Improving mental wellness in college environments

There is strong evidence showing that rates of anxiety and depression are rising in America, even when considering effects like increased reporting due to greater acceptance of mental illness. This increase includes college students [1]. From conversations I have had with teachers, it is clear that college students are suffering from this increase in mental illness.

As an educator and future mentor, I want to hep find solutions to this problem. In pursuing my certificate for Science, Technology, and Public Policy, I took a class by Daniel Eisenberg about mental health policy in the United States (HMP 693, for those interested). The class focused on the mental health policy surrounding children and teenagers. We learned about possible causes for the increase in mental health issues as well as evidence-based interventions that save money and improve mental health outcomes in students. I even wrote a paper about how elementary school educators could improve mental health outcomes in lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals based on evidence-based methods.

Additionally, I co-organized a town hall meeting with graduate students in my department to address, in part, the mental health challenges facing graduate students. The town hall came about in response to a survey conducted by other PhD students in my department that showed that there were mental health problems in the graduate community. We coordinated with the Center for Engineering Diversity and Outreach to facilitate the meeting so that all students felt comfortable to speak and be heard.

The reason I want to improve mental wellness in college environments is because mental wellness is essential to the creative wellness of college environments. In order to get the most creative work from students, we need to meet them at their level and work with the disabilities and struggles they face. We cannot ignore this looming problem for doing so will limit the success of engineering.

References

[1] Center for Collegiate Mental Health. (2017). Center for Collegiate Mental Health 2017 Annual Report. Penn State. https://sites.psu.edu/ccmh/files/2018/01/2017_CCMH_Report-1r3iri4.pdf