The website design and focus was predominately based on the following research, the resources listed on the highlighted scholarly work page, the many resources linked throughout the site, and a number of interviews with students, psychologists, and higher education professionals:
Best practices for mental health services in colleges and universities. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.okhighered.org/campus-safety/resources/CBP-mental-best-practices-higher-ed.pdf.
This Campus Safety and Security Task Force work product from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education offers well researched best practices from national data and experts in the mental health field. This report is inclusive of strategic planning towards institutional mental health action plans and specific steps to take towards the promotion of mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Chessman, H. & Taylor, M. (2019). College student mental health and well-being. A survey of Presidents. Higher Education Today a blog by ACE (American Council on Education). Retrieved from https://www.higheredtoday.org/2019/08/12/college-student-mental-health-well-survey-college-presidents/.
This survey of over 400 College Presidents demonstrates that the mental health crisis on college campuses is being talked about and acted on by administrations. The data indicate that there is not only an increased focus on mental health as a campus-wide priority but also showed that around 72% of those surveyed had already reallocated funds or identified new funding sources. Additionally, over 80% of College Presidents surveyed said that campus mental health is at least mentioned in their strategic plans.
Hunt, J.B., Watkins, D., & Eisenberg, D. (2012). How do college campuses make decisions about allocating resources for student mental health?: Findings from key participant interviews. Journal of College Student Development. 53(6), 850-856.
This qualitative research utilized interviews to gather information from counseling personnel at 10 US institutions. The participants were identified from the Healthy Minds annual survey and were involved in that data collection for that survey on their campuses. While these data are 8 years old, they do provide insight into some factors that might spur increased funding for mental health services on campus: crisis, data, activism, and upper-level leadership.
JED Campus. (n.d). JEDcampus.org.
JED Campus is an branch of The Jed Foundation and specifically designed to support colleges and universities in developing, building, and implementing policies, programs, treatment resources, and assessment to address student mental health and substance use needs and suicide prevention efforts.
Lipson, S. K., Abelson, S., Ceglarek, P., Phillips, M., & Eisenberg, D. (2019). Investing in student mental health: Opportunities and benefits for college leadership. American Council on Education.
As college campuses can be instrumental in education, prevention, and early treatment of mental illness and campus retention is improved when investments are made in the mental health and wellness of college students, this research provides a return on investment tool for each campus to identify what the financial rewards might be for action. Using campus population size, current retention rates, and prevalence of depression, these authors show “the tuition dollars retained as a result of averting mental health-related drop-outs” with their calculator.
Lipson, S. K., Lattie, E. G. & Eisenberg, D. (2018). Increased rates of mental health service utilization by U.S. college students: 10-year population-level trends (2007–2017).
A review of the Healthy Minds Study data reveal not only an increase in mental health problems on campus but also an increase of service utilization on college campuses. The researchers found that in a 10-year period, rates of seeking treatment nearly doubled and rates of documented mental health conditions increased by almost 66%. They do offer a number of possible next steps, including but not limited to, increasing funding and resources.
Martin, J.M. (2010). Stigma and student mental health in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 29(3), 259-274.
This Australian study used an anonymous online 2 step process to ultimately survey college students who had already “experienced mental health difficulties.” The researchers found that while stigma is a huge factor in student mental health, primarily because students with documented mental health chose to rarely disclose their struggle to faculty, staff or administrators for fear of being judged, stigmatized, or discriminated against, the students who completed the survey also noted physical, psychological, and social problems resulting from their mental health issues.
Mental health first aid for higher education. (2014). National Council for Behavioral Health.
This 8 hour course reviews signs of mental illness as well as provides skills necessary for people to support those in crisis. An opportunity to learn terminology, how to have conversations, and what to be looking for, this source offers practical information to users for real life situations.
Michaels, P.J., Corrigan, P.W., Kanodia, N., Buchholz, B., & Abelson, S. (2015). Mental health priorities: Stigma elimination and community advocacy in college settings. Journal of College Student Development 56(8), 872-875.
The authors present a qualitative study to assess advocacy priorities within mental health advocacy on college campuses. They surveyed 46 participants (largely White women) involved in the organization Active Minds both professionals and campus leaders. Their findings suggest that the three top priorities for mental health advocates are: Illness Awareness, Community Involvement, and Stigma Change.
National college health assessment. (2019). American College Health Association. https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHA-II_SPRING_2019_US_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf.
This study, conducted over the span of ten years, is meant to give college and university officials a comprehensive look at the behaviors, attitudes, and health of college students to inform future action. The executive summary gives data from 67,972 respondents. Key mental health findings show that 87% of college students have felt overwhelmed by responsibilities and 84% felt exhausted (not from physical activity).
Roy, N. The rise of mental health on college campuses: Protecting the emotional health of our nation’s college students. Higher Education Today a blog by ACE (American Council on Education). https://www.higheredtoday.org/2018/12/17/rise-mental-health-college-campuses-protecting-emotional-health-nations-college-students/.
This article suggests that campus administrators should take proactive and preventative steps to create systemic cultural change and that will model the importance of campus mental health from senior leadership.
What’s seize the awkward? (2020). Seizetheawkward.org.
This resource is a partnership with the JED Foundation and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and encourages people to start a conversation about mental health even if it’s awkward. This website offers videos, conversations, and specific advice about what to say and why it’s important to start the conversation.
Higher Ed Mental Health 