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Monday, April 1, 1996

By Karen Duryea

Daily Bruin Staff

In August 1995, Karen Foster arrived in Los Angeles to work at UCLA as a psychology intern. Hailing from Atlanta, Ga., Foster took note of the excessive community violence in her new hometown.

"Atlanta had its share of stressful events, but Los Angeles is an even bigger city," Foster said.

Hearing students describe their violent ordeals day after day made Foster realize that violence is a prevalent problem for UCLA students. Along with her interest in working with conflict, Foster was attracted to the idea of forming a new support group for UCLA's Student Psychological Services, scheduled to begin in this quarter.

"Coping With Community Violence" will address the needs of UCLA students who have experienced violent situations either locally or internationally.

Foster and staff psychologist Tracy Shaw will co-facilitate the new support group, which is provided free of charge to registered students. The group's main purpose is to help UCLA students cope in the aftermath of a traumatic event.

Events such as robbery at gun point or carjacking are classified by the psychologists as violent ordeals that could seriously affect one's life. Just witnessing such an event, or having it happen to a close friend or family member could be traumatic, Shaw and Foster said.

The psychologists explained that UCLA students have experienced a broad spectrum of violent events, ranging from witnessing the robbery of a convenience store to being forced to leave family members behind in times of war.

"In addition to local violence, we also recognize that there is an international problem," Foster said. "These are not just individuals from inner cities, but also students coming from other countries where they have had to leave their homes to escape death."

Wars and fighting are serious problems abroad, and due to the diversity of students here at UCLA, Foster said these problems are a reality for students from such countries as Vietnam and Iran.

Yet, no matter what the specific event, Shaw and Foster agreed that symptoms resulting from community and international violence are often similar. Post-traumatic stress, causing flashbacks and extreme anxiety, or anger, frustration and numbing can result from experiencing a violent ordeal. These symptoms can result in poor concentration, affecting a student's academic ability, Shaw said.

Foster said that students can also feel isolated after a violent event. This feeling may be intensified if others who were present at the event have recovered.

"Some students may feel crazy, especially when others have moved on and they are still struggling with it. Different people have different reactions and temperaments," Foster said.

For this reason, Foster and Shaw believed that a group approach will be an effective method in helping afflicted students.Surrounding the victims with peers who understand what they are feeling will help alleviate their alienation.

"Groups have been found to be the most effective," Foster said, "It helps to contain their emotional reactions and symptoms and helps them to work through them."

Student Psychological Services gauges student mental needs through both formal surveys and informally through feedback on campus, said Dr. Hal Pruett, director of Student Psychological Services.

By monitoring repeated themes that students bring to the center when looking for psychological health, such as coping with stress or eating disorders, campus psychologists can see what important mental needs they should treat.

"Sometimes it's trial and error," Pruett said, "Sometimes we don't know until we set up the support group. Also, it depends what expertise we have on staff. If need arises, it may be that we don't have the expertise on it."

Students have the opportunity to make suggestions to Student Psychological Services regarding groups they feel need to be offered, Shaw said.

The first step in creating a support group is performing a "needs assessment," Foster said. By recognizing student needs and collaborating with other departments, such as the Academic Advancement Program, that assesses student needs, Student Psychological Services gathers information on problems that require attention on campus, psychologists said.

For instance, Foster said if a victim is experiencing insomnia, their first instinct may be to approach Student Health Services, when in fact their insomnia may be a result of the aftermath of a violent encounter. Student Health can then refer the student to seek counseling at Student Psychological Services.

Foster said there is no administrative decision, beyond availability of room space, that censors what the psychologists feel are useful groups. Once a group is established the next step is to recruit group members through advertising. When students respond, they are confidentially screened, in this case to determine what specific traumatic events or symptoms are common.

"We just try to bring a group together. The 30-minute screening is a prerequisite to see that the group is an appropriate service and an appropriate match for the students," Foster said. "What we are finding is that people want a group setting, even changing other things in their schedule to accommodate one."

Currently, the group consists of four members, but Shaw and Foster say that they'd like to see four or five more members join the group, which is scheduled to begin on April 10, meeting weekly for 11Ž2 hours.

The style of the group will be like a forum, where members talk to one another, helping them through the coping stages. "The purpose of a group is to work through stressful life events," Shaw said, "to feel like healthy individuals."

For more info about the service or to obtain information about joining a counseling group, contact Student Psychological Services at (310) 825-0768.Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu