Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg, a licensed clinical psychologist in Naperville, Illinois, spoke on campus Thursday, Feb. 4, as a part of the Relational Health Initiative.
Wehrenberg spoke in chapel, conducted a workshop in Cone Chapel and held an open forum in the Administration Auditorium. Several students attended the workshop to learn techniques they will use in their future careers.
The Professional Counseling Center and its Relational Health Initiative hosted Dr. Wehrenberg to speak on stress, anxiety and depression. Wehrenberg provided a packet to those who attended her workshop that included “The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Treatment Techniques.”
Professor of psychology Kathy Howard attended the workshop along with some of her undergraduate and graduate students, other professors and community mental health counselors. According to Howard, Wehrenberg’s presentation provided understanding for causation and intervention of anxiety, stress and depression.
“Stress, especially, is a universal experience and very relevant to the life of most college students,” Howard said. “This seminar was relevant to professionals and students in training, but also those that are not majoring in the helping profession could benefit from the practical suggestions. Dr. Wehrenberg did an excellent job speaking to not only students but also professionals in the field.”
Arielle Saunders, a graduate student in the Marriage and Family Therapy program, said Wehrenberg informed but also engaged the audience by teaching them techniques and exercises to assist those with anxiety.
“Anxiety and stress are increasingly prevalent topics in our society, so we all need to be aware of how to prevent them and effectively cope with them,” Saunders said. “Dr. Wehrenberg’s seminar did a wonderful job of increasing knowledge of those areas in an enjoyable way.”
As a double major in psychology and Spanish, junior Katie Finch found Wehrenberg’s workshop coincided with what she has learned in the classroom. Finch said she learned tips to keep herself free of stress in her future career, as well as ways to help future clients.
“(Wehrenberg) spoke about panic attacks, but also how that relates to anxiety and stress in general and as counselors what we can do to help our clients,” Finch said. “She also talked about what we can do as counselors to help our own stress and anxiety in between sessions and how to keep ourselves healthy, because if you’re not healthy you can’t help those who aren’t healthy. It will help me manage stress and anxiety better in my future career and be the best helper I can be for everyone else as well.”
Junior Melita Sutherland attended the workshop with her Christian Counseling class. Sutherland, an early childhood education major, said the workshop gave her tips she can use in her future career, such as the different breathing techniques Wehrenberg explained.
“She is a great speaker,” said Sutherland. “She talked a lot about personal experiences and told stories. She talked about an anxiety attack, the way your brain talks to you in short sentences with lots of negative thoughts. She said anxiety is common and a lot of people go through it, so we shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk about it.”
