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The Chronicle features expert advice from Michelle Mullen, researcher and director of Helping Youth on the Path to Employment (HYPE), which teaches “executive-functioning skills” to students with serious mental health conditions. Mullen says skills such as time and task management, prioritization, and organization can be delayed when mental illness affects the frontal lobe, “the region of the brain responsible for executive functioning.” In a similar program called NITEO, Dori Hutchinson, executive director at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University, teaches coping skills for students on leave in order to return to college. Read more on the topic from the Mary Christie Quarterly article “This Is Us: Supporting Students with Serious Mental Health Conditions in College” and our Quadcast episode with Dr. Hutchinson.
Inside Higher Ed reports on findings that show that LGBTQ+ students suffer more from substance misuse, depression, suicidal ideation and academic and extracurricular disengagement compared to non-LGBTQ+ peers. According to the survey of 907 students, which was conducted by the Proud & Thriving Project, the Jed Foundation and the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, mental health has worsened for LGBTQ+ young adults during the pandemic. The report recommends encouraging all students to become familiar with LGBTQ+ resources on college campuses. “When students have to continuously remind people what their pronouns are and how important that is, and people are dismissive about it … I think that’s really harmful,” said Sofia Pertuz, senior adviser at the Jed Foundation.
Other News
A new teletherapy program at a rural tribal college in Wisconsin will connect its students, staff, and faculty to licensed counselors whenever needed. Serving mostly indigenous students, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College is working to provide 24/7 access to meet demand for services.
Binghamton University is launching a new student of color mentoring program to help first-year students of color adjust emotionally, socially, and academically to college life. Binghamton’s affirmative action officer, Ada Robinson-Perez, PhD, says that according to research, underrepresented minority students “tend to underutilize mental health resources.”
WSU Insider reports that many first-year college students are reporting pet separation anxiety. A study conducted by Washington State University showed that petting dogs or cats for merely 10 minutes can lower stress levels of cortisol.
In an op-ed for EdSurge, Jennifer Henry, LPC, CCATP, director of the Counseling Center at Maryville University, writes about the mental health warning signs to look out for on college students and recommends training in Mental Health First Aid.