Focus On Mental Health

By Ellen Kahle

Miami University journalism student

It's no secret that college students are under a lot of stress. Research shows that many college students struggle with anxiety, depression, and poor relationships while pursuing their studies.

At Miami University the Mental Health Ally Program (MHA) trains volunteers to offer support to students, faculty, and staff who feel like they are struggling with their mental health. Anyone who is interested can take an eight hour course to learn about mental health issues. They're also provided information on how to connect people to the care that can help them.

"The program was started as a way in which to elicit support from the campus community in identifying, responding to, and referring students in distress to counseling," says Jennifer Young, Assistant Director for Outreach and Programming at Miami's Student Counseling Services. "For many years, there has been a national (and international) interest and investment in mental health issues. Our goal with the MHA program was to raise awareness about mental health issues on college campuses and provide training to interested individuals about how to help us in referring students for assistance."

She does make it clear that once people go through the training to become mental health allies, they are not by any means psychologists. The allies are trained to evaluate individuals and assess what kind of care they need and then refer them to someone who can help.

Help In Residence Halls

Ryan Toney, a Resident Assistant (RA) in Bishop Hall, says that RAs are also told what to look for in terms of their own residents' mental health.

"Resident assistants go through extensive training during the month of August, before the semester starts. During this time period, lasting roughly two weeks, we are exposed to a plethora of ideas and concepts, many of which focus on building relationships with our residents within the halls," Toney says. "We are not only meant to be role models and resources to residents, but also friends and shoulders to lean on when times get rough."

Miami sophomore Rachel Thieman says the university does a good job of making sure students have what they need but there is still something holding a lot of people back from getting the help.

"I think Miami could help students with their mental health by possibly providing more free therapy sessions than they do already or giving them some other options if they are unable to pay the fees," Theiman says. "I feel like a lot of students get worried about paying for sessions."

#BellLetsTalk Social Media Campaign

Students also have digital options when seeking information about or support for mental health struggles. Campaigns in social media spaces such as Twitter or Instagram can help make mental health issues more visible.

One of those is the campaign Bell Let's Talk.

The campaign, based in Canada, was first launched in September 2010. It's raised more than 79-million dollars for mental health programs. Organizers hope to raise more than 100-million by 2020.

Using the hashtag #bellletstalk, individuals in Twitter can share their experiences with mental illness as well as offer support for people who need help.

The Bell Let's Talk organizers hope the campaign can help lessen the stigma around mental illness as well as connect people to resources they might not otherwise know about.

Miami University's Student Counseling Service is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.