Counseling & Accessibility Services (CAS)
CAS is open during regular service hours as designated by the college. Hours of operation are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The office observes holiday and vacation days as designated by the college.
Any currently enrolled BRCC student in need of personal, educational, or crisis intervention is eligible for counseling services. We offer a range of services including:
- Individual counseling
- Group counseling
- Couples/Family counseling
- Support groups
- Referrals
Although everyone experiences stress, anxiety, and depression to some degree, it might be time to seek professional help when you experience symptoms that lead to:
- Withdrawal from activities and isolating from others
- Using substances to cope
- No longer enjoying activities
- Changes or disruptions in sleep or appetite
- Experienced/Witnessed trauma
- Difficulty regulating emotions
- Suicidal thoughts or self-harming behaviors
- Struggling to build and maintain relationships
- Inability to work or go to school or not performing effectively
If you or someone you know is in need of counseling and/or accessibility services, please complete the online referral form.
Mental Health Tips
- Get connected. Building strong, positive relationships with loved ones, friends, and a social support system can provide you with needed support and acceptance in good and bad times.
- Make every day meaningful. Do something that gives you a sense of accomplishment and purpose every day. Set goals to help you look toward the future with meaning.
- Remain hopeful. You can't change the past, but you can always look toward the future. Accepting and even anticipating change makes it easier to adapt and view new challenges with less anxiety.
- Be proactive. Don't ignore your problems. Instead, figure out what needs to be done, make a plan, and take action. Although it can take time to recover from a major setback, traumatic event or loss, know that your situation can improve if you work at it.
- Learn from experience. Think of how you've coped with hardships in the past. Consider the skills and strategies that helped you through difficult times. You might even write about past experiences in a journal to help you identify positive and negative behavior patterns — and guide your future behavior.
- Take care of yourself. Tend to your own needs and feelings. Participate in activities and hobbies you enjoy. Include physical activity in your daily routine. Get plenty of sleep. Eat a healthy diet. Practice stress management and relaxation techniques, such as yoga, meditation, guided imagery, deep breathing or prayer.
- Give yourself a break from media. When a national or world event is dominating the news, avoid over-exposure to media, especially if it is making you feel ineffective, anxious, or unable to have control of your life. Many media-worthy events can be presented in an exaggerated or false manner to attract attention. Unplug for part of each day from all your sources of media and news.
- Reframe a difficult experience. Reframing means changing the way you think or “talk” to yourself about a stressful event. Instead of saying “I will never get through this,” you might try a more positive and realistic thought such as, “I will get through this by using the techniques that have helped when I’ve had difficult experiences in the past, including asking others for help and finding strength in my community.”
Domestic Violence
Recognizing the warning signs and symptoms of abuse is the first step, but taking action is the most important step in breaking free. Feeling uncomfortable or being afraid in your relationship is the number 1 red flag that your relationship is not healthy. Estimates are that 1 out of 4 women will experience an abusive relationship and there are often many early, detectable warning signs.
The following list can help you determine whether you or someone you care about is involved in an abusive relationship. Not all of these characteristics need to be present for a relationship to be abusive, and characteristics by themselves do not necessarily indicate abuse. A relationship may be abusive if your partner…
- Feels he/she has the right to dictate your behavior, privileges, or responses and opinions
- Demonstrates ownership of you or extreme possessiveness; says things like “I can’t live without you,” or “You are my whole world.”
- Blames you for her/his problems or behavior
- Isolates you – doesn’t allow you to see your family or friends
- Needs to constantly know your whereabouts; expects you to spend all of your free time with him/her
- Humiliates you in public
- Forces you to have sex or perform sexual acts
- Insists on controlling all of the money, both yours and his/hers
- Has no regard for your physical or mental health
- Criticizes your appearance, weight, clothes, etc.
- Pressures you to live together or get married before you are ready
- Angers easily
- Becomes angry when you have a different opinion than he/she does or don’t take his/her advice
- Shows jealousy toward your children, family, friends or job
- Suggests reasons for you to fear ending the relationship
- Dual personality (Jekyll and Hyde), i.e., charming in public, aggressive in private
- Displays violent behavior toward other people
- Disregards the law; feels he/she is above the law
- Blames all past relationship problems on the ex-partner
- Has a record or history of domestic violence
Get Immediate Help in a Crisis
- 911 or Nearest Emergency Room
- Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org - Offers 24/7 call, text, and chat access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing suicidal thoughts, substance use, and/or a mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. People can also dial 988 if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 or text LOVEIS to 22522
- National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
- Veteran’s Crisis Line 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text: 8388255
Helpful Links
General Mental Health Issues
Suicide
Substance Abuse
PTSD
- http://maketheconnection.net/conditions/ptsd - for Veterans
LGBTQ
Eat well! Be active! Stop smoking today! Visit www.WellAheadLA.com for resources on living Well-Ahead and to see how your work place, school, day care center, restaurant or hospital can become a WellSpot! (http://www.quitwithusla.org/)
Domestic Violence Resources
- Louisiana Coalition Against DV (1.888.411.1333)
- Iris Domestic Violence Center (225.389.3001)
- National Network to End DV
- LA Foundation Against Sexual Assault
- Battered Women’s Justice Project
- National Online Resource Center
Baton Rouge Community College does not discriminate in its educational and employment policies and procedures with regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status.