Dixie State University recently hired Dr. Dylan Matsumori as the new director of the Health & Counseling Center, moved the resource to a larger facility closer to campus, and launched a HOPE Squad as part of a suicide prevention program.
Matsumori holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and has been a professor, advisor, mentor, counselor, and psychologist at five U.S. universities. Matsumori has consulted, advised, audited and trained individuals and teams for AT&T, Time Warner, Novell, Zion’s Bank Corp., Overstock.com, Kroger Company and other companies.
The center, now located in the old Dixie State Store at 1037 E 100 S, provides medical, behavioral, and mental health services to the DSU community. The newly renovated facility includes three therapy rooms, three medical exam rooms, an office for medical providers, a conference room, and a large waiting area, among other amenities. The center is staffed by nurse practitioners, a registered nurse, a substance abuse counselor, and a licensed social worker.
“As we continue to grow and develop as a university, the services offered here at the Health & Counseling Center continue to be more and more in demand and important for the development, growth, and success of students, faculty, and staff,” Matsumori said.
The Health & Counseling Center features services to combat mental health issues and suicide. These efforts complement the recent addition of the nation’s first collegiate HOPE Squad to the DSU campus, a development that was spearheaded by DSU Student Body President Sarah Ramaker.
HOPE Squads, typically present on middle and high school campuses, are peer-to-peer programs that partner with local mental health and community agencies. Members of HOPE Squads are trained to know how to actively listen and help peers who suffer from depression or thoughts of suicide.
“I can see this helping a lot of people and being a really great thing for this campus,” Ramaker said. “DSU is already so person-to-person focused, but one person contemplating suicide here is just one person too many, and we want to do something about it.”
For more information on the DSU Health & Counseling Center, visit wellness.dixie.edu.
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