Summer 2018 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
Farewell
Fred Weiner arrived in Athens in 1967 as a staff psychologist at 51ĀŅĀ×ās burgeoning counseling center. In June, Weiner retired as Counseling & Psychological Servicesā (CPS) director after 51 years of service, having witnessed a sea change in higher ed counseling practice.
Cat Hofacker, BSJ ā18 | August 16, 2018
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Fred Weiner arrived in Athens in 1967 as a staff psychologist at 51ĀŅĀ×ās burgeoning counseling center. In June, Weiner retired as Counseling & Psychological Servicesā (CPS) director after 51 years of service, having witnessed a sea change in higher ed counseling practice.
āWhen I first took the job here, not every college and university had a counseling center,ā Weiner says. āBut now, I canāt think of a college and university that doesnāt have one.ā
Counseling centers were āoutliersā within a universityās student affairs division, Weiner says. As mental health care became more mainstream, centers were asked to care for more students, be available at all hours, consult with individual colleges, and collaborate with other departments.
āNone of that would have really been happening 40 years ago,ā Weiner says. āIād just be sitting here seeing people, one after another.ā
Fred Weiner (right) is congratulated in April for 51 years of service at OHIO by President Duane Nellis. Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ā02
Students seek care for different reasons now, Weiner says. Patients used to struggle with self-confidence. Later, he started seeing more cases of depression. In the last decade, care involves treating anxiety disorders.
āI think that reflects a change in the culture, where life has just gotten so stressful for college-age students,ā he says. āLife is far more complicated, far more stressful than it was 30 to 40 years ago.ā
The approach to treatment has changed, too. Students would often seek counseling to learn about themselves. Now, Weiner says, counselors apply a āsolution-focused approach.ā
āIām not focused on someoneās whole identity anymore,ā Weiner says. āIām focusing on the issues theyāre struggling with right now.ā
Counselors also treat more at-risk students, Weiner says. It takes its toll.
āI remember my first few years here, I would have maybe two or three people I was seeing at one time who I would really be worried aboutā¦[as in] Iād go home and worry about them,ā Weiner says. Today, many patients fit that description, he says.
But the CPS staff is a tight-knit, supportive group, Weiner says, which helps keep the work in perspective. When heās treating a high-risk student, āā¦I have a bunch of people I respect greatly who I can go to,ā he says.
Given this stress, whatās kept him at this work for so long? The love of the job, Weiner says. And for the students who let him into their lives.
āIāve had a chanceā¦to help students find meaning and success at a critical point in their lives,ā he says. āThatās a pretty gratifying thing. I never take that for granted.ā
Weiner with 51ĀŅĀ× Counseling and Psychological Services participating in the cityās first Pride parade. Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ā02
Feature photograph by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ā02