Across the country, college students are experiencing a mental health crisis. More than a third of students nationwide have experienced depression or anxiety, and 14 percent have experienced suicidal ideation, according to the most recent Healthy Minds Network National Data Report.
Worcester State’s Counseling Services offers a number of services to combat this, among them, the Student Support Network, a five-week training program that develops peer advocates who can recognize mental health concerns and find ways to get help for their peers. As the new academic year starts, Counseling Services is looking for more students to join the network.
“Students are much more likely to notice if another student is in emotional distress before that student seeks out help,” said Julie Glovin, assistant director of Counseling Services. “But a lot of times students really don’t know how to talk to another student who they’re concerned about.”
That’s where the Student Support Network comes in. It’s not a counseling program, Glovin says. Instead, it’s a peer-to-peer advocacy program. Students undergo a five-week training in tools to ask difficult questions and then know when—and how—to refer somebody for help. Some of the specific skills students learn include empathic listening skills, signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety, and signs of substance abuse.
When Glovin started at Worcester State in 2016, she expanded the program. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were about 100 students who had gone through the training. When the university resumed on-campus classes in 2021, that number had dwindled to 30. The number of students on campus who are part of the network has rebounded somewhat, to 50, but Glovin and her team are trying to build it back up to pre-pandemic numbers. This is especially important, Glovin says, considering the toll the pandemic has taken on mental health.
Glovin says the Student Support Network is an essential initiative for a number of reasons, most notably because it teaches students empathy and increases a general sense of connection and belonging. “Connection,” she says, “is an important protective factor in terms of suicide prevention.”
The program also aims to raise awareness and reduce stigma around help seeking, teach participants the signs that somebody is struggling significantly with emotional issues, and demonstrate that mental health support makes a difference. Another benefit is that students who participate in the program get to know the counselors. Glovin says this helps them see that the counselors are not going to judge anyone who goes to them for help. This makes it easier for students in the network to refer other students to the counselors. It all goes back to the idea of connection.
Glovin, who has been working in college counseling since 2008, says she has seen an increase in students seeking help. This is partly due, she says, to an increase in need, but it is partly because students are more comfortable asking for help, thanks to efforts to destigmatize mental healthcare.
But more work needs to be done. “Stigma is something a lot of people still struggle with,” says business major Tanner Renaud. “People struggle to open up.” That’s why he appreciates that the SSN training taught him to notice even small signs of distress, like increased fidgeting. Like many of the Student Support Network members, Renaud has experienced mental health issues himself. It’s experience that helps him better understand the struggles his peers are going through.
Senior Cameron Baron can relate to the pressures college students face. “So many more people struggle with this than any of us are willing to admit,” she says. In addition to learning how to recognize warning signs and have uncomfortable conversations with peers, she has found the SSN training personally beneficial. “It’s made me more understanding, being able to picture what other people are going through.”
Lydia Dejesus-Carrion has always been a person that others could go to. “I try to help but reach a point where I don’t know what to say,” she says. The SSN training has empowered her, she says, to do more. “I know I can approach them rather than only saying I’m here for you.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the Student Support Network can email Julie Glovin at jglovin@worcester.edu.
Beyond the Classroom
New Career Development Director wants to engage students early and develop partnerships
Dannie Lacks, the new career development director at Worcester State University, believes he is the "luckiest man alive" because he gets to partner with students and help them land their dream jobs. . . .