Counseling Outreach Peer Education (C.O.P.E.)

What is C.O.P.E.?
C.O.P.E. is a student outreach group designed to facilitate the connection between University of Miami students and the Counseling Center. Through this outreach program, enthusiastic and interested University of Miami students have the opportunity to share important information about mental health issues and the services provided by the Counseling Center to the UM student body. Members are responsible for developing and executing outreach programs that will:

Promote emotional well-being among the student body.

Raise awareness regarding college mental health issues.

Provide education and resources.

Provide a link between the counseling center and the student body and increase awareness among students about the services offered at the Counseling Center.

C.O.P.E. is one of the Counseling Center’s main outreach components. Jessica Kabat, LCSW is the advisor for the group. In addition, each year a pre-doctoral psychology intern from the Counseling Center assists with program development and implementation.

* C.O.P.E. is solely a peer education group and is not involved in any sort of peer counseling.

What are some of the outreach programs that C.O.P.E. has done in the past?
C.O.P.E. programs are designed to provide education and awareness to UM students.The topics for outreach programs vary depending on the needs assessed by C.O.P.E. On several occasions, these programs have coincided with current student events, as well as with national mental health screening days (i.e. National Depression Screening Day, National Anxiety Screening Day and National Eating Disorders Week). This past year some of our specialized programs included:

National Depression Screening Day: Free screening for students in the UC breeze way; each student who agreed to screening was entered in a raffle as an incentive!

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Participated in tabling events this week.

“How to Avoid the Freshman 15” to educate students about making healthy food choices while adjusting to the change of college.

“Home for the Holidays” to prepare students for home after dorm-life

Tabling event at the Rock on Healthy Relationships. Educated students on various aspects of a healthy relationship. Offered a raffle prize for students who could distinguish a myth from fact regarding unhealthy relationships.

“Get Psyched! What Degree is Right For You?” A panel of mental health professionals spoke about their degrees and current job duties in order to help students figure out what degree is right for them.

Why apply to become a C.O.P.E. member?
C.O.P.E. is not only a way to take part in reaching out to the student body, but it provides valuable experience in planning and executing outreach programs, becoming an advocate for the emotional well-being and mental health of students, and gaining leadership skills. C.O.P.E. members are given the opportunity to participate in other Counseling Center events as well, which gives them exposure to programs related to sexual assault, suicide prevention, and eating disorders.

Who can apply to join C.OP.E.?
C.O.P.E. is an organization that is administered through the Counseling Center. It is primarily run BY University of Miami students FOR University of Miami students. C.O.P.E. membership is limited to students majoring in Psychology or Neuroscience, who are interested in mental health issues and have the drive to actively reach out to other UM students.

Membership Expectations
Because of the amount of time that is needed to train each peer educator, we ask that you be able to commit at least one year to the program. All C.O.P.E. members are expected to participate in the following mandatory events:

Fall training (date TBA)

75% of C.O.P.E. meetings

Two educational C.O.P.E. presentations per semester

Two other events sponsored by the Counseling Center per semester (for example: National Depression Screening Day, National Eating Disorders Awareness Day, “Take Back the Night.”)