The American writer William Arthur Ward once mentioned that “learning is more than memorizing facts, it is the achievement of understanding.” But how can a student who has just graduated from university understand the new “world” of knowledge when he can hardly understand himself?

After surviving two years of a pandemic and severe restrictive measures, as well as the “burden” of Pangeladians, more and more students are now choosing to embark on a journey of self-discovery with the help of psychologists. Since a private visit is not affordable for most young people due to the high cost, and psychotherapy in the state structures of the municipalities usually lasts three months, several students began to turn to the second home. University.

University of Patras: 2000 students – a month of waiting

The Department of Psychological Support at the University of Patras currently has about 2,000 students registered and has been “supported” by almost all departments of the institution.

“He started his work in 2018, and at that time there were seven of us. The service has been taken up by the student community and as a result, we have twice as many employees today. Now we have four social workers, four psychologists, a physiotherapist, a physiotherapist and secretaries,” Antonia Fertakis, a social worker of the department, tells K.

Although this particular department was founded before the pandemic, it quickly became known and loved by students due to its activities in all departments and even in student associations. Prior to that, there were two professors who once a week provided psychosocial support to students.

“Today the demand is huge. Please note that every week we have from 30 to 40 new appeals and a month of waiting so that we can respond to all appeals, ”Nicolas Tsocana, a social worker of the department, also points out to K.

And, as Ms. Fertaki argues, the pandemic has certainly played a role in increasing the number of students seeking psychological support.

“We see a lot of students coming to us because they are dealing with issues of anxiety, isolation and depression. And it is very important that they understand that they are having a hard time, they are “searching” and eventually asking for help,” he emphasizes.

“Young people who seek psychological support complete their studies on time”

As the social workers tell us, the one-month wait refers to the first appointment at which protocol dictates that they will talk to the social worker. From this point on, each student receives psychological or counseling support once or twice a week, either from a social worker or a psychologist.

“What makes us especially happy is that the young people who come to us finish their studies on time, and also that most of them learn to cope with stress. In urgent cases, we cooperate with the Psychiatric Clinic of the University Hospital of Patras. We have come across students who put themselves at risk or had suicidal ideas and thoughts. We have referred these cases to a psychiatric clinic,” concluded Mr. Fertakis and Mr. Tsokana.

“Brutal” completion of programs from October 1

The corresponding department of the University of Western Attica, the “Department of Social Welfare, Counseling and Psychological Support”, also has hundreds of students.

“In her part psychosocial about 500 people received support from us. We have quite a lot of requests, and for the first appointment, you will have to wait for more than one month. The second appointment may take two or three months. Of course, for us, the period of the pandemic has also dramatically increased demand, especially when the children returned from quarantine,” said Nikolaos Alexiou, head of the department.

And the most unpleasant, as noted by the scientific director of the department “K” Maria Ragusain that from October 1 “we will have a violent end to all these programs when the program ends NSRF from which it was funded.

In particular, “September 30. second its phase NSRFin which they united under a single umbrella financing programs for students with disabilities, students with special educational needs, students from vulnerable social groups and students from low-income families.

This is funded by NSRF programs including psychosocial departments support-were transferred through the Ministry of Education to universities. However, from 01.01.2024 the next NSRF – will now be implemented through the regions – as explained TO. Ragusa these types of benefits are “cut”, which will now be included in accordance with Law 4957 in university organizations. She characterizes this development as positive, at least on paper, because the process of staffing psychological support departments has not even begun yet.

“In all likelihood, these centers will not be staffed until November. We are talking about public structures, a tender should be announced at ASEP, therefore, perhaps, we are talking about a three-year depth or relocations will be invited, ”the scientific director of the program emphasizes, adding that nothing has been started at the moment. and by September it is impossible that all these procedures have been done.

Mr. Nicolau, together with Ms. Ragusi, points out to “K” that a possible solution would be to find a way for the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Health – or both together – to fund a kind of “bridge” as long as the staff of the above university centers. But the most important thing now is that the service does not stop in November and these children remain “in the air”.

Parallel Actions

At the same time, the University of West Attica is trying to fill the void by creating a student mental health department.

According to Mr. Asimakopoulos, Professor of Mental Health Social Work at PADA, the new division’s operational goals include systematically researching student mental health issues and providing early detection, diagnosis, and treatment services.

“This division will cover some cases, but it will mainly deal with psychiatric cases. The fact that there will be a division is undoubtedly an advantage of the university. However, it will be difficult to meet the demand again, as we serve 500 students,” stresses Mr. Nicolau, on the other hand.