From Me to You:

Mental Health Awareness in Residential Life

Payton Albrecht & Roxanne Sorci

 Payton Albrecht
• Second year graduate student
• Counseling Adult and Higher Education
• Northern Illinois University
• Graduate Residence Hall Director
• Graduating May 2019

Introductions Roxanne Sorci

• Second year graduate student
• Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• Northern Illinois University
• Residential Community Standards
Graduate Assistant
• Graduating May 2020
 • Participants can help student leaders build
a community of empathy and acceptance
as well as educate against mental health
stigmas/misconceptions.

• Participants will leave with a partial

program outline utilizing research-based
Objectives techniques to overcome cultural
misconceptions in a community.

• Participants will understand the

importance of peer interaction for
individuals with mental health concerns
and of combatting mental health
misconceptions.
 Background

Most four-year institutions provide

counseling services for students.
However, many students who need
help are not asking for it directly,
or at all.

Image Source: Active Minds

(Institute of Medicine, 2009)
 Why are so few students getting help?
Cultural Barriers
• Attitudes, beliefs, norms
• Ethnic background
• Racial background
• Sexuality and gender
identity
• Group membership
• Public vs. Self-Stigma
Systemic Flaws
• Institutionalized social
differentiation and
prejudice
• Misdiagnosis
• Quality of treatment
Image Source: EDC
(Cheng, Kwan & Sevig, 2013)
 Stigmas and Misconceptions

• "Individuals with mental health

conditions are dangerous"

• "Mental illness is a sign of weakness"

• "They need to just snap out of it"

Image Source: EDC​

Facing Fear and Bias

• Examine Assumptions
• Evaluate Conclusions
• Humanize Those Struggling
• Reflect on Language
 • Empathy, according to Carl Rogers is:
• "Temporarily living in other's life, moving about
it delicately and without making judgements"
and "to be with another in this way means that
for the time being, you lay aside your own
views and values in order to enter another's
world without prejudice"
(Cochran, 2015, p.267).
The Power of
Empathy • Why it matters:

• Being empathetic to the situations of others

can promote trust, thus leading to open and
honest communication.

(Cochran, 2015), (Cohen, 2015)

 Teaching Empathy

• Modeling: Walking the walk and talking the talk

• Student leaders are already in a role model position
• Student leaders are often the ones who show peers what the power of
having empathy looks like
• Active listening: Focus on what is being said, rather than a response
• Important when a student leader has peers from both sides come to
them
• Validate the other persons perspective
• Once you "see" why others believe what they believe, acknowledge it.
• Acknowledgement does not always mean equal agreement
 Examples of Empathetic Statements

• Acknowledging their pain:

• Show interest:
• "I am sorry you are going through this." • "How are you feeling about everything?"
• "This must be really hard for you." • "I want to make sure I understand..."

• Sharing how you feel: • Be encouraging:

• "You matter."
• "I cannot imagine what you must be going
through." • "I am proud of you for..."
• "My heart hurt for you."
• Be supportive:
• "I'm here for you."
• Share gratitude that the person opened: • "What do you need right now?"
• "Thank you for trusting me with this, that • "I am happy to listen anytime."
really means a lot."
(Click, 2017)
Strategized
Response
AS PROFESSIONAL STAFF, WE ARE OFTEN LOOKED BREAK UP INTO SMALL GROUPS OF 3-5
TO FOR SOLUTIONS AND ASSISTANCE BY BOTH
COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND STUDENT LEADERS.
In your small group, spend three minutes discussing issues
the stigma of mental illness has created in a community
you work with (ex: residential community, learning
community, leadership committee, etc.)

Strategized Response
Spend the next three minutes determining if there were
similarities in your individual experiences. Based on
common themes, what was it that those students or
residents needed in that moment? (ex: an outlet,
education, community standards)

Strategized Response
For the next ten minutes, begin to build the basic outline
of a program you could implement within the community
of your choice. This could be a program that you host as
an intervention within in a community, or a program you
might assist a student leader in developing.

Strategized Response
 Attitudes About Seeking Help

Attitudes are largely the result of a multitude of anticipated consequences.

• Risk vs. Reward
• Social image
• Physical health
• Gender norms
• Cultural expectations

Social connections have significant implications for the likelihood someone seeks professional help.
•The closer the social connection, the larger the influence
•Typically, those considering seeking help will talk to at least four people from their social circle
before getting help
(Vogel, Wade, Wester, Larson & Hackler, 2007)​
 The Impact of Social
Circles by the Numbers
In a study of 746 college students, student
attitudes about seeking professional help and their
likelihood to do so was measured when the
student was:
• Prompted to seek help by someone who
they knew
• Prompted to seek help by someone who
had sought help before

Those who had been urged to seek help felt there

was more potential to benefit from and more
positive consequences for seeing a mental health
professional than those who had not.

(Vogel, Wade, Wester, Larson & Hackler, 2007)

 The Impact of Social
Circles by the Numbers

Of the participants who reported seeking help:

• 78% had been prompted by a social
connection to seek out help
• 92% reported knowing someone else
who had seen a professional for mental
health concerns
 Normalization will lessen the fear of negative
consequences.
• Open discussion of mental health
concerns
• Transparency of multiple types of
coping mechanisms, especially help
seeking
Benefits of • Acknowledge the benefits for the
individual getting help as well
Normalization as those in their social sphere
• Dispel the notion that a mental
health concern is a rare or
uncommon occurrence
• Consistently validate the
experiences of those with concerns,
whether they're currently seeking
help or not

(Vogel, Wade, Wester, Larson & Hackler, 2007)

 Grant Writing

• Garrett Lee Smith Suicide

Prevention Grant
• NIU Helping Huskies Thrive
• Focuses on suicide prevention on
campus
• Question-Persuade-Refer training
Advocacy • Refer to resource page

Peer to Peer Interaction

• Students helping students

• Hold peers accountable to be a
support network
• Be a safe space and open mind
 How can student leaders and
professional staff advocate?
• Normalize mental health concerns
• Normalize help seeking behaviors
• Utilize services themselves
Advocacy • Be seen in spaces and with people
meant to address campus mental
health concerns
• Actively resist and call out prejudicial
words and actions
• Engage in teachable moments
 Questions and
Feedback

• If you would like a copy of our presentation

and resources, please write down your
contact information.
 References and Resources

References:
Cheng, H., Sevig, T., & Kwan, K.K. (2013). Racial and ethnic minority college students’ stigma associated with seeking psychological help:
Examining psychocultural correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60, 98-111. doi:10.1037/a0031169
Click. L. (2017). 31 Empathetic statements for when you don’t know what to say. Medium. Retrieved
from: https://medium.com/@lauraclick/31-empathetic-statements-for-when-you-dont-know-what-to-say-edd50822c96a
Cochran, J.L., & Cochran, N.H. (2005). The heart of counseling: Counseling skills through therapeutic relationships: New York, Routledge.
National Research Council, & Institute of Medicine. (2009). Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young
people: Progress and possibilities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press
Vogel, D.L., Wage, N.G., Wester, S.R., Larson, L., & Hackler, A.H. (2007). Seeking help from a mental health professional: The influence of
one’s social network. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 63, 233-245. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20345

Resources:
Can We Talk: Mental Health Lesson Plans
A Guide to Campus Mental Health Action Planning
Available Grants from the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration
Additional Grant Opportunities