The DORA College Program (Depression OutReach Alliance) was launched in 2009 as a peer-based suicide prevention and mental health program. Peer leader groups work in tandem with clinical professionals to administer the program to small groups of students. This involves various activities that convey the importance of professional help-seeking and early intervention in preventing suicide.
In 2011, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center/American Foundation listed DORA in the Best Practices Registry for Suicide Prevention. With a foundation in peer support and open dialogue, DORA provides structure and consistency to an ordinarily difficult conversation. But it is "on the ground," in practice, that the DORA program has really proved its worth.
At Towson University outside of Baltimore, the program has been aiding and informing students since 2010. Megan Phillips is a junior at Towson and joined a campus group called Active Minds in her freshman year.
"Active Minds is a student group focused on raising awareness and reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness," says Phillips. "We’ve been offering DORA presentations with our school counseling center as long as I have been with them. Mental health advocacy has always been important to me as I am someone who has struggled with mental health issues."
Phillips goes on to explain how DORA is implemented at Towson.
"We work closely with our counseling center when presenting DORA — usually one counseling center representative and one or two Active Minds members attend each presentation," she says. "We start with an icebreaker and some basic facts about depression. We then watch the video and follow it with a discussion. We also make sure that there are handouts from the counseling center at all our events, including DORA, so that students know how to get help."
Phillips adds, "The discussion is probably the most important part of the presentation because participants can learn something from the materials in the packet as well as each other. We advertise the presentation to all student groups on campus but have found the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] community particularly receptive. I think the DORA program is a great program but there is some difficulty getting student groups to participate because suicide is a taboo topic and people don’t want to discuss it."
Peer-based programs have very specific strengths and these are particularly relevant for DORA. Research has found that students are more comfortable and open when communicating with peers about sensitive subjects like sex, drugs, depression, eating disorders and suicide. Therefore, they are likely to gain more from a discussion or group session involving a peer or peer-leader. The ability to relate, to empathize, to "speak the same language," should not be undervalued when trying to connect on a meaningful level about something as serious, and personal, as suicide. That the DORA program is peer based is definitely one of its most effective features.
Each DORA kit includes a DVD, an implementer’s guide, and 40 student workbooks.
The DORA DVD – which profiles college students who have struggled with depression and suicidal ideation and are now in recovery – was chosen as a finalist in the 2010 New York Festivals. Watch the trailer here.
CLICK HERE to order the DORA kit or other materials from our CollegeResponse program.