Jodi Caldwell

Executive Director, Counseling Center Georgia Southern University

  • Statesboro GA

Jodi K. Caldwell is the Executive Director Sexual Assault Response Team Chair and Regent's Advisor Council of the Counseling Center.

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2 min

University-wide mental health services strengthened by Georgia Southern’s JED Campus initiative

As a result of Georgia Southern’s commitment to increasing student awareness and access to mental health resources, the University has recently been named a full JED Campus (JED) Member university. Georgia Southern recently completed a four-year partnership with JED, a national collegiate mental health program that guides colleges through a collaborative process of building comprehensive systems, programs and policy development with customized support to build upon existing student mental health, substance use and suicide prevention efforts. Along with the JED efforts, Georgia Southern has significantly increased student awareness and access to mental health resources. A recent report shows that 83% of Georgia Southern University students agree that the administration is listening to the concerns of students around health and wellness. This is a 15% increase since 2020. In 2020, the University System of Georgia launched several system-wide initiatives and resources to increase the mental health awareness and resources for all of its institutions. One of these initiatives was to fund the enrollment of all institutions in the JED Campus program. This included the creation of a JED campus team, an initial campus mental health climate study conducted by the Healthy Minds Institute on behalf of JED, the completion of a Georgia Southern self-study, a campus site visit by JED and the development and completion of a four-year strategic plan. “Engaging in the four-year JED Campus process has enabled Georgia Southern to strengthen and expand its university-wide commitment to the mental health of our students, faculty and staff,” said Jodi K. Caldwell, Ph.D., Counseling Center executive director & JED Campus team lead. “The JED team remains committed to growing Georgia Southern’s efforts in providing awareness, education, resources and support for the well-being of our community. We are grateful to the University System of Georgia, whose support funded this opportunity for all USG institutions and to the support of our Georgia Southern administration.” Recently, the University has increased awareness and resources through programs like the H.E.R.O. Folder. Students aware of mental health outreach efforts grew from 40% to 60%, and those knowing where to seek professional help increased from 78% to 84%, according to the JED feedback report. Additional findings can be found in the full report at the bottom of this article. Georgia Southern will now be considered an alumni of the program, and will continue several of the programs and initiatives launched with JED. If you're interested in learning more about Georgia Southern's  partnership with JED and want to book time to talk or interview with Jodi Caldwell then let us help simply click on her icon now contact Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

Jodi Caldwell

3 min

Approximately 30 University Police officers recognized for mental health training

Student mental health is a constant concern on a university campus. It is not uncommon for someone in distress to call 9-1-1. A police officer could be the first person to interact with a person who needs specialized attention. To help evaluate and properly handle such situations, every officer at Georgia Southern has completed Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), presented by the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and the Georgia Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The training ensures that people with mental illnesses and other brain disorders will receive treatment in lieu of incarceration in most cases. On top of that training, the University System of Georgia offers two additional programs to law enforcement officers: QPR Suicide Prevention Training – QPR stands for Question, Persuade and Refer – the three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade and refer someone to help. Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training – MHFA is a skills-based training course that teaches people how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorder. for police officers to help recognize and handle mental health issues and mental health disorders. So far, almost 30 police officers at Georgia Southern University have completed the three different training programs, earning each officer a Mental Health Initiative pin. “I am very proud of these officers, and appreciate them taking the time to better prepare for handling any situation they may encounter,” said Laura McCullough, chief of police at Georgia Southern. “The pins they now wear are a symbol of the care they invest in our community.” State and University officials lauded the officers’ achievements. “This law enforcement mental health certification program could not come at a better time for our university communities, given the state of mental health in our country and on our campuses,” said Jodi Caldwell, director of Georgia Southern’s Counseling Center. “Law enforcement personnel are increasingly the first responders to individuals experiencing mental health emergencies. It comes as no surprise to the staff of the Counseling Center that Georgia Southern’s University police department is leading the way in Georgia for law enforcement interest and willingness to become trained in recognizing and responding to individuals in mental health distress.” Caldwell spoke at a ceremony last month to present the pins and honor the officers. Also attending were Alexis Belvin, Georgia Southern’s SGA President and Chip Reese, Ed.D., former system project director for the University System of Georgia (USG) Mental Health Initiative. “The USG Mental Health Initiative was launched during COVID to allow us to focus more intentionally on the needs of our students,” Reese said. “We have expanded clinical counseling services and supported mental health and wellness resources and programming across the state. I’m particularly proud of the QPR and MHFA training and hope it will better equip the officers who are already on the first ones we call whenever someone needs help.” The following officers were awarded the Mental Health Initiative Pin: Tim Alderman, Josh Barker, Richard Bashlor, Charles Bowen, Ian Craig, Laurence Croy, Steven Cushner, Sam Derr, Christion Doyle, Bailey Dyches, Jonathan Finley, Danny Garrigus, Kenneth Glover, Clay Gracen, Sarah Grey, Lanier Griswold, Patrick Holloway, Tyrone McBride, Chris McBride, Erk McCurdy, BJ McKellar, Alex Morris, Todd Olsen, Kurt Purtee, Dexter Renfroe, Erick Riner, Lamar Stephens, and Crystal Thomas. Looking to know more then let us help. Jodi Caldwell, director of Georgia Southern’s Counseling Center, is available to speak regarding this important topic simply click on here icon here or simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

