“Where I was, was a very dark place, and I felt like I was in a hole and I
couldn’t get out,” said Melissa of her college experience.
This student, along with more than two-thirds of college students nationwide,
will make this confession to a peer such as a roommate, romantic partner or a
friend. Only 11 percent of students will actually share their suicidal thoughts
with a counseling professional.
Not surprisingly, college life presents the push and pull of dependence and
independence and an increasingly wider and influential peer network—from
classmates, teammates, and roommates, among others. Using this vast network of
peers that students’ not only seek out, but also identify with, is what serves
as the foundation for creating a peer-education suicide prevention program.
New from Screening for Mental Health (SMH) is The DORA College Program (Depression
Outreach Alliance), a mental health wellness and suicide
peer-to-peer prevention program. The main teaching tool of the program is an
educational DVD (recently chosen as a finalist in the 2010 New York Festivals®)
that profiles college students who struggled with depression and suicidal
ideation while in school and are now in recovery thanks to the support of peers
and mental health professionals. Along with these interviews, the DVD also
features an acted scenario modeling a successful intervention as well as input
from college counselors (watch
a preview of the DVD).
“Including students in the process of creating and maintaining an inclusive
campus environment, which provides opportunities for students to connect with
one another along commonly experienced feelings of stress, depression and
self-destructive thinking, will provide students with both a sense of social
responsibility and a lasting culture towards good mental health practices,” says
Douglas G. Jacobs, M.D., associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School and founder of SMH.
The DORA College Program is meant to be administered to small groups of students
by peer leader groups working in conjunction with clinical professionals on
campus. The program consists of several activities designed to teach students
the importance of early intervention and professional help-seeking when it comes
to suicide prevention.
This past spring, a number of schools participated in a pilot program for The
DORA College Program. The feedback received from peer leaders and students
reinforces the importance and need for peer-to-peer programming on college
campuses nationwide. Peer leaders noted that of the many issues raised by
students during the discussion session, reducing stigma and raising awareness
about mental illness were considered very important. Other issues that the
students discussed included not knowing how to broach the subject of mental
illness, informing faculty members about student mental health crises, and
wanting to feel capable of truly helping. In addition to peer leaders’ comments,
participating students were asked about their thoughts and reaction to the DVD
and educational materials. For confidentiality purposes, names and school
affiliation are removed.
“I felt connected. I felt that I wasn't the only one who is or was going
through that.”
“I think this video really impacted me. I feel capable to help others more
than before and that's exciting! It's good to feel capable of helping others.”
“The feelings that this video generated helped me focus on the educational
information presented. It helped me relate things to my own life and think about
the people around me that are or could be affected by mental health issues.”
The DORA College Program Kit is $100 and includes: 1) One implementation guide
for peer leaders; 2) 15 individual student workbooks with screening forms; 3)
One educational DVD; 4) Access to a downloads page with extra materials
including a PDF of the poster, multimedia links, and public relations materials
for use with the school newspaper.
To download a copy of the CollegeResponse brochure, go to
https://mentalhealthscreening.org/college/ and click on the registration
form PDF in the “What’s New?” column. You can also register online by
click here. For more information about The DORA College Program, please
contact
college@mentalhealthscreening.org or call 781-239-0071.