The Bridge Peer Counseling Center
Encyclopedia
The Bridge Peer Counseling Center (usually referred to as simply The Bridge) is a student-run 24-hour peer-counseling center at Stanford University
, offering free confidential counselling as well as a comprehensive information and referral service. It primarily serves the undergraduate and graduate student communities of Stanford)
, but is also open to the general public. The drop-in service is available from 9am to midnight.
The name was inspired by the Simon and Garfunkel
song "Bridge Over Troubled Water
," which had topped the Billboard charts the year before.
All counselors take a ten-week course that covers basic counseling methods and surveys a wide variety of campus health issues. This class is taught by a full-time staff psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), with the assistance of Bridge counselors.
Every year from 1971 to 2008, The Bridge organized the Stanford Spring Faire, a three-day-long fine arts and crafts fair, to fund itself. Since 2009, the Bridge has received funding through ASSU Special Fees as a registered student group.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, offering free confidential counselling as well as a comprehensive information and referral service. It primarily serves the undergraduate and graduate student communities of Stanford)
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, but is also open to the general public. The drop-in service is available from 9am to midnight.
History
The Bridge was founded in 1971, under the supervision of Dr. Vincent D'Andrea, a staff psychiatrist at the Cowell Student Health Services, and was originally intended as a confidential drug-counseling center. Over the years, it became a general peer-counseling center.The name was inspired by the Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
song "Bridge Over Troubled Water
Bridge over Troubled Water (song)
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's album of the same name. The single was released on January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album Live 1969, released in 2008. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at...
," which had topped the Billboard charts the year before.
Operation
The Bridge is staffed entirely by undergraduate and graduate student volunteers. The service is anchored by four live-in counselors, who cover the night shifts and take on administrative and mentoring roles.All counselors take a ten-week course that covers basic counseling methods and surveys a wide variety of campus health issues. This class is taught by a full-time staff psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), with the assistance of Bridge counselors.
Every year from 1971 to 2008, The Bridge organized the Stanford Spring Faire, a three-day-long fine arts and crafts fair, to fund itself. Since 2009, the Bridge has received funding through ASSU Special Fees as a registered student group.
Notable alumni
- Cory BookerCory BookerCory Anthony Booker is the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Booker is a former Newark City Councilman...
, Mayor of Newark, 2006- - Peter SaloveyPeter SaloveyPeter Salovey is Provost and the Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology at Yale University. He joined the Yale faculty in 1986 after receiving an A.B. and M.A. from Stanford University in 1980, with departmental honors and university distinction, and a Ph.D. from Yale in 1986...
, Professor of Psychology, Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, 1986-