Ed-Dee G. Williams, Ph.D., MSW, Postdoc, University of Michigan Faculty of Social Welfare Level Up Lab, Conference Keynote Speakers:
COVID-19 has shed a bright light on many of the inequality that exists in our society. It is the most explicit for young people. Most people rely on schools as a society to provide mental health support, identify abusive family situations, provide access to food, and provide safety to young people. I don’t know if it is. Many students with mental health problems seek help from school counselors, teachers, and other school staff. Studies show that this tends to be the case for many black and colored students.
Is there a specific group of students who need special attention or special support?
Keith, Who oversees a peer support program for veterans in higher education:
Peer support has always been found to be very effective for veteran students. The challenge in the veteran community is to take care of them. We want them to know that they have care, that they need it, and finally how to get it.When Our veteran college student program PAVE, Peer support is an important part of that. Helping veterans get to know other veterans about different types of support. Peer connection programs like PAVE lead to higher graduation rates and academic success. All kinds of approaches we can use to help college students feel connected will have a positive effect on mental health.
Mutie:
We need to support young people of all backgrounds, ages, genders, races, or ethnicities. Some young people know that they have a high rate of suicidal ideation and behavior (pre-pandemic) (for example, LGBTQ students, students with health and social disparities, and the tendency of black and Latin youth). Therefore, keep in mind that there are known risk factors. What existed before the pandemic is important.
Williams:
The impact of COVID-19 on the black community is clearly documented, including increased mortality, prolonged illness attacks, increased financial burden, and employment insecurity. Combining this with everything that is happening with respect to racial conflicts in our society, we can see the perfect storm affecting the overall mental health of black youth. Many programs have been developed and are intended for students to find them when they need them. However, given our many cultural norms, many marginalized groups avoid openly seeking help on mental health issues for fear of being stigmatized. And, in many cases, students report that they were unaware that these support groups existed. Therefore, it is important that these support groups are actively recruiting students to look for students who may need mental health support or simply general social support.
What innovations are helping to improve mental health support on campus?
Sevig, who has led UM’s efforts to transform the mental health and well-being of students on campus:
The energy of our students’ bodies is great around mental health — — Energy in advocacy, peer support provision, and peer education efforts.And a combination of “face-to-face” support and the use of technology — — App, online support, phone support. All of these are available 24/7 when students need them.
Mutie:
There are evidence-based steps and tools for clinicians and healthcare systems detailed in the newly released ones. National Youth Suicide Prevention Blueprint (Partnership efforts between the American Academy of Pediatrics and AFSP).In addition, clinical care standards to reduce the risk of suicide were announced in 2018 by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. Standard care recommended for people at risk of suicide, This can be done in the patient’s routine medical care, including universal screening of suicide risk, safety planning, counseling of deadly measures, and providing compassionate communication that bridges the transition of care. AFSP encourages universities to implement policies and procedures on how to assist students in mental health or at risk of suicide and to consider implementing AFSP. Interactive screening program.. Talking openly about mental health, training peers and mentors on campus, fixing unfair policies, and linking students with mental health support and treatment can be life-saving.
Williams:
More expression is needed in the field at all levels. At the policy, research, clinical and community levels. I would like to encourage more BIPOC individuals to pursue careers in areas such as mental health, intervention development, evaluation and implementation.
Nathaan Demers Psy.D., Vice President and Clinical Program Director, YOU at College / Grit Digital Health and Conference Presenter:
Mental health has been talked about in new ways and areas. We hope that this trend will continue, ensuring that the field of digital health maintains its roots in providing rigorously tested care. Medicine has found that treatment of high cholesterol is superior to treatment of heart attacks in ER. Similarly, look for ways to reduce stress, mild depression, anxiety, substance use, etc. before it becomes a problem. We are at a point where we need to focus on creating and encouraging students to find positive digital experiences, not interesting digital ones. Education about the differences is also essential. Whether it’s done through an evidence-based app, or using technology to facilitate connections that wouldn’t otherwise be possible (ie, connect with high school friends at another university), or make sense. Whether to have a meaningful dialogue about the experience. “
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Cited paper: “Depression at University Campus Meetings: Dealing with the Evolving Crisis, Academic Psychiatry ” Academic Psychiatry.. DOI: 10.1007 / s40596-021-01575-z
