The University has implemented and gotten approval for a number of mental health initiatives, including an expansion of the UMatter program, since it joined the Jed and Clinton Health Matters Campus Programin October 2014.
The program works with universities to implement and reassess policies involving mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention programming on campus, according to theCampus Program Framework. Member institutions are required to commit to this program for at least four years and work with the program to develop and reassess various initiatives in place.
Dr. Victor Schwartz, medical director of the Jed Foundation, explained that when a college joins the program, it is committing to form a campus-wide mental health task force and engage in a series of surveys which are used by the school to assess mental health and substance abuse prevention programming. The university then works with the Jed Foundation to develop a strategic plan to address gaps in programs and policies, he said.
“We continue to work with the school through four years of participation to look for further program development and make sure progress is continued and sustained,” he said.
There are currently 100 colleges and universities involved including the University,according to the program website.
Calvin Chin, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services, explained that the University joined the program out of its commitment to improve its services and to ensure that it is in line with best practices nationally. He added that there was no event in particular that spurred the University to join the Program.
Chin noted that the Program confirmed the importance of some of the initiatives the University had already started, including Princeton Distress Awareness and Response and the UMatter initiatives.
“Although the planning for UMatter started years before we joined the Campus Program, we were encouraged that it fit so well within the program framework,” he said.
The UMatter initiative encourages active bystander behavior and provides students with life skills around how to manage stress, Chin said. Gatekeeper training and life skills development are both components of the Campus Program framework, he added.
He said that PDAR has trained over 700 concerned students, faculty and staff since its launch last fall on how to recognize signs of distress in others and how to appropriately respond and is eager to expand further.
Students who are interested in bringing this training to their organizations can easily request the program through theUMatter website, he said.
Another initiative is the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for graduate students and Koru Mindfulness for undergraduate students, which the University has continued to expand, Chin noted.
Both workshops involve stress management through mindfulness meditation and are intended to help students use the tools they have within themselves to manage their stress, Chin said. He noted that teaching students these skills is an important component of the Campus Program framework.
Schwartz noted that although the array of considerations as noted in theCampus Program Framework is looked at when developing a campus plan, schools are not required to fulfill every recommendation provided by the Framework.
“We have suggested [that] the school needs to examine its challenges, resources, setting and see what is relevant, but we do feel that each element of the framework [needs] to be considered,” he said.
John MacPhee, executive director and CEO of the Jed Foundation, and W. Rochelle Calhoun, Vice President for Campus Life,did not respond to requests for comment.
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