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BOSTON - August 15, 2007 - Outside The Classroom, the leading online prevention company, is pleased to announce that it will launch a new online program aimed at assisting personnel at institutions and Greek organizations with identifying and responding to student mental health issues. Designed specifically for administrators, faculty, and staff, MentalHealthEdu provides tools and information that promote a community-based approach for assisting distressed students. The program intends to encourage a safe and healthy campus environment through population-level education and early intervention.
"Student mental health has become a leading concern on our nation's college campuses," said Outside The Classroom's Founder and CEO, Brandon Busteed. "Our company has a history of addressing epidemic-level public health issues and, based on various indicators, mental health has risen to that level. We received dozens of calls from clients asking us to help provide population-level mental health support services, so it became apparent that Outside The Classroom could be part of the solution. With our extensive experience in online alcohol prevention and health promotion on college campuses for the last seven years, and understanding the strong co-occurring linkages between alcohol use and mental health issues, this new program is a natural and meaningful extension for us."
MentalHealthEdu engages an entire campus community in the campaign for overall student wellness. This innovative program stresses the important role of administrators, faculty, and staff by empowering them to identify and assist distressed students. Participants learn about the increasing number of mental health issues on college campuses and the leading causes of distress in students. Suggestions on approaching distressed students and exercises that present realistic situations help administrators play an effective role in health promotion by giving participants the skills to feel confident in offering support and directing students to appropriate campus resources.
MentalHealthEdu's community approach is designed to:
- Reduce stigma associated with mental health issues
- Support student retention
- Promote early intervention
- Supplement and create visibility for other campus mental health programs and services
Without an effective community approach towards health promotion, mental health issues have the ability to adversely affect campus culture and graduation rates. From 1989-2001, Kansas State University found that the number of students with documented cases of depression doubled, and the percentage of students taking psychiatric medications rose from 10% to 25%. In 2003, the University of Idaho Student Counseling Center discovered that 77% of participating students reported that without counseling, their academic performance would have declined and with counseling, they were more likely to stay in school. In a study published by the American Journal of Psychiatry in 1995, researchers found that 5% of students left college prematurely due to psychiatric disorders. The same study also estimated that 4.29 million people in the United States would have graduated from college if they had not experienced a psychiatric disorder.
"A community approach to student mental health awareness is critical for the enhancement of a healthy and safe campus culture," said Busteed. "It is our hope that MentalHealthEdu can be a cornerstone for other mental health initiatives, campaigns, and outreach programs at institutions nationwide."
The company's curriculum team includes prevention professionals, assessment and evaluation experts, experienced educators, and leading scientists. In preparation for program development, Outside The Classroom hosted an Expert Summit on August 9, 2007 to gather feedback and input. Participants included: Richard Ferraro, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Virginia Institute of Technology; Dr. Alan Glass, Director of Heath Services, Washington University in St. Louis; Dr. Richard Kadison, Director of Mental Health Services, Harvard University; Dr. Timothy Marchell, Director of Mental Health Initiatives, Cornell University; and Dr. Michelle Riba, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan.
In addition to the launch of MentalHealthEdu, Outside The Classroom welcomed nationally recognized prevention expert William DeJong, Ph.D., as Director of Program Research and Development and reached a major milestone, as the one-millionth student completed AlcoholEdu®, the company's flagship online prevention program.
About Outside The Classroom
The leader in online prevention, Outside The Classroom has spent seven years focused on tackling high-risk drinking and the related epidemic-level health issues by delivering programs designed for population-level application. The company offers a variety of programs, including AlcoholEdu, SexualAssaultEdu™, and MentalHealthEdu, developed for students, parents, and higher education faculty and staff. All of Outside The Classroom’s programs take a non-opinionated, science- and evidence-based approach, helping to support safe and healthy campus communities. Led by William DeJong, Ph.D., the company’s development team includes prevention professionals, assessment and evaluation experts, experienced educators, and leading scientists. Outside The Classroom collaborates with many prominent organizations, including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
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