Quicker access to care and more personalized support headline changes

2023年10月2日,星期一
学生进进出出的校园建筑

24岁的Ranae Reardon不需要读任何花哨的报告就能告诉她,学生的心理健康是大学校园里的一个重大挑战.

这些报告当然存在, 根据美国心理协会引用的一项健康心理研究,它们相当有说服力, 在2020-2021学年,超过60%的大学生至少符合一项心理健康问题的标准, 在另一项全国性调查中, nearly three-out-of-four students reported moderate or severe psychological distress.

But Reardon has all the evidence she needs right in front of her.

“作为一名学生,我看到我的同龄人在挣扎,”里尔登说. “这是我们生活中压力极大的时期, 对心理健康有足够的支持是至关重要的.”

主要研究 has heard those signals loud and clear – and is taking action. In response to the sharp rise in demand for student mental health services in recent years, 心理及谘询服务 (PACS)已经公布了一些 新举措 旨在帮助学生更快地获得所需的护理,并获得更好的个性化支持,以满足他们的个人需求.

从这学期开始, students can establish non-urgent care with a PACS therapist via initial phone consultation, 大大缩短了与咨询师交谈的等待时间. PACS has also expanded its Peer Ambassador Program to offer peer support on a drop-in basis, 让那些想找人聊天的学生可以选择直接和同学联系.

Though the initiatives are only weeks old, the impact is already tangible. Elisa博尔顿, PACS主任, 他说,学生通常可以在三到五个工作日内安排一次电话咨询,这大大改善了在某些情况下,在这些变化之前,等待时间长达三周.

“We’ve really worked to be responsive to student concerns,博尔顿说。. “通过这些变化,我们能够在同一时期接触到的学生数量是以前的两倍.”

“我们确实在努力回应学生的担忧. 通过这些变化,我们能够在同一时间内接触到的学生人数是以前的两倍."

增加了里尔登, 她在学生会的健康与健康委员会担任主席:“我已经从很多学生那里听说,他们对自己能够如此迅速地安排预约印象深刻.”

最初的电话咨询不是咨询会议, but rather an opportunity for students to share concerns with a therapist, 谁能确定每个学生的需求,并帮助提供个性化的护理计划和优先考虑下一步.

Another benefit of early intervention through phone consultations, 博尔顿说, 那些最终可能需要咨询服务之外的服务的学生是否可以更快地重新定向到合适的来源-那些可能正在与饥饿作斗争或不确定如何支付租金的学生, 例如.

至于扩大的同伴大使计划, students can drop-in to the PACS office Monday through Thursday between 3 p.m. 还有5p.m. 和一个提供同伴支持的学生谈谈. 在项目开始前,同学大使们接受了为期两天的培训,以了解回应学生需求的最佳方式,并知道何时有必要向学生推荐其他资源寻求帮助.

“有时候学生们真的很想和最近经历过同样事情的人谈谈, 比如分手或与父母或室友意见不合, where they just kind of need someone to hear them and remind them how much they matter,博尔顿说。.

另外, 扩大的同伴支持计划可能提供一种方法来对抗学生有时在寻求心理健康支持时感到的恐惧. 

“对很多学生来说, it can be really intimidating calling PACS and going there alone,24岁的Ande Allison说, 前学生运动咨询委员会心理健康主席,在校园里积极倡导心理健康. “A stigma around asking for help when it comes to mental health concerns still exists. 我认为,同伴的支持将为学生提供一种不那么令人生畏的寻求帮助的方式,并可以为采取下一步行动和与心理健康专家交谈提供桥梁.”

除了许多其他健康促进工作和健康指导服务,卫生工作人员 & Wellness offer, they have also recently introduced self-assessment tools like the 幸福轮 并与PACS合作 “你好吗——真的?” initiative, which encourages honest discussion and use of campus resources and proven strategies.

轮盘将健康分为八类,并对每一类的最佳健康状况进行了描述, 而“你好吗??” tool is designed to encourage students to answer the question, “how are you?” thoughtfully and honestly, rather than just providing the rote “good” in response. 它旨在鼓励学生更公开地检查自己和彼此,并在必要时帮助彼此找到适当的支持.

“This prioritization would not happen without the advocacy and voices of students. 我很高兴我们的管理人员, 院长, 教授和其他处于领导地位的人都在倾听学生们在推动和争取什么.”

All of these changes are designed to improve student mental health, but they are also notably student-driven – something Allison is proud of.

“This prioritization would not happen without the advocacy and voices of students,” Allison says. “我很高兴我们的管理人员, 院长, 教授和其他处于领导地位的人都在倾听学生们在推动和争取什么.”

最大的障碍仍然是向全体学生宣传这些服务. 作为学生,里尔登和艾利森都对心理健康是大学优先关注的事实表示赞赏, 但两人也都指出,大多数学生仍然可以更好地了解他们可以获得的信息.

“在我看来,学生们越来越意识到这些支持选择的存在,但仍然相对未知,里尔登说. “PACS提供的不仅仅是个人咨询,我真的希望需要帮助的学生知道他们在这里.”

While outreach remains a challenge and student mental health is a critical issue nationwide, 博尔顿认为,永利app新版本官网地址采取的措施反映了全校范围内解决这些问题的承诺,并将永利app新版本官网地址定位为倾听学生心声和创造每个人都能蓬勃发展的环境的领导者.

“老实说,我相信我们在这方面相当领先. It’s not just reactive; all the way up to upper administration there’s a general commitment here that everybody demonstrates their investment in students, that when student mental health and emotional well-being are attended to, 这就是学生茁壮成长的时候,博尔顿说。. “Sometimes people feel like they have to go it alone, but they don’t. 校园里有很多专业人士在你遇到危机的时候帮助你,帮助你在永利app新版本官网地址创造你想要的东西.”

我们鼓励需要支持的学生与PACS联系. PACS每天24小时提供紧急服务, seven days a week by calling 603-862-2090 (Relay NH: 1-800-735-2964). 如有非紧急事宜,亦可透过电邮(电邮地址 pacs@主要研究.edu or students can visit the office on the third floor of Smith Hall at 3 Garrison Ave.

摄影师: 
杰里米Gasowski | 主要研究营销 | 杰里米.gasowski@主要研究.edu | 603-862-4465