” he said. “That does not make me happy.”

Some students noted that USC has made efforts to keep them informed about the support services offered on campus.

“They showed us all the hotlines and where mental health services would be available,” said Evan Lee, a first-year public relations and advertising master’s student. “[Mental health is] important for everyone in general, even if you’re not a student”.

At Annenberg, Abernathy noted that many students are unaware that these resources even exist.“It’s something that they’re paying for with their student health fee,” she said.

Abernathy emphasized that students don’t have to wait until something’s wrong to utilize USC’s mental health resources.

“I’m actually proud to tell students, you’re never going to have more support for your mental health than you do while you’re at USC,” she said. “We really try to address anything that may interfere with your role as a student, but also remind you that you’re more than a student.”

Beyond Annenberg, the university offers various other resources for students seeking mental health support. These services include:

• Academic & Cultural Center Embedded Counselors: Students can find a comprehensive list of school-specific embedded counselors and drop-in therapist locations.
• Crisis Support: Resources include the suicide prevention hotline, sexual assault survivor support and a crisis text line. These resources can be accessed by contacting USC Student Health at (213) 740-9355.
• Group Therapy Sessions: Weekly therapy sessions facilitated by licensed clinicians from USC Student Health. These sessions aim to help students find community through shared experiences and aim to effectively help student mental health. Online students also have access to telehealth providers and appointments through Array.
• Let’s Talk: A no-paperwork, 30-minute conversation with a clinical physician from USC’s counseling and mental health services.
• Trojans Care 4 Trojans: An anonymous form started by the Office of Campus Wellbeing and Crisis Intervention that enables any member of the USC community to take action when they are concerned about the safety or well-being of a fellow Trojan.