Rhodes’ Student Counseling Center has added three staff members. Grace Duarte-Baker is the new assistant director, and Shaundra Bills is a clinical counselor. Dr. Archandria Owens will assume the associate director’s position in May. The center, which sees about 20 percent of the student body each academic year, has a staff of five including new members.
“We are looking forward to the impact of these dedicated professionals on our services and on our broader Rhodes community for promoting wellness and a campus culture where all members thrive and actualize full potential,” says Student Counseling Center Director Dr. Pam Detrie. “Across the U.S., college counseling centers are reporting greater number of students reporting higher levels of anxiety, depression, and threat to self, and Rhodes is no different. We’ve seen an increase in number of students utilizing the Student Counseling Center of 166 percent over the past decade.”
The Student Counseling Center provides confidential individual counseling for Rhodes students to discuss a variety of issues such as test anxiety, depression, social anxiety, relationship problems, sexual assault, alcohol and drug issues, LGBT issues, eating disorders, and grief. Couples and family counseling also is available.
More about the new counseling staff:
Grace Duarte-Baker is a bilingual (English-Spanish), strengths-based social work clinician who has experience working with adults, young adults, children, and families and groups of various backgrounds. She comes to Rhodes from San Clemente, CA, and is a licensed clinical social worker in the states of Tennessee and California. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut.
A native Memphian, Shaundra Bills brings to Rhodes experience in assessment, crisis management, and individual and group therapy. A licensed professional counselor with a background in cognitive-behavior therapy, she received a master’s degree from Austin Peay State University.
Dr. Archandria Owens earned a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from The University of Memphis and has worked with diverse populations in university counseling centers, community mental health centers, and psychiatric hospitals. Her specific specialties include working with clients experiencing grief and loss, those who are survivors of childhood and family trauma, individuals who have been impacted by racial trauma, and those with religious and spiritual concerns.
“I am thrilled with these wonderful additions to our counseling center,” says Dr. Russell Wigginton, vice president of student life and dean of students. “Under Dr. Detrie’s leadership, the counseling center is poised to support the needs of our students and the entire Rhodes community.”