Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

tmotioni By Teresa Weaver Gamecock Staff Writer < A semester coming to an end I usually signals a large increase in ; the number of people requesting i treatment at the Thomson Student i Mental Health Clinic, but not for < the reason you might think, ac- t cording to the staff psychiatrist. Dr. J.R. Lashley said he doesn't \ think thre end of the semester i represents a particularly difficult i time for students emotionally. { Many students, however, are in- i terested in getting a medical ex- r cuse from him for severe r emotional problems, he said. f "At the end of each semester there's a small avalanche of people p who want me to write letters to i professor in hopes that their r requests for incompletes, with- t ^ ~ ~ 1 r, : 1 " 1 uiawdia Ui giaUtJS Will DC given all due consideration s because of emotional problems," p Lashleysaid. t THE TYPICAL PROBLEMS of f students year-round are similar to problems of about everyone, v Lashley said. Few problems are L directlv related to school ho aH- a ded. tl Lashley was in private practice h for more than five years before h coming to USC three years ago. He s said the problems he encounters with patients now are not really p different from problems he saw a before. c Although he is tho nnlv psychiatrist in the Mental Health t< Clinic located in the Student Health o Center, Lashley said he has been IV helped by six or seven psychiatric q residents from Hall Psychiatric a Institute, psychiatry department s; of USC medical school and one or two social work graduate students si several days a week. n Tho nlinin eooc oc Af\ m. ?v viiiiiv. liv/v.l u^iVYtcli oo aiiu 1U u patients in an average week, ac- a cording to Lashley. The problems students come to him with are ci "anything from A to Z," he said. w ? ? ? ? Why 7 Days & Nic mo L 1 ^1 CA^UdC STUDENTS WHO COME to the clinic for treatment are generally the older students on campus, he : j i 1 saiu, ana explained that the /ounger students are drawn more :oward the informal, less structure ind less medically-oriented herapy. "It's sort of natural that the patients who have gravitated to me lave been those who have reached i time in their life when their )roblems are a little more involved ??.rj ?i * uiu v;uuipicA, anu rnayoe a iillie riore severe. They require nedication and sometimes lospitalization," Lashley said. There is no in-patient >sychiatry unit on campus, so iospitalization generally means eferral to a private psychiatrist or o Hall Psychiatric Institute. Lashley is doubtful that there is ubstantial nPI'H for ncvnhintrir> in. >atient facilities on campus since he need arises "suprisingly inrequently." WHEN A SITUATION does arise warranting patient hospitalization, ^ashley said he occasionally puts n emotionally troubled person on he general in-patient floor of the ealth center, although they do not ave the physical set-up or pecially trained nurses. Because he is the only u: _ * ? n - * ^ ? ayvjiiicurisi on me sian, JLasniey is vailable mainly for short-term ounseling. "I simply cannot tie myself down d the traditional once-a-week for ne hour long-term psychotherapy, ly book would be filled very uickly and then I wouldn't be vailable to evaluate patients," he aid. Lashley added he has had much Liccess in referring patients who anilim lnnrf * ? ^Vjuii v luiig-ici 111 dllCllllUIl IU ther clinics, private psychiatrists nd hospitals. EXPLAINING THAT the i;irease in enrollment of blacks and omen at USC has created a need u not flsk for ljc Lome For Spi )hts aboard X\ t/fh Aft Da^II A w? y&J III V) ?j 4 poi Food ft A i#h A I -fl s wanted I NB t for perhaps a black or a female psychiatrist, he added that the addition of at least one psychiatrist to the staff would be helpful. A 'it's just helpful to be able to (1 offer a choice. There's no doubt pH. ^lill that some people feel better with one type of psychiatrist than with another," Lashley said. gBBmMiMigM 'T'mro, f * ? 1 1 ? ? i vt ^uiicu away iium lilt? Oldtime theory that if a certain patient pM' < doesn't like the psychiatrist, that 5 simply points up another problem area. That kind of analytic teaching from Freud and his gang I really sort of disagree with. A lot of time and money are wasted trying to figure out why two people's personalities clash." A typical session with Lashley is in me lorm ot an informal conversation, he said. "It involves questions and answers, philosophizing and ventilating emotions. I try to steer away from giving any concrete advice, simply ? because I'm a great believer in individual responsibility. "PART OF MY whole thrust is to h oln rv/^nrvlrv <v.ip i cdcn men own J decisions and then take respon- JM sibility for the consequences. Theoretically this is what is supposed to help persons grow and WWtrgfl mature and take charge of their own lives," he added. Lashley said a large problem of his job is that students do not come in for treatment early in the development of their trouble. There are no specific signs or symptoms to look for during times nf nmnHnnol 1 mnr>4 * 41~ ~ 1 kuiuiiuiiai u^sci, uui uici c are several general things to look for, according to Lashley. Using the example of one of the HB||gyQl|?gg most common emotional problems of students, that of grief reaction following a romance breakup, i^oouiey sdiu irtuiurs 10 iook ior are '' the intensity and duration of the OfcllSS^WIi sadness. BwS33SMm ien You Go Home, ?ur Christmas Present in Sail flway - A . _ ring DreaK! \e S.S. Calypso ? 1980 ^ g|| i I ?.oo m rts-of-call 1 and Fun #150.00 deposit due by Full payment due by ki i GUI !l I WJ-VI IvA^I V^V./ |\| I Come by room 209 Ru< call 6460 for mor r A| fffri rtli iftli #I| <ft iUffh ?7t ntffti <T|| riftl, f|ti ilfii Hiffc iHii ih lit iffr 4 A/S TIP? Call 7" wmmmmmmm the Spring? ' . ' *>' >' vV 'V. j ' *V - > t ^r**?' ?v _ i '""tv*.* ltwi, ^ m > T1 'J i a r I 1 -( if;;? ir? " .? ?? : ,. '1 ijw__ 'f\ ^ | Jqq. 18,1980 mm i Feb. 4, 1980 Travel Center [J >sell House or rus e information. fcAA A A A A ^ A A A j 7~7-~7181 ?jiri.?yddirogn? HMHK ?i > ^ A A ^ ill JDv. -fVi; ?. A?y2s> v **** rms M sel house 9 I