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The Mindful Space

 

Welcome to The Mindful Space!

WELCOME to the new mental health center at Barstow Community College called The Mindful Space. This is a place where students can now receive mental health services from a mental health counselor, Dr. Christa Banton, who is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  Services are tailored to meet the needs of each individual and are provided free to students.   

Services that are provided through The Mindful Space include:

  • Individual psychotherapy
  • Coaching
  • Group therapy
  • Mental Health Assessment
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Consultations
  • Referrals to additional services in the community
  • Disciplinary Intervention

Office Hours: 

  • Main Campus (Room C48A)
    • Monday/Wednesday 9:00am-6:00pm
    • Tuesday/Thursday/Friday 8:00am-5:00pm 
    • *Friday after noon virtual only

Crisis walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 11:00m to 12:00pm in Room C48A. 

  • Fort Irwin Campus (Room D7)
    • January 19, 2023 9:00am-5:00pm
    • February 8, 2023 9:00am-5:00pm
    • March 8, 2023 9:00am-5:00pm
    • April 12, 2023 9:00am-5:00pm
    • May 10, 2023 9:00am-5:00pm

Make an Appointment: You can make an appointment by emailing themindfulspace@barstow.edu or calling (760) 252-6873. 

Services are voluntary and referrals can be made by students, staff, or faculty through the following email themindfulspace@barstow.edu

All are welcome at The Mindful Space, a space to heal, recover, and find support and guidance for the everyday situations and difficulties we face. Remember a single step forward makes a change in your life.

We are here for you at The Mindful Space.   

 If you are in crisis during the times we are closed, please call CCRT at (760) 956-2345 or Text (760) 734-8093 between 7am-10pm, 911 for immediate services, or go to your nearest hospital.  

Meet the Team

Dr. Banton began her career working as a social worker for the Department of Public Health-HIV Program where she worked with individuals impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. From there, she transitioned to the University of California San Diego, Department of Psychiatry working with the individuals who were newly released from incarceration returning to the San Bernardino County area. She went on to work for Children and Family Services as a Social Service Practitioner and then finally as a Supervising Social Services Practitioner for thirteen years. She has worked in direct services as well as in new program design, training, program implement and monitoring, and supervision.

Dr. Banton is a licensed marriage and family therapist and was in private practice. Her mental health specialties include education, motivation, relationship and trauma focused practice. In addition, she teaches at several schools in the local area on topics that include trauma, child abuse/neglect, mandated reporting, psychology and human services.

 

Joanna Escalante recently joined The Mindful Space's team in 2022. She has worked at Barstow Community College since 2017, and has years of experience working with special populations and basic needs. Prior to working at BCC, Joanna worked in the K-12 system as a paraeducator, and also previously worked as an ABA specialist providing services for children with Autism. 

Joanna is a graduate of Barstow Community College and holds degrees in Social Psychology, Organizational Leadership, and is currently working on a Master's degree in Sociology. Her career goal is to continue working in Student Services while also teaching community college classes. She is passionate about education, human rights, and mental health, and has been inspired by educators who made a positive impact on her life.

Upcoming Events

The Free Your Mind Space is Back! 

Barstow Community College is dedicated to the mental welfare of all students including our LGBTQ+ student population. The Mindful Space has created The Free Your Mind Space for students to express their feelings and troubles without any judgment. ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOMED!

The next session is Wednesday, March 22nd, 12:30pm-1:30pm in Room S-1 on the Main Campus. See flyer for details!

NEW-Viking Wellness Support Groups 

The Mindful Space is now offering Viking Wellness- a student athlete support group, which provides a space to discuss topics such as goal setting, stress reduction, time management, and overall wellness. The next session is Wednesday, March 29th at 10:00am in the Black Box Theatre. See flyer for details!

Fuel Up For Finals is Back!  

The Mindful Space at Barstow Community College will be hosting a workshop on Managing Test Anxiety on Tuesday, March 7th at 10:00am in the LRC Conference Room. All BCC students are invited to learn ways to manage stress and anxiety, particularly around finals! Light snacks will be provided. See flyer for additional events! For information on Fuel Up for Finals, contact success@barstow.edu!

 

The Mindful Space will be back at Fort Irwin on March 8th!

The Mindful Space at Barstow Community College provides free, confidential mental health services for all BCC students. Students at the Fort Irwin campus can meet with our mental health counselor, Dr. Christa Banton, each month in room D7 at Building 285:

  • March 08, 2023 9:00am-5:00pm
  • April 12, 2023 9:00am-5:00pm
  • May 10, 2023 9:00am-5:00pm

Students can make appointments by calling our office at (760) 252- 6873, or emailing themindfulspace@barstow.edu. We look forward to serving you!

