Editor's note: This is part six of the Ending the Stigma series on mental health

NAMPA, Idaho – It's just a conversation.

That's the mantra Northwest Nazarene clinical counselor Julie Barrass has brought to campus in her 18 months on the job.

Talking to a counselor can be no different than a student-athlete going to the athletic trainer for a sprained ankle.

"I think this generation is the first generation that talking to a counselor is no big deal," Barrass said. "We are here to keep you healthy and functioning. Your brain and emotions are just as important as your physical body."

Barrass and Malinda Poe, the director of counseling services, have worked hard to make the Wellness Center more effective. Part of that has been a complete restructure in how appointments work and part of it has been becoming more visible on campus and letting students know they can talk to counselors at any time in any place.

"We have seen an increase in our athletes' willingness to ask for help when they need it," Poe said. "They are doing that sooner before something really becomes a crisis."

That has been the hope of Poe when she changed the Wellness Center to a walk-in model. Before she became director in January 2019, the Wellness Center allowed walk-ins but was mainly a traditional clinic that let students sign up for weekly time slots which created long waiting lists.

"We have five counselors right now and four of us are available on any given day," Poe said. "You can walk in and say you want to talk to someone and they will set you up with a 20-minute consultation and just talk to you about what brought you in. It could be wanting to drop a class or finding out your parents are getting divorced. Now, you don't have to wait and go through the whole traditional intake when you just really need to talk about that right now."
 

Poe, who started work in the counseling department as an intern in 2013, hired Barrass in January 2019.

Part of Barrass's main responsibility has been establishing care with the student-athletes, which makes up about a quarter of undergraduate students on campus.

"It has been a significant benefit for our student-athletes and coaches to have Julie available as a resource," NNU athletic director Kelli Lindley said. "With her background in sports-specific counseling, Julie understands the unique challenges our student-athletes face and can help give them tools needed to excel mentally."

As part of the new NCAA requirement to offer a preseason screening, Barrass created a tool to use at preseason meetings with the teams.

Her first year she had 26 athletes from five teams sign up to be checked in on, while this year she had 21 athletes from just one team sign up.

"I want to come alongside and help them do whatever they want to do better," she said. "We are here to help you and have a conversation.

"Then when you do go to the (Johnson Sports Center), there is less to leave outside because you aren't the only one carrying these thoughts."

The work Barrass has done with the student-athletes has been noticed throughout the athletics department.

"She does a fantastic job," NNU men's soccer coach Adam Pearce said. "(The Wellness Center) is a tremendous asset, a tremendous resource and with the pressures that kids feel in general on a social level, having that access to it or even just knowing they have access to it, helps reduce some of the stress for it."