Feb. 27, 2023 — Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Director Kirsten Olson and Nursing Lecturer Jacqueline Sherman received the 2023 Susan Baird Compass Point Writing Award from the Alliance for Camp Health.
The award was for their article "Creating a Mental Health Peer Program," which was published in the alliance’s Compass Point magazine. They wrote it to help camp nurses develop peer-to-peer interventions to support campers' mental health.
The article was based on a collaboration among CAPS, the Nursing program and the Psychology department in which students helped create the Mental Health Peer Program officially launched in Fall 2022. In Fall 2021, Nursing students facilitated a student focus group to gain feedback about implementing a program and what should be included in the proposal. The Nursing students also secured a mini grant for outreach materials. Psychology students earning internship/service-learning credits staff the program, which is supervised by CAPS Clinicians Stacy Udolph and Jen Maravola.
Mental Health Peers provide one-on-one counseling for school anxiety and conduct outreach and tours of the CAPS clinic. They serve students seeking additional support for wellness and academic success.
Additional details on the program are available on the CAPS website. For more information, contact Olson at kirsten.olson@csuci.edu.