Tag: mental health
![One day after the mass shooting incident at Michigan State University in February, a University of Florida (UF) student called the UF Police Department (UFPD) concerned about a classmate who was researching guns and ammunition. Instead of just police responding to the call, a trained behavioral health specialist was also dispatched. “Our clinicians and officers spent three hours with that person to really flesh out why he was searching what he was searching,” says Meggen Sixbey, PhD, assistant director of the Behavioral Services Division of UFPD and a co-responder. “Do we have evidence to be concerned? In those three hours with him, they learned that he was in fear of his own safety [due to] things that were going on in his own life.” Without UF’s co-responder approach, Sixbey says, the situation could have escalated quickly or ended differently, and the student may not have received appropriate help. Due to widespread concern around mental health and fears of escalation caused by law enforcement response, partnerships between police and behavioral health specialists are growing across higher education campuses. Experts see this collaboration as a way to aid the most vulnerable by connecting them with needed resources and support. Collaborations differ campus to campus based on institutional needs. While some new programs, like the one at UF, dispatch counselors directly to the scene with police officers, others do not involve immediate on-site clinician response to dispatch situations. The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, for example, works with both municipal and campus police to provide mental health support services to students, all of whom live off campus. University case managers help officers on the scene when there is no perceived imminent danger. Additional support is provided by the Campus Assessment, Response & Evaluation (CARE) Team, which is a common type of program at colleges and universities. The goal is to reach students before their situation becomes critical. The CARE Team reviews referrals for urgent mental health support among students and connects them to campus resources such as case management and additional counseling services. When assessing a threat, each situation is evaluated based on the NABITA Risk Rubric, a tool used in triaging mental health concerns with an interdisciplinary team approach, says Jan Gascoigne, PhD, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, and associate clinical professor. “Often the situation is determined not to be a threat but really just someone who is struggling and needs help,” she says. “We’d rather try to work with that person, figure out what’s going on, and get them the help they need without having to escalate to a police intervention. Our campus police have the same philosophy.” New programs expand mental health services in dispatch situations, with projects being introduced at Johns Hopkins University, The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Oregon, Colorado State University, and California State University, Long Beach. During a six-month trial in the city of Denver, in which mental health specialists were paired with police to respond to calls involving trespassing and other nonviolent events, a 34 percent drop in crimes was reported, or approximately 1,400 fewer criminal offenses, according to the Stanford University report “A Community Response Approach to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Crises Reduced Crime,” published last year. UF’s program launched in July and is the first in the nation led by a campus police department, Sixbey says. Calls are answered by UFPD, which contacts clinicians when there is a mental health component. Situations might include, for example, a student who threatens suicide, someone who was just fired from their job, or an individual whose property was stolen. It’s essential to decriminalize mental health, or mitigate criminal offenses in such calls, Sixbey says. It’s also important to de-escalate situations with clinically trained professionals to help reduce hospitalizations, which are often traumatic, she says. The UF team is looking for more effective ways to enhance efforts to assist underrepresented individuals because the relationship between these communities and law enforcement has historically been strained, a circumstance highlighted by recent social justice activism and political attention paid to policing. In addition to a campus climate survey, UF is conducting focus groups to see how underrepresented communities on campus view the program. Preliminary feedback points to possible changes in police uniforms, where officers would wear a pin or patch to identify themselves as Crisis Intervention Team trained, which means they have received mental health instruction to guide interactions. Individuals surveyed also showed interest in making the clinician the lead responder instead of an officer. This model was used successfully a couple of months ago, Sixbey says. A faculty member of color called regarding a Black student who made a concerning statement about suicide and left the classroom abruptly. The caller didn’t want police to go to the student’s home because they were aware he had experienced past interactions with law enforcement, but the caller still felt a wellness check was warranted. Based on the information provided, the clinician was able to strategize and lead the interaction. They found that the fears the instructor had regarding the student’s mental health were not present and that he was thankful for the tailored response. “Why a program like this is so beneficial, especially to underrepresented populations, is simply because it provides an additional resource which is an alternative to law enforcement response,” Sixbey says. “Even the best law enforcement officer with an abundance of mental health and crisis intervention team training is still an officer. When you can bring a mental health worker to the scene, it can shift the dynamic and allow for a noncriminal approach to a noncriminal matter.”](https://www.insightintodiversity.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Crisis-Response-1-324x160.png "Counselor-Police Response Partnerships Benefit Students in Crisis")
Counselor-Police Response Partnerships Benefit Students in Crisis
One day after the mass shooting incident at Michigan State University in February, a University of Florida (UF) student called the UF Police Department...