Jodi Caldwell

Media

Biography

Dr. Caldwell received her doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology in 2000 from Texas Tech University, in Lubbock, TX, where she also completed her pre-doctoral internship. She joined the Counseling Center staff in August of 2000 as a staff psychologist. She has since served as the Assistant Director for Training, and the Interim Clinical Services Director. Dr. Caldwell has been the Director of the Center since January of 2012*. Dr. Caldwell is the Chair of the university’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Statesboro Regional Sexual Assault Center (SRSAC) and represents Georgia Southern to the Ogeechee Judicial Sexual Assault Response Team. On a national level, Dr. Caldwell is currently serving her second elected term to the Directorate Board of the Commission for Counseling and Psychological Services of the American College Personnel Association and is a certified Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Responder. Dr. Caldwell’s clinical interests are varied and include women’s issues, multiculturalism, and professional development concerns. Dr. Caldwell was the recipient of a 2005 Award of Merit for “Excellence in Service to the Georgia Southern University Community”, the 2006 “Commitment to Advocacy Award” for dedication to the issue of Sexual Assault Education, the 2010 “40 Under 40” award from the Statesboro Herald for professional achievement, and most recently, the 2014 “Outstanding Contributions to Counseling Center Work” award from Division 17 of the American Psychological Association.

Areas of Expertise

Professional Development
Women's Health Issues
Psychology
Counseling
Multiculturalism

Accomplishments

Outstanding Contributions to Counseling Center Work

2014

40 Under 40

2010
Statesboro Herald

Commitment to Advocacy Award

2006

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Education

Texas Tech University

Ph.D.

Counseling Psychology

2000

Affiliations

  • Counseling and Psychological Services of the American College Personnel Association : Directorate Board
  • Sexual Assault Response Team : Chair
  • Regent’s Advisor Council : Crisis Network Coordinator

Media Appearances

SART raising awareness of sexual assault on college campuses

The George - Anne  

2018-10-08

"Our mission is focused on reducing the incidences of sexual violence through primary prevention programming and to ensure a most consistent response to victims of sexual violence in the widest range possible," Jodi Caldwell, co-chair of SART, said...

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How a theater group reinvented sexual assault prevention

Chicago Tribune  

2017-11-23

“They’ve always made a lot of sense to me,” said Jodi Caldwell, director of the counseling center at Georgia Southern University, where Catharsis performs annually for its 4,000 incoming freshmen. “Their work comes out of research, their shows adjust with new research. Our students have definitely become more proactive about (issues of) sexual assault since we’ve basically made (Catharsis) part of campus culture here.”...

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Relationship abuse: signs, statistics and seeking help

The George - Anne  

2017-10-24

Jodi Caldwell, Ph.D., is the director of the GS Counseling Center, chair of the Sexual Assault Response Team and a member of the Board of Regents’ Violence Against Women Task Force.

Abusive relationships, Caldwell said, are not usually abusive from the beginning.

“Abusive relationships often start where the abusive partner is extremely charming, seems very accommodating, almost sweeps the other partner off their feet,” Caldwell said. “And then, it’s kind of a slippery slope from there, with the controlling and abusive behavior beginning.”...

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Articles

Relaxation and Stress Management

Georgia Southern University

2018

Stress is something that we commonly talk about in our society. However, we rarely take time to define Stress. What is Stress? What causes Stress? How do we experience stress? Most importantly, what can we do to manage our stress? Stress is a fairly universal experience for all of us. Regardless of how our personalities vary in terms of intensity, at one time or another, we will all be confronted with a situation that we find stressful.

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