 

Join Us for Mindful Mondays!

The Mindful Space will Join the Mindful Monday sessions on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month from 12:00pm to 1:00pm for mindfulness practice with tips and tools to improve your life! Open to all students, staff, and community members. Emil ndaurte@barstow.edu for registration. Registration is not required by highly encouraged. See flyer for details! 

 

Professional Development Opportunity- Emotional Intelligence

The Mindful Space will be posting a professional development opportunity on Tuesday, March 28th from 4:00pm to 5:00pm via Zoom. Register HERE or by emailing themindfulspace@barstow.edu. This session will be on emotional intelligence.

Save to Date- 2023 Mental Health Matters Resource Fair

The Mindful Space is excited to announce we will be hosting the Mental Health Matters Resource Fair on Wednesday, April 5th, 2023 in the Black Box Theatre. Open to students, employees, and the community. Save the date! More information to come.

 

Save to Date- 2023 Denim Day

Denim Day takes place on the last Wednesday of April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This day of action and awareness is an event in which people are encouraged to wear denim to combat victim blaming and educate others about sexual violence. Partners Against Violence will be back on campus hosting a sexual violence awareness event, and we urge you to join us while wearing your denim. More details are to come.

2022 Healthy Campus Award

Barstow Community College Recognized as One of the Healthiest Campuses Among U.S. Colleges and Universities

Barstow Community College joins four other colleges and universities as a recipient of the 2022 Active Minds Healthy Campus Award

BARSTOW, CA, March 8, 2022 – Today, Barstow Community College was announced as a winner of the 2022 Active Minds Healthy Campus Award and recognized as one of the healthiest college campuses in the nation. The prestigious award, now in its sixth year, celebrates U.S. colleges and universities that provide access to quality healthcare and not only serve students’ physical health but give equal priority and investment to mental health.

This year’s recipients represent a range of campuses that operate within different contexts and challenges. Together they demonstrate how institutions of all sizes and types can create healthy communities that allow every student the opportunity to thrive and succeed.

Barstow Community College joins four other colleges and universities in receiving the Healthy Campus Award: Auburn University, University of South Florida-St. Petersburg campus, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Virginia Tech.

Colleges and universities are crucial partners in improving the well-being of young adults. Barstow Community College, and the other winning campuses, found ways to pivot to address student needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, proactively address systems of oppression, integrate health and wellbeing in strategic planning, and use data to ensure that students are getting the care they need.

"Our mission at Barstow Community College has been to get mental health education, training, and resources to students in our area by all means possible," said Tanesha Young, dean of counseling and student success for Barstow Community College. "We aim to be student centered so that barriers can be removed and allow for student success. We know when students succeed our community also succeeds."

Students enrolled at colleges and universities that prioritize well-being often find that the programs and services provided to them are part of the fabric of the campus community.

The well-being of all students is a priority for Barstow and it shows. The review panel for the Healthy Campus Award cited the following innovative practices in particular:

● Defining Health Broadly and Pursuing it Comprehensively:

Barstow Community College has taken a proactive stance on mental health and well-being. In September 2020, Barstow Community College opened The Mindful Space, the campus mental health counseling center, which started seeing students virtually via telephone and video sessions at no cost to the student. Now The Mindful Space provides, both in-person and virtually, individual psychotherapy, coaching, group therapy, mental health assessment, crisis intervention, consultations, referrals to additional services in the community, and disciplinary intervention to students with grant funding.

● Securing and Making the Most of Available Resources: Being a rural campus, Barstow Community College has thoughtfully partnered with local community-based and governmental agencies to provide a well-integrated system for change. Barstow has used this approach to find the right care for the right person at the right time in the right area. They have established memorandums of understanding with the two largest community-based organizations in the Barstow area to refer students to appropriate providers through a warm handoff system. On campus, Barstow added the CareSolace system which enables students, faculty, and staff to find mental health services for their specific needs.

● Cultivating a Deep Commitment to Equal Opportunities for Health: With Barstow Community College’s diverse student population, they are committed to addressing gaps in opportunities to obtain services and information that tends to negatively affect certain populations. They have created a Student Success and Equity Committee which is a shared governance entity responsible for developing the Student Equity Plan to boost academic achievement for student subpopulations determined to be of higher risk for discontinuation and requires each college to develop detailed goals and measures addressing disparities. To meet their goals, many of the programs provided by Barstow focus on supporting students’ basic needs, including housing, food, and English as a second language services, in addition to providing emotional support.

“Barstow Community College stands out because it demonstrates a driven stance on mental health and well-being by providing free services to students through in-house providers and community partnerships,” said Alison Malmon, founder and executive director of Active Minds. “Barstow is a model for prioritizing mental health for its students by engaging the local community.”