In May 2017, Director of Counseling and Interim Associate Vice President for Student Support and Success and Enrollment Student Services Tracy Stenger attended a staff training program at Anadolu University in Eskisehir, Turkey.
After applying for and receiving an Erasmus grant, Dr. Stenger was given the opportunity to attend the Erasmus+ program to connect with colleagues from Turkey.
According to Dr. Naomi Baldwin, who serves as Fredonia’s Director of International Education, Erasmus+ programs are sponsored by the European Commission and created for specific departments based on the amount of space available.
“The Erasmus+ program is an extension of the European Commission’s educational exchange programming and invites institutions outside of the [European Union] to participate in faculty or staff exchanges for professional development,” said Dr. Baldwin. “The program agreement with Anadolu University in Eskisehir, Turkey, is focused solely on faculty and staff teaching or training mobility.”
While attending the week-long program last spring, one topic that Stenger brought up in her presentation to the director and clinical staff of Anadolu’s Psychological Counseling and Guidance Center was single session therapy. The staff found this idea so intriguing that they asked her to come back. The Anadolu University Psychological Counseling and Guidance Center applied for and received a grant from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).
Since the grant was created to fund international projects, from March 14 to 16, Stenger returned to Turkey to present on “Innovative Approaches for Individual Counseling at University Counseling Centers.” As part of the workshop, two of her colleagues joined her - James Raper, director of Counseling at Wake Forest University, who presented on “Comprehensive Suicide Risk Assessment and Management at a University,” and Director of Counseling Josette Cline from Arkansas University, who presented, “The Role of the Counseling Center Director in Threat Assessment and Management on Campus.”
When considering the relationships that Stenger made by attending these programs and how they will continue to expand in the future, she mentioned the importance of working with people doing a similar job, but in different countries. She said that as professionals continue to provide students with mental health services, it is important to see how mental health is understood in different cultures. According to her, the programs provide a way for colleagues to support each other, further one another 's research and better care for students’ needs.
