College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (Including Wooster Campus)
Embedded Clinicians
- David Wirt, M.Ed., Embedded Clinical Counselor, Columbus Campus
- A. Schaad, Psy.D., Embedded Psychologist, Wooster Campus
CFAES is a unique college in that it is located on two OSU campuses; Columbus and Wooster Campus. Thus our college has two embedded therapists, one on each campus, that work together to serve all of our students' needs. Both therapists are Farm Stress Certified and certified in REACH Suicide Prevention Training.
Students
Connect with your embedded therapist by completing a phone screening and expressing a preference to work with the embedded therapist in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. You can indicate which campus you are on as well. Students can also reach out the embedded therapist with any questions they may have or to request referral to other resources or services. CFAES students are eligible to meet with David, Schaad, or any of the CCS therapists.
Faculty and Staff
Faculty and staff are encouraged to consult regarding student needs with David and Schaad and can email them directly. For urgent consultation, call CCS directly at 614-292-5766 and request a call back from the first available clinician. Find additional resources about supporting students, visit our faculty and staff page.
Let's Talk, CFAES
Let’s Talk, CFAES, provides drop-in, informal mental health consultations on a first-come, first-served basis. It is provided confidentially, with no fees to all currently registered College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences students. This service is a great option for students who want to learn more about counseling services or those who could just benefit from a shorter problem-solving consultation.
Let’s Talk sessions are available via CarmenZoom, Monday through Friday. Sessions are approximately 20 minutes. Sign up for a session. CFAES students are eligible to meet with any CCS therapist conducting Let’s Talk consultations.
Learn more about these topics and other CCS on-demand services.
Using Nature as Therapy
Our students tend to love working with animals, being outdoors and with nature. Therapy that involves nature is called ecotherapy. In recent times, people are spending less time outside, and more time on screens/social media, which can have an impact on your mental well-being. Given our students have access to beautiful outdoors spaces on both campuses, we wanted to share some information and tips on how to use this type of therapy as it has been shown to help you destress, improve coping skills, and improve your mood.
There are various types of nature therapy: (Positive Psychology Today)
- Nature meditation: Meditation practice in a natural environment, like by the sea or in a park, can also be an intervention in group therapy, where members focus and reflect on something in nature that they’re drawn to.
- Therapeutic horticulture: Gardening activities can include tending to gardens and growing food.
- Green exercise therapy: Exercise like walking or cycling can also take place in green spaces.
- Wilderness therapy: This intervention involves being out in wilderness and getting involved in group activities like shelter making.
- Adventure therapy: Adventurous activities in a group can include rock climbing or rafting.
- Conservation: A mixture of physical exercise and carrying out tasks helps care for and protect natural environments.
- Animal-assisted therapy: This intervention consists of bonding and building relationships with animals, like dogs and horses.
- Arts and crafts in nature: Making art can include materials from nature like leaves, wood, or soil, or be done in nature and inspired by natural environments.