Director's Corner: Frances Diaz, Psy.D.

Frances Diaz, Psy.D.

Dear UCI Students and Community,

The Counseling Center stands with and extends empathy to our students, staff, faculty, and entire UCI Community who are directly and indirectly impacted by the anti-black racism that continues to plague our country and the continued impact of COVID19 on our daily lives.  Our communities are hurting.  Know that we see you, we support you, and we are here for you. The profound psychological impact of these current events, on top of the many losses people are experiencing from COVID-19, are REAL and can weigh on us. 

The Counseling Center is guided by the values of Service, Community, Inclusion & Advocacy, and Integrity & Accountability. We, as a UCI community, must not become numb to the longstanding experiences of systemic oppressions that have come to a culmination in the current times. We must recognize the grief, pain, sadness, despair, anger, exhaustion, and full range of emotions that are being experienced before true healing can begin.   It is our hope that the UCI Anteater community can come together in support of those who are suffering. Please take care of yourselves and reach out to take care of one another, as the healing power within our community is great.  Please also know that the UCI Counseling Center is here to support you.

Sending Support!

UCI Counseling Center Staff 

Please note that the UCI Counseling Center will be closed Saturday December 19th, 2020 through Sunday January 3rd, 2021 for the Winter Shutdown. We will re-open January 4th, 2021 at 8:00am. If you are in need of emergency services please contact the following resources or services that are available during this time. 

 

For Life Threatening Emergencies or for Urgent Care needs 24/7:

  • Call (949) 824-6457 and select Option # 2. You will be transferred to a crisis support line
  • Text “Home” to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line
  • Call National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255
  • Call UCI Campus Police at (949) 824-5223
  • Call 911
  • Go to your nearest Emergency Room

 

During regular business hours (Monday through Friday 8am-5pm) in order to schedule routine appointments and for all other inquiries:

  • Please Call (949) 824-6457 to speak to a front office staff member about scheduling an appointment, to learn more about our current services, or if you trying to reach one of our mental health professionals.
    • Please note that if someone from our office has to return a phone call that it will come from a blocked number
    • In case we do not reach you, please ensure you have set up your voice mail and that you regularly check your messages

Frances Diaz- UCI Counseling Center Director 

Mind Your ZOT!

Setting New Year Intentions!

If 2020 taught us anything, it is that life is unpredictable. Yet, we still tend to focus on creating New Year’s goals or resolutions that may be unattainable or unrealistic given the current climate of the world. Goals can also set us up for failure because we don’t have a plan for how to achieve them. Consider swapping goals or resolutions for 2021 for intentions instead. Intentions ground you in the present, setting up a “how-to” for making your life better without all the pressure.  

To get started, write a brief paragraph on what you can change in your day-to-day routine to make your life more fulfilling. Here are some questions to get you started: 

  1. What are you passionate about?  What do you want to cultivate more of in your life? 
  2. What is going right in your life? What seems to be working well? 
  3. What is not going right and where can you make some positive changes? 

Now make a list to help you create these changes that will lead you to greater fulfillment. Intentions are not goals.  Goals put pressure on us and have an external outcome. Intentions align us with our purpose. Meditate before you answer these questions and do a prayer and ritual after you’ve written out your intentions so you can still your mind and set these intentions deep within your heart. 

For more inspiration, consider this poem: 

Live with intention. Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Practice wellness.
Play with abandon. Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love and live as if
this is all there is. 

For more information on setting New Year’s intentions, please visit www.wanderlust.com 

 

For more informatoin on how to manage stress related to the COVID-19 outbreak, please click here. 

Additional Resources:

Notice of Nondiscrimination