Noticing a rise in behavioral issues, East Carolina University is planning an "adulting" counseling program in the fall to teach coping skills and help students handle stress.
"Students don't have an opportunity as much these days to manage failure; they don't experience it in certain ways as much so they don't know how to manage it when it happens," Virginia Hardy, vice chancellor for student affairs, told The Daily Reflector.
The school had more than 9,000 requests for counseling appointments last year, according to the Reflector. That's an increase of 1,800 in two years. The school hired two counselors last year to handle the workload.
Students will be given a self-assessment about resiliency and offered help to deal with stress including relaxation techniques and tips for thinking positively.
"What is the self-talk you're having with yourself? Are you beating yourself up because you got a C?" Hardy told the Reflector. "If you change the self-talk, you can then change the behavior that's exhibited."
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