Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, and Fighting the Stigma

Students, faculty, and staff can stop the stigma! How?

Educate yourself on college student mental health. Learn about the Counseling Center resources: visit our website, visit our Center when you are on campus, call us and ask about our services, invite us to present for your class, residence hall, or student group.

Talk openly about mental health. Talk about your own efforts to learn new ways to cope. Share ways in which you see others learning about wellness and mental health.

Reduce stigma for seeking help. Offer compassion and discreet discussions regarding disclosures of emotional concerns, treatment, academic exception letters, and OSS accommodation letters.

Encourage bystander intervention. It is quite likely that if you are noticing another’s distress, they may not yet be receiving help. Keep in mind that no “ideal” interventions actually exist, and that saying anything at all is far better than saying nothing– or being a bystander.