Mental Health & Wellness Brochure

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ENHANCING MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS IN A TIME OF CHANGE YEARS

3 and 4

As part of Reigniting Our Strategic Directions Goal 3: Enhance the Student Experience, Enhancing Student Mental Health & Wellness in a Time of Change is a holistic, four-year strategic plan that identifies achievable, data-informed goals that will enhance critical health and wellness resources and have a meaningful impact on Seattle University student persistence and retention.

A working group of health and wellness professionals developed this plan based on the lived experiences of Seattle University students and data from the National College Health Assessment and Healthy Minds Study, CARE Team & Early Alert referral trends, departmental program and service usage data and recommendations from the JED Foundation.

Enhancing Student Mental Health & Wellness in a Time of Change focuses on four main objectives:

1. Reduce Mental Health Stigma & Improve Student Wellness and Functioning

2. Improve Faculty & Staff Readiness to Support Student Mental Health

3. Increase Access to Clinical Mental Health and Basic Needs Services

4. Optimize Administrative Processes, Risk Management, Data, and Resources

Each objective is associated with specific goals, many of which support Goal 4 (Inclusive Excellence) by improving access to mental health treatment, wellness resources, and basic needs for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, undocumented, economically disadvantaged, and other marginalized populations. A summary of our accomplishments in Years 1 & 2 and a list of our goals for Years 3 & 4 are below.

WHO IS INVOLVED?

In partnership with colleagues across campus, this effort is led by the “Address Student Wellness Working Group”, part of Reigniting Our Strategic Directions, which includes representatives from:

• Campus Ministry

• Counseling & Psychological Services

• Disability Services

• Office of the Dean of Students

• Student Health Center

• University Recreation

• Wellness & Health Promotion

KEY DATA POINTS

NATIONAL / MENTAL HEALTH

The number of college students seeking counseling services increased nearly between 2009-2015 (CCMH Annual Report, 2015).

of college students met the criteria for at least one mental health problem in the 2020-21 academic year (Healthy Minds Study, 2021).

of students reported symptoms of depression, 37% reported symptoms of anxiety and 15% reported thoughts of suicide (Healthy Minds Study, 2021).

of white college students sought mental health treatment compared to 23% of Asian students, 26% of Black students and 33% of Latino students (Lipson et. al., 2018)

NATIONAL / FOOD SECURITY

As estimated college students experience food insecurity, including approximately 23% of undergraduate students and 12% of graduate students (National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2020).

Black or African American students reported the highest level of food insecurity at . Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students and American Indian or Alaska Native students followed closely, with reported rates of 32.6% and 29.9%, respectively. In contrast, the reported rate of food insecurity for White students (18.0%) and Asian students (17.6%) is nearly half of that of their Black or African American peers” (National Postsecondary Study Aid Study, 2020).

of undergraduate students at four-year non-profit institutions received some kind of emergency aid from their universities (National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2020). 60% 40% 4 million

34.6% 44% 46% 8.9%

KEY DATA POINTS

SEATTLE UNIVERSITY / MENTAL HEALTH

In 2023-24, 1 out of 4 visits — — to the Student Health Center was related to mental health diagnosis and/or treatment.

In 2023-24, CAPS treated unique students in 1,200+ clinic visits.

According to the SU State of the Undergraduate Student Survey (SUSS), participation in UREC activities was the number one strategy students use to promote their mental health. In 2023-24, 3,000+ students, faculty, staff, and alumni members access UREC programs and services.

ACCORDING TO THE SEATTLE UNIVERSITY NATIONAL COLLEGE HEALTH ASSESSMENT (2021):

of undergraduate students reported symptoms of anxiety. of students reported symptoms of depression.

of graduate students reported symptoms of anxiety. of graduate students reported symptoms of depression.

percent of law students reported symptoms of anxiety. of law students reported symptoms of depression. 26%

According to the Seattle University Healthy Minds Study (2021):

of students at Seattle University were experiencing symptoms of at least one significant mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts, self-injury, or eating disorders.

Among these students, 42.7% reported not receiving any treatment.

of Seattle University students reported that they experienced suicidal ideation within the past year.

11% 4% 1% 23% 57.6% 58.3%

had developed a suicide plan within the last year.

(70 students) reported that they attempted suicide within the past year.

of SU students engaged in non-suicidal self-injury.

of undergraduates reported feelings of loneliness on the UCLA Loneliness Scale and higher levels of loneliness were reported by Black or African American (72.7%), LGBQIA+ (62.9%) and trans* and gender non- conforming students (75.0%).

In nearly all measures of mental wellbeing, Black, LGBQIA+, and trans* and gender non-conforming students reported increased levels of mental health conditions and concerns.

Seattle University CARE Team Referrals:

963

students were referred to the CARE Team during the 2023-24 academic year, a nearly 62% increase in referrals since 2020.

$75,000

Office of the Dean of Students and the MOSAIC Center provided more than in emergency funds to support student basic needs in 2023-24.

Wellness & Health Promotion’s Food Security Program provided more than $12,000 in emergency dining cards to support food security in 2023-24.

KEY GOALS ACHIEVED IN

1. Reduce Mental Health Stigma and Improve Student Wellness & Functioning

• Expanded annual Wellness Fair to offer quarterly Wellness Fairs and include external partners with community agencies.

• Developed online resources to improve students’ health insurance literacy.

• Implemented partnership with TimelyCare, a virtual medical and mental healthcare agency, to increase student access to mental health resources. Increased TimelyCare registrations by 203% since inception.

• Implemented partnership with Roundglass to provide students with on demand wellness resources.

2. Improve Faculty & Staff Readiness to Support Student Mental Health

• Certified three staff in the National Associate of Behavioral Intervention Team’s Standards & Best Practices Training. Certified five staff in the National Associate of Behavioral Intervention Team’s Advanced Interventions and Case Management Training.

• Certified five staff to serve as Mental Health First Aid instructors.

• Trained 100+ staff and graduate assistants in Mental Health First Aid, including all Athletics staff.

• Provided workshops on High Impact Practices and Universal Design in Learning for Faculty at the “Reimagine and Revise Our Curriculum Summit”.

3. Increase Access to Clinical Mental Health and Basic Needs Services

• Expanded access to student emergency financial assistance, providing more than $79,000 in emergency aid in 2023-24.

• Expanded staffing to increase food security initiatives capacity. Relocated and expanded the food pantry to increase capacity.

• Implemented a campuswide Narcan program to prevent opioid overdoses. Narcan units now available at more than 30 sites on campus.

• Awarded the Kaiser Mental Health Accelerator Grant ($250,000) to fund a partnership between CAPS and the Social Work Program to increase the diversity of social work clinical placements in the local community.

• Developed a plan to offer clinical interpreter services.

4. Optimize Administrative Processes, Risk Management, Data, and Resources

• Created a technical connection between Slate for Student Success & Maxient to improve information sharing across student support units.

• Developed and implemented a new Withdrawal for Medical Reasons Policy.

UPCOMING GOALS FOR YEARS 3 & 4

1. Reduce Mental Health Stigma and Improve Student Wellness & Functioning

• