This interview was originally broadcast over the KALX airwaves on October 7th, 2025.
Wendy Todd: This is Berkeley Brainwaves, a show that brings you different stories from the Cal campus. I’m your host, Wendy Todd, and today I’ll talk with Allison Champ, fourth year student and co-president of Student to Student Peer Counseling, also known as SSPC. Welcome Allison.
Allison Champ: Thank you for having me.
Wendy Todd: We know the college experience can be super stressful and especially during these tumultuous times in our country and in our world.
It’s so great that there’s a resource like SSPC to help students manage stress. In this show, we’ll talk about the services SSPC provides and also how students can volunteer to become peer counselors. So Allison, will you start by describing what SSPC offers to Cal students?
Allison Champ: Our organization, uh, was first founded in the sixties and since our inception, we’ve sort of had the same mission.
Um, and that is to provide, um, kind of exactly what it says in our name, um, the [00:01:00] ability for students to help counsel other students who may be going through some difficult times. Um, so specifically the services we provide is we have a lot of peer counselors that have been trained in our specific, uh, model, um, to help students with a wide variety of issues, um, and things that they may be going through and students can, you know, book appoint an appointment online, um, to. Do like an appointment over Zoom or in person and they’ll come and talk to our peer counselor and basically just be able to get what’s off their chest, um, and, you know, kind of receive that support from someone who kind of understands the stresses of a student life, um, versus maybe someone who’s a bit more removed from that process.
I think that one of the great things about SSPC is that obviously like we’re all. We’re all students at Berkeley, so we kind of, as I mentioned before, we understand sort of the different, um, nuances of being at Berkeley. Um, in addition, uh, our costs, our services [00:02:00] are completely free, so there’s no cost for students.
Um, so that’s a really great resource for students who may not, um, like have certain insurance that would support, um, getting, uh, like professional psychological help. Um, so it’s really that like kind of a good first step. Um, and being able to express what they’re going through.
Wendy Todd: Mm-hmm. That makes sense.
And that’s why it’s called peer-to-peer counseling, right?
Allison Champ: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Wendy Todd: What are some of the, um, challenges that students come in that wanna, you know, wanting to talk and get some support around?
Allison Champ: Yeah, so there’s a wide variety of different, um, topics that students like to talk about. Um, one of the most common things that students want to come in and sort of get their feelings out about is academic stress and sort of the anxieties that.
Come with being a college student. Um, so a lot of times students will come in and they’ll say like, I am really struggling in this class and I don’t know what to do. Like, I just feel so down about it. Um, or they’ll say like, I, you know, don’t know if I actually wanna do this major. Um, I have this like, other thing that I’m [00:03:00] really passionate about, but my parents are pressuring me to stay in this specific major.
Um, so I really like college student specific things. Um, and then also because I think we’re at a very, you know, academically rigorous institution, a lot of times students will come in and want to talk about the feelings of imposter syndrome or basically the idea that they somehow like snuck in here and they don’t actually belong here, and that everyone else is doing so much better and is so much smarter than them.
Um, so that’s sort of the most common. Um, things that students wanna talk about, but then also just, um, you know, sort of the struggles of everyday life. So a lot of times students will come in and talk about, you know, uh, issues that they’re having with their friend or, um, someone that they’re in a relationship with and they just want to kind of get that out to maybe someone who, um, is more removed from the situation.
So maybe because obviously you can’t talk about a problem with your roommate and kind of get out the vent . To like someone who’s.
Wendy Todd: Yeah, like a more neutral person. .
Allison Champ: Yeah. To sometimes like people [00:04:00] want to go to someone who’s more neutral first before going to the person in question.
Um. Then, uh, we also have a lot of students that will come in and talk about, um, like pretty, pretty serious topics. Um, so sometimes, uh, people will come in and talk about specific mental health issues that they’re dealing with in terms of, um, like specific mental illnesses. Um, so we train all of our counselors to sort of.
Um, be cognizant of the signs of certain mental illnesses, even though obviously we don’t diagnose, we’re not professionals. Um, but sort of having that awareness of like, oh, this is kind of what depression or anxiety, um, or like bipolar disorder may look like. Um, sort of gives that student, uh, whose counseling that background to be able to effectively.
Um, like talk through that issue with someone, um, as well as things like eating disorders, um, and suicidal thoughts. Um, we make sure that all of our counselors know how to address those issues in a very, like, [00:05:00] respectful and very helpful way to the student.
Wendy Todd: Mm. And connect to other resources.
Allison Champ: Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
Mm-hmm. Um, at the very end of all of our sessions, we give all of our, um. The students that were counseling a resource sheet, um, that kind of points them to different areas at Berkeley that they may be able to receive, um, help for different things. So there’s like a section for depression and anxiety and there’s a section, um, for potentially being referred to professional help.
Um, and then, uh, culturally competent care resources. So anything that they may have brought up in the session, they’ll be able to, um, kind of use SSPC as that first step to be like, okay, this is. These other resources that I have available to me and then kind of go from there.
Wendy Todd: That’s so great. And how do people hear about S-P-S-S-P-C?
Allison Champ: Yeah, so we try to do a lot of, uh, outreach, as much outreach as possible. Um, because obviously even if the resource is the greatest thing ever, you can’t use it if you don’t know about it. Um, so all of our counselors are [00:06:00] required. To a flyer. So put up, uh, flyers with our QR code and, um, like the name of our organization around campus, just so students, if they’re coming outta class in LL or in Wheeler, they can kind of see the flyer and be like, oh, what’s that?
And then look, um, look us up. And then we also do outreach events, um, at like different, uh, like tabling fairs. Um, so for example, last semester we had like a mental health fair. Um, we were part of the mental health fair and we were able to table. For that. Um, we also table at like Cala Palooza, um, and like the new RSO, um, like organization fairs.
Um, so people who are like maybe just coming to Berkeley, um, like if they’re a first year or if they’re a third year transfer, then they can, you know, see our table and be like, oh, what’s that? And then come over to us and talk to us. Um, and then, yeah, we basically just try to do as much as possible, um, so students are aware of our services.
Um, and this is also why, um, this is also a great opportunity to be, [00:07:00] um, on Berkeley Brainwaves because, you know, hopefully people will listen to it and be like, oh, wow, I didn’t know about that. And then hopefully check us out.
Wendy Todd: Yeah. And do you, are you on Instagram too?
Allison Champ: Yes, we are on Instagram. Um, our handle is @ SSPC Berkeley.
Um, so we post, um, sort of like mental health things like mindfulness exercises, um, different things. Uh, related to that. And then we also post like when we’re recruiting for new counselors. Um, and then we also try and, uh, allow our counselors to like repost things. So, you know, their followers can see like, oh, what’s that?
And then click and then see what we’re doing.
Wendy Todd: Yeah. That’s great. And tell me how you became aware of SSPC and how you got involved.
Allison Champ: Yeah, so I got involved, um, my first semester, uh, sophomore year. I was like walking. By the table on sprawl and, uh, I’m a psychology major and clinical psychology is something that I’m really interested in.
So I saw the counseling and I was like, oh, that seems [00:08:00] really cool and really interesting. Um, especially because, you know, a lot of times students who aren’t professionals, like they don’t have a degree, they don’t have any sort of, um, like clinical, you know, qualification. Um, it’s kind of hard to get to.
Experience that sort of like counseling environment if you don’t have some sort of degree or qualification. Um, so then I, you know, went up to the table and I was really struck by sort of the message and the mission of SSPC, um, and how really their dedication was to help students and to sort of reach students on like that relational level. Like, I’m a student, you’re a student, we’re peers together and I’m gonna sit here with you and we’re gonna like work through whatever you’re going through. Um, so I really like that more like human connection. Um, ’cause sometimes if you’re sitting in, you know, like a doctor’s office, it can feel very like, scary.
Um, and especially if the person that you’re sitting across from has, [00:09:00] you know, 30 years of experience and is like your. Parents age, it can seem a little bit more scary to open up to them, especially about issues that college students are facing. Um, so I really resonated with that message and I was like, I’m gonna apply.
And then I did, and now I’m here.
Wendy Todd: Wow, that’s so great. And when somebody applies. So let’s talk about people that are like you, who might be interested mm-hmm. In giving back to the the Cal community. Um, what are the steps to become a counselor?
Allison Champ: Yeah, so we um, we open applications. Um, every semester, um, ’cause we really, our goal is really to try and reach as many people as possible.
So, you know, the more counselors that we have, then obviously, um, the more people that we can potentially help. Um, and so how that works is people will sign up to go to an info session and at those info sessions they’ll be taken through sort of. An idea of, uh, what our service is. Um, sort [00:10:00] of our history, sort of our mission, and then the specific model that we use in SSPC, um, called the Rogerian Model.
It’s based on the work of Carl Rogers and it’s a more like humanistic counseling model. So we take them through all of that and kind of explain, um, on a pretty like generalized level what it is, um, and how to sort of incorporate it into someone’s counseling style. And then the second half will be sort of an opportunity for students to kind of practice that model. Um, and then once we sort of have all of that information, then we take in our new cohort of, um, trainees or littles. Um, and they will go through a semester long training process where they’re paired with someone who’s already a counselor. So a big, it’s kind of like a big little system.
Um, so they’re paired with somebody who’s already a counselor and they will, um. Go to a weekly meeting where for the first hour you are hearing like a workshop [00:11:00] about, you know, a topic that students will often come in and talk about. Um, so for example, just yesterday we had our depression and grief workshop.
Um, and we went through, um, sort of how to take that knowledge and apply it to your counseling. And then in the second hour they do. What we call a practice dyad, where essentially they, uh, the little or the counselor in training will play the role of the counselor and then their big, or the already established counselor will play the role of the client and that gives them a chance to really like put what they’ve just learned into practice.
Um. So obviously, you know, it takes a little bit to get used to the, to the model and to be able to think of, you know, the right questions to ask in which situation. Um, but you know, you get a whole semester of practice and at the end, um. You take, you know, an an evaluation to make sure that you know, you know what the model is, you know how to apply it, and then you become a full fledged counselor.
Wendy Todd: Wow. The role playing sounds like a [00:12:00] really important part of the training.
Allison Champ: Yeah, I would definitely say it is one of the most, if not the most important part. ’cause you know, it’s pretty easy to kind of, you know, learn from a lecture. Like, okay, this is what depression looks like and these are the symptoms of depression.
Um, and these are the kinds of. Uh, questions to think about when you’re sitting across from someone who, um, may be experiencing a depressive episode or maybe experiencing grief. Um, but then it’s a lot harder to actually put that into practice, and it definitely is really challenging. I know in the beginning I was really, really scared and I messed up a lot.
Um, but it gets easier as time goes on. Um, and it’s really just about like that practice. So that’s why we really emphasize like. Um, you know, like coming every week and you’re just like really putting your all into that second hour, um, to be able to really get like a better idea of what it really is like to be a counselor and sort of how that feels.
Wendy Todd: Hmm. Do you feel like the training has helped you be a better friend and a [00:13:00] better, like family member? Can you translate it into your, your own personal life?
Allison Champ: I think so, yeah. I think ’cause um, the counseling model that we use is sometimes sort of counterintuitive. Um, because we specifically emphasize like, uh, don’t give that person advice.
Um, because the like model, the Rogerian model is about empowering the client, um, and not about like telling them what to do or about saying, this is like you have x, y, z mental illness. It’s really about kind of guiding them through their emotions. Um, so sometimes like. I think that when I’m with my friends, I always jump to like, oh, I wanna, I wanna help.
Like, I wanna give you advice or I wanna like tell you like what I think that should happen in this situation. Um, but I think that being in SSPC has really made me realize that sometimes people just want somebody to sit with them and, you know, talk through their emotions and talk through what they’re feeling.
And, you know, sometimes it, you know, obviously it’s [00:14:00] helpful to, you know, talk about details, but sometimes. It’s better to like go through what the event has made you feel, instead of being like, oh, what did he say next? And what did she do? And like, what are you gonna do? Mm. Um, ’cause like that really helps someone like process those emotions and kind of, you know, put it out all on the table and kind of look at all of what they’re feeling and be like, okay, what do I wanna do next?
What do I wanna happen next?
Wendy Todd: Mm. So is one of your key questions, like, how did that make you feel, or,
Allison Champ: yeah. Mm-hmm. That’s definitely an SSBC staple. Mm-hmm. Um, ’cause sometimes people will. Um, like come in and say like, oh, and then I did this, and then I, you know, broke up with my boyfriend and then I, or I yelled at my friend.
Um, but they sometimes are so like focused on the specific event that they don’t really consider the emotions, even though obviously they’re feeling emotions. So sometimes that’s just that question, like, how did that make you feel? Like how is this impacting other areas of your life? It can really kind of help them slow down and kind of consider how it is, you know, impacting their life and how the emotions have sort of [00:15:00] manifested themselves.
Wendy Todd: Hmm. That’s great. Are there any other questions that you often ask that are, um, helpful for people to process what they’re going through?
Allison Champ: Yeah, we don’t have like a specific like checklist of questions necessarily. It really is dependent on the situation. Um. Then obviously like with counseling, every sort of counselor has their own style, even though, like we obviously all adhere to the same model, um, but it’s not like a robotic thing where we just kind of, you know, look at a piece of paper and go like, okay, we check this question off, we check this question off.
Um, so we really do encourage counselors to come up with their own questions that they like to ask. Um, so something that I personally like is asking someone like, okay, if you were someone outside of yourself, like if you were a third person observer, how would the situation make you feel? And then sometimes that kind of forces the person to like look outside and consider their [00:16:00] own, uh feelings from a more neutral perspective. ’cause sometimes people will be like, oh, like I only got a b plus on my test. Like I feel so stupid. Like all of my friends got an A. And then you say like, oh, if you were a third person who was observing the situation and you said, and you saw that you got a b plus, would you think that person was stupid?
And a lot of times they’ll be like, oh, I never really thought about it like that. Um, because sometimes being like trapped inside your own head can be. Really harmful and damaging. ’cause you’re just kind of like, you know, spiraling. Um, but if you kind of say, okay, let’s take a step back and let’s think about this from a different point of view, um, then it can really help that person kind of look at their own feelings from another perspective.
Wendy Todd: Mm-hmm.
Allison Champ: And that’s just one example, like, that’s not something that everyone asks.
Wendy Todd: Mm-hmm.
Allison Champ: Um, but that’s just an example of like how you can sort of use the model, um, to sort of create your own questions. Um, and explore more into those feelings in different ways.
Wendy Todd: I love that the stopping the spiral.
Allison Champ: Yeah.
Wendy Todd: That’s great. And how [00:17:00] do peer counselors support each other? Because it’s a lot to, to hear when somebody’s struggling and
Allison Champ: Yeah.
Wendy Todd: The drama they’re going through.
Allison Champ: Yeah. That’s a great question.
Wendy Todd: How do you support each other?
Allison Champ: Yeah. So one of our workshops that we, uh teach to our prospective counselors over the semester, um, is specifically a self-care workshop.
So we kind of take a step back and we say like, Hey, you’ve been learning about all of these different, you know, ways to incorporate, um, certain techniques into your counseling, and you’ve been learning about all of these different, like, mental health issues. Um, and obviously that is really draining on, you know, somebody who is, you know, constantly hearing that.
So it is important to also like, take care of yourself and to take a step back and make sure that you’re, you know. Protecting your own emotions and your own peace. Um, so we have that like, uh, usually it’s towards the end of the semester because that’s kind of like when finals are so, um, you know, kind of giving people that chance to slow down.
Um, [00:18:00] yeah. And then we also just kind of. Keep together as a community and like really try and help each other out with different things. So we have like socials over the semester where we can just go out and get, you know, like boba or ice cream or something and we all can just hang out as sort of like a big SSPC group.
Um, we actually just had one at Yogurt Park last night and that was really fun. Um, and like, you know, people often text in our Slack channel, they’ll be like, Hey, is this person, are you guys taking this class? Um, do you guys have any advice for studying for this exam? Or does anyone wanna study for this exam?
Um, and, you know, people will help each other out, um, or like form SSPC study groups, um, which has been really nice to see. So, you know, it’s not like every counselor is an island, like everyone, every other counselor knows kind of the system that we’ve created and we all kind of try and stick together and support each other.
Wendy Todd: That’s so cool. So important. How many counselors are there?
Allison Champ: Yeah, so [00:19:00] it fluctuates, um, per semester. Um, just depending on like how many people graduated, um, like the previous semester. But usually at any given time we have around 40 to 45, um, like total people in the club. Um, so around like 20, 25, uh, established counselors, and then around 20 or 25, um, people that are being trained to be counselors.
Um, so we really try to like have as many people, um, like in SSPC as possible. Like we’re not one of those clubs that are like, we’re only gonna take two new people. Um, it really is just dependent on like, okay, how many, you know, established counselors do we have? And then. We want to do like that one-to-one pairing, like the big little pairing.
Um, so it’s based purely on, okay, how many, um, counselors do we have available that can train however amount of, uh, littles.
Wendy Todd: Mm-hmm. And [00:20:00] how do appointments work? Like are there- is there a lot of demand and is 40 counselors enough to meet the demand, or how does that all work?
Allison Champ: Yeah, I would say that, um, the demand definitely also fluctuates depending on the time of year. Um, so usually we get more appointments later in the semester because people, I think start getting more stressed out. Um, and then also like, you know, as time goes on, more people are aware of our services. Um, so we usually get more appointments later. I think that, um. The 20 like established counselors or 25 established counselors.
We do like a good job of, um, keeping up with the demand. Like we’ve never had, um, a situation where we just had so much that like we had to tell someone they couldn’t like, uh, be counseled or anything. Um, and sort of how the process works is, um, we have like a website. So it’s sspc.berkeley.edu if I recall correctly.
And students can like navigate to the website and then there’s [00:21:00] a little tab that says like, book an appointment. And then it’ll take them to like a form where they just fill out like, um, like their email and just like the time that they wanna do and everything is like completely anonymous so they don’t have to fill out their name or anything.
Um, so they’ll just fill out their email and the time that they wanna take the do the appointment. Um. We ask for like 24 hours in advance. So the system won’t allow you to book an appointment that’s like, you know, the next hour. Um, but then you, you know, click submit and then it sends it off to our email and then we reach out to the counselors that have indicated that they’re available for that particular time slot, and then a counselor will take the appointment and then it’ll sort of be organized from there.
Wendy Todd: Hmm. And is it online or is there a location that people meet?
Allison Champ: Yeah, so we. Um, I think one of our options in the like, signup form for signing up for an appointment, um, it allows you to do either in person or on Zoom. Um, so some people really prefer like that face-to-face, like in-person [00:22:00] connection, and then other people just for like convenience purposes, um, or for other reasons, would wanna do like an online appointment. Um, so it really just depends on preference.
