Located across from Regan Main in the Segundo housing area, The House is a student-run peer counseling center where undergraduates offer free services to UC Davis students.
Services may be given in person, during drop-in hours or via over-the-phone confidential peer counseling. The House handles problems that range from sexuality to depression.
“College is one of the toughest times in peoples’ lives and I think mental health organizations are important in helping those students cope with their problems,” said Marilyn Chung, third-year psychology major and student coordinator of The House.
The House is equipped with Mac computers, making it a “Mac Spot” on campus. The welcoming environment also offers free yoga, meditation, a massage chair and a biofeedback machine, which is a computer program that helps patients recognize physical states of the body and increase control over pain. It also measures change in skin temperature and muscle movement.
The institution began in the 1970s when a lot of suicides occurred and lead to increased concern about mental health, according to Chung.
All kinds of students volunteer at The House, from engineering to biology majors, but one thing in common with each other is the want to help others.
“This was a good opportunity to help my peers in many ways, in every aspect of their lives,” said Becky Ehrlich, third-year psychology and evolutionary biology double major and volunteer peer counselor at The House.
The peer counseling rooms are equipped with comfortable chairs and pillows, promoting an environment of ease and comfort.
Many students are not aware this service exists on campus.
“I never knew The House existed but now that I know this useful tool exists, I’m going to utilize it more and recommend it to my peers,” said Larissa Murray, a second-year art history major.
The House also offers programs with topics such as stress management and how to cope with long-distance relationships.
Yoga is offered Fridays from 2 to 3 p.m. and meditation is offered on Mondays from 9 to 10 a.m. All other times and programs can be found on The House website: thehouse.ucdavis.edu.
NATASHA QABAZARD can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
