Davis et al. (2021) investigated the barriers to mental health treatment seeking on university campuses. Based on the findings, researchers created eight recommendations to decrease mental health stigma, particularly as it pertained to university aged students and their help-seeking behaviours. The recommendations are as follows:
Facilitate interactions between peers with lived mental illness experience and individuals with little knowledge about psychiatric disorders.
Assess mental health service demand and offer resources and referrals accordingly.
Identify technology and media commonly used among students, and reach students using their preferred methods.
Make mental health services known on campus through advertising and hosting student-friendly events.
Emphasize self-care and offer resources to enhance student wellness.
Adapt service accessibility to student needs by offering later and more flexible appointment times and hiring clinicians with specializations in common psychiatric disorders (e.g., anxiety and depressive disorders).
Use incentives, especially food, to draw attention to events and increase attendance.
Care for the clinical team, as mental health practitioners often experience burnout or secondary trauma.
Citation
Davis, R. A., Wolfe, J., & Heiman, N. (2021). Increasing utilization of student mental health services on a college campus: Eight actionable tips. Journal of American College Health. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1080/07448481.2021.1909035
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