Wendy Todd: Hmm. That’s so great. Um, what do you prefer? When you have somebody coming in to meet with you, do you prefer Zoom or,
Allison Champ: Um, I don’t really have a preference. I think that it’s about, I’m just thinking about like what the client wants. So I’m not, like, if I have to take like a Zoom appointment, it’s not like, oh, I can’t believe I have to be on Zoom. Um, I think that obviously there is an element of like face-to-face connection that’s always nice. Um, but it’s not like, I think the most important part of the session by any means.
Wendy Todd: Hmm. I would imagine for some students it might feel very vulnerable to meet with a peer. Mm-hmm. And hope that somebody would keep the conversation confidential.
Allison Champ: Mm-hmm.
Wendy Todd: Um, so how do you address people that might want to seek support but [00:23:00] are afraid that, you know, telling their deepest and dark secrets might expose them to the Cal community in a way that they don’t wanna be exposed? How do you handle that?
Allison Champ: Yeah, so we have a strict confidentiality policy at SSBC. So, um, all of our counselors are extensively trained. Um, and it’s made clear to them that anything that is discussed within that session is not to be shared with anyone else. Kind of like how, like the, like the HIPAA regulations say, like if you’re a doctor or if you’re someone who works in healthcare, like you can’t share. Information about your, um, patients to anyone else. Um, so we keep that strict confidentiality policy and we make sure to, um, inform all of our, um. Clients at the beginning of the session, we tell them straight up, we’re like, Hey, everything that you talk about in the session will be kept confidential, um, except in the case, um, of imminent risk to yourself or others.
But anything [00:24:00] else will not be shared outside, um, of the room. And obviously, like, yes, it is really hard to, you know, be vulnerable and, you know, we’re not. Trying to force people to talk about anything that they’re not comfortable with. So, you know, even if someone does come in and, you know, they don’t wanna talk about something, then we don’t probe them.
We don’t like try and force ’em to talk about it. Um, because ultimately. Forcing somebody to talk about something they’re not ready to talk about is not gonna, you know, be helpful to their, to their emotional state or to their situation. Um, so it’s really client led in that, like they can talk about what they wanna talk about, you know, if they wanna talk about the same conversation for the entire hour, if they wanna, you know.
Just kind of focus on one specific aspect, and that’s completely fine. It’s all about what they’re comfortable with and what they think would be most helpful to them in the moment.
Wendy Todd: Mm-hmm. And when they try to book an appointment, are there any questions about like, what do you wanna discuss or what kind of peer counselor, do you want or is it just a, an email [00:25:00] address that they provide?
Allison Champ: Yeah, so it’s just, um, like the email address we ask at the beginning of the session, like, what would you like to talk about today? Um, but obviously like it can change throughout the session. So if they start off wanting to talk about something and they’re like, oh, wait, I wanna talk about something else, um, then they can jump to that.
So it’s very, very free flowing, very open-ended. Um, there’s not like a strict, like we have to talk about only one thing, um, or like keep it to a certain topic.
Wendy Todd: That’s cool. Yeah. ’cause that’s how we are, right?
Allison Champ: Yeah.
Wendy Todd: We wanna bounce around sometimes. Um, what do you think is the hardest part about being a peer counselor?
Allison Champ: Um, I would say probably just trying to tailor like your situ uh, your questions. Like the specific situation, which sometimes can be really tough. Um, because of course we have [00:26:00] like sort of the general questions that we will start out like, oh, how did that make you feel? Um, but then making sure to kind of like put a variety of different like questions to like sort of get into different areas.
Um. Of like what they want to talk about. And then also I would say probably not giving advice is pretty hard sometimes. Um, because I think, like as humans, we want to connect with each other and like we really wanna say like, oh, this is something that worked for me. This is something that worked for my friend. Um, especially if the person in front of you is like, really struggling with something and you like know a potential way that, um, like your particular response to a particular situation could be helpful to them as well. Um. And I think that it is really hard to suppress that emotion sometimes or just suppress that instinct.
