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BOSTON - October 9, 2007 - Outside The Classroom, the nation's leading online prevention company, today announced the launch of MentalHealthEdu, an online program aimed at assisting college, university, and Greek organization personnel in identifying and responding to student mental health issues. The program encourages a safe and healthy campus environment through population-level education and early intervention. The program is available today.
"Outside The Classroom has always been dedicated to addressing the epidemic-level public health issues that face today's students. We have been watching the issue of mental health on college campuses for several years, and data, like that from the American College Health Association, now tell us that this issue has indeed reached that level," said Brandon Busteed, Founder and CEO of Outside The Classroom. "With co-occurring linkages to alcohol, an issue that has been our core focus for seven years, mental health-related work is a natural 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 for approaching distressed students and exercises that present realistic situations help administrators, faculty, and staff play an effective role in health promotion by giving them 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 can 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%. Further, in 2006, the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment found that during a 12-month period, 42% of college students felt so depressed at times that it was difficult to function and 9% had seriously considered suicide.
"Our goal is to help foster safe and healthy campuses," said Busteed. "MentalHealthEdu aims to do this by utilizing a community approach, engaging the entire campus in addressing a critical health issue."
In preparation for program development, Outside The Classroom hosted an Expert Summit on August 9, 2007 to gather feedback and input. Participants included: Dr. Richard Ferraro, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Virginia Tech; Dr. Alan Glass, Director of Student 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.
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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