Yale Revises Mental Health Policies
Yale University recently announced changes to its mental health policies in an effort to better support students in crisis.
The Ivy-League institution will now allow...
Lawsuit Alleges Yale University Discriminates Against Students with Mental Illness
Current and former Yale University students filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the institution, alleging school officials discriminate against students with mental illness and pressure...
Virtual Therapy Helps Colleges Meet a Growing Need Amid Increased Demand...
Over the past few years, college counselors have struggled to serve a rising number of students with mental health issues. “Trends in College Student...
Suicide Risk Greater Among LGBTQ+ Students with No Access to Mental...
Providing campus mental health services to college and university students who identify as LGBTQ+ can greatly reduce their risk of suicide, according to a...
Study Finds Mental Health Tops List of Student Concerns
College students in the U.S. say their own mental health is their biggest stress factor, according to a recent study. Nearly 70 percent of...
University of Texas System Invests $16.5M in Student Mental Health, Safety...
This week, the University of Texas (UT) System Board of Regents approved the allocation of $16.5 million over the next five years to enhance...
University Research Centers Lead Groundbreaking Efforts to Improve Military Service-Related Mental...
The mental health crisis among current and former members of the armed forces continues to be a pressing concern nationwide, with much research showing...
BIPOC Mental Health Month
Colleges and Universities Offer Psychological Services for Students of Color
This July marks the 14th annual observance of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) Mental...
United Negro College Fund, Steve Fund Partner to Advance Mental Health...
This week, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and The Steve Fund, a nonprofit organization that promotes mental well-being among young people of color,...
Education Department Urges Colleges to Use HEERF Funding for Mental Health...
The U.S. Department of Education is encouraging colleges and universities across the country to use Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) to provide or...
Nursing and Pharmacy Education Prepares Students to Enter Professions in Crisis
Although anxiety, burnout, and other mental health issues have long been concerns for the health care fields, the emotional toll from the COVID-19 pandemic...
Addressing the Lack of Black Mental Health Professionals
Over the last year, Black communities experienced an inordinate amount of hardship. A recent study of first-year college students by the University of North...
Universities Offer Mental Health Support for Students in Wake of Derek...
Numerous higher education institutions have offered mental health resources amidst the trial for Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who was found guilty...
UT Austin Police Department Creates Mental Health Response Team
The University of Texas at Austin Police Department (UTPD) recently launched a crisis intervention team to respond to mental health calls, KXAN reported this...
Universities Offer Mental Health Support to Vulnerable Student Populations During the...
When colleges and universities closed their doors last spring amid rising COVID-19 cases, many vulnerable student populations were left without critical campus resources.
Being unable...
Kansas State University Annual Drag Show Highlights Diversity, Equity, and Community...
For more than a decade, Kansas State University (K-State) has held a yearly drag show sponsored by the Student Governing Association, K-State Union Program...
Faculty at Risk: Colleges Can Support Faculty Mental Health During Stressful...
While the COVID-19 pandemic has created a range of challenges for many professionals, college and university faculty face unique stressors during this time of...
Improving the Legal Profession’s Mental Health Crisis Begins in Law School
Researchers have known for decades that the legal profession is riddled with mental health crises and substance abuse issues. The problem has even been...
Academic Medicine Steps Up to Improve Mental Health Support for African...
The glaring racial inequities in coronavirus cases and deaths have brought international attention to health disparities for African Americans. Steven Starks, MD, clinical assistant...
Colleges and Universities Expand Suicide Prevention Efforts Thanks to Federal Grant
More than a thousand students at Texas A&M University (TAMU) will walk across campus tonight bearing signs that read, “Someone cares about you,” “There’s...
Pilot Program Is Successful in Changing Student Attitudes Toward Mental Health,...
An experimental program to reduce stigma around mental health issues has proven successful at Indiana University Bloomington (IU), according to researchers.
National nonprofit organization Bring...
Inconsistent Mental Healthcare at Community Colleges Harms a Vulnerable Student Population
In August 2017, just as the Houston Community College System’s 20 campuses were poised to start the fall semester, Hurricane Harvey dumped more than...
Revised List of Mental Health Disorders Affects Transgender, Higher Education Community
The World Health Organization (WHO) approved several major revisions to its list of diagnosable medical conditions, known as the International Classification of Diseases and...
College Students Form Their Own Advocacy Groups to Shape Mental Health...
Students attending college right out of high school face the daunting reality of taking on new challenges at an age when mental health issues...