Um, but I think just really remembering like, this is about this person in front of me. This is not about what I went through. This is not about, you know, what worked for me. Because [00:27:00] sometimes what worked for me might not work for them. And then if, you know, I suggested to them and it doesn’t work, then what does that, you know, like it would just be like a bad feeling all around.
Wendy Todd: Mm-hmm.
Allison Champ: Um, so just making sure to really keep it focused on. The other person. Um, yeah.
Wendy Todd: That’s such a gift to give them an opportunity for them to be able to share their emotions, share what their experiences are, what they’re struggling with, and to have somebody listen and not try to solve the problem mm-hmm.
For them or tell them what to do. That’s a real gift.
Allison Champ: Yeah.
Wendy Todd: How, um, how long are the sessions?
Allison Champ: Um, so usually our sessions are an hour. Um, so, you know, kind of. It gives people enough time to kind of explore a lot of different things. Um, and then each, uh, person is allowed three different sessions per semester.
Um, the reason that we have that policy is because we wanna make sure that, [00:28:00] um, SSPC is not used as like a replacement for professional, uh, psychological or mental health help. Um, like. We make it very clear that we are not professionals in any way. We do not have like a medical degree or a PhD. Um, even though we have a specific model that we follow and policies that we follow, we wanna make sure that, you know, if people really, really are struggling, um, then they are able to get the professional help that they need.
Um, but I do think that like three sessions per semester does allow people to come in like if they’re having trouble with certain things, um. You know, if it’s something, maybe like a one-off incident and you know, not something that they would wanna seek professional help about. Like, if they’re like, oh, I bombed that last exam, um, you know, you probably wouldn’t sign yourself up for, you know, going to a psychiatrist every week just because of that one specific incident.
Um, so it gives someone a place to kind of, you know, [00:29:00] get out their feelings about these specific things.
Wendy Todd: Mm. That’s so great. What a great resource. So tell us again how people can learn more about getting an appointment.
Allison Champ: Yeah, so, um, you can navigate to our website, uh, sspc.berkeley.edu. Um, or if you literally just like type into Google SSPC Berkeley, it’ll probably be the first result that comes up.
Wendy Todd: And SSPC stands for Student to Student Peer Counseling.
Allison Champ: Yes. Right? Yes.
Wendy Todd: Okay.
Allison Champ: Um, and then you can also navigate to our Instagram, uh, at SSPC Berkeley. Um, and we’ll have, we have like a link in our bio that takes you to our website. Um, and then if anyone has any questions, they can always email our email, um, SSPCemail @gmail.com.
Um, so if you have any questions about like getting involved or what appointments look like, um, then we have, uh, a pretty sizable coordinator team. So someone will get back to you really fast.
Wendy Todd: That’s awesome. Very [00:30:00] accessible. And if people wanted to find out more about becoming peer counselors. Is it the same way going to the website or is there some other way of finding out?
Allison Champ: Yeah, I would say, um, primarily just keep an eye on our Instagram ’cause that’s where we announce, like when our info sessions will be, um, again, they’re at the start of every semester. So even if you’re unable to, uh, commit to SSPC one semester, you can always join next semester. Um, and we don’t have any like limits in terms of like only freshmen or only freshmen and sophomores are accepted.
Like, um, if you’re a senior, um, or if you’re a freshman or if you’re a transfer or for any kind of student, um, we really encourage you to again, keep an eye on our Instagram, um, to see how to get involved.
Wendy Todd: Awesome. Is there anything I didn’t ask you about SSPC that you wanna share?
Allison Champ: Um, I think you covered pretty much everything. Um. Yeah, it’s just a really great resource and a really great community. Um, especially if you’re like interested in mental health, [00:31:00] um, and you wanna meet like more people who are interested in, you know, psychology or cognitive science, um, or psychiatry, then it’s a really great place to meet people like that.
Wendy Todd: That’s so cool. Well, thank you so much for your time today, and thank you for really helping students on campus with their struggles and the stress that they feel I really appreciate it.
Allison Champ: Yeah. Thank you so much for inviting me.
