The college years can feel like a roller coaster, fast-paced, exciting and
overwhelming. For some, college is the first experience living away from home.
With separation, there is increased anxiety and stress as students learn to
balance the academic demands with new social relationships. For others, college
is about managing a full-time job and the rigors of nightly classes and
homework. How many students are struggling just to stay on the ride?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is
the third leading cause of death for college-aged population. Based on data
compiled by Screening for Mental Health, Inc., there is a stigma about mental
health problems among college-aged students, and a belief that faculty mistake
students’ depression for laziness or ineptitude. In addition, faculty, staff
and administrators are unsure and uncomfortable in dealing with depressed
students. And for certain groups like ethnic minorities and international
students, data reveals they are less likely to seek and get help for mental
health issues. This information raises the level of urgency and shows a clear
need for colleges to implement a culturally competent suicide prevention
program.
While most mental health programs have relied on an individual-focused suicide
prevention, intervention and treatment model; it appears that little
consideration has been given to the unique cultural, developmental and
environmental aspects of a college campus and the population it serves. For
many college-aged students, peer-to-peer relationships often play an important
and highly influential role in a student’s life. According to depression
screenings conducted at University of Texas, 67% of students who disclosed
suicide ideation first chose to tell a peer.
“Peer support groups offer students a sense of belonging by providing access to
a shared experience. It says to students, “I get it” and destigmatizes and
normalizes the experience of mental health symptoms, says Moira McDade, MSW,
MPH, with Screening for Mental Health, Inc. “Additionally, a small peer to peer
group shifts the problem and responsibility of suicide from the individual to
the group, capitalizing on empathy and reducing stigma.”
Screening for Mental Health, Inc. has recently developed a culturally competent
suicide prevention program for colleges. This program is based on years of
experience in mental health education, qualitative and quantitative data
collection and program formatting based on an awarding winning suicide
prevention program for middle schools and high schools, as well as the ground
breaking research of Dr. Doug Jacobs, who is president and CEO of Screening for
Mental Health, and a nationally recognized expert on suicide and depression.
The new suicide prevention program is designed for small groups of students led
by peer leaders to work in conjunction with at least one clinical professional.
“This partnership ensures a continuity of individual response, referral, and
treatment services that might result from program participation,” McDade
explains.
The DORA (Depression Outreach Alliance) project is a new college suicide
prevention program developed by CollegeResponse, that is meant to be
administered to small groups of students by peer leader groups working in
conjunction with clinical professionals on campus. Currently, only 50 kits are
being produced and distributed to special interest groups on campus, but stay
tuned because kits will be available for all colleges this fall. For more
information, email college@mentalhealthscreening.org
or call our program office at: 781-239-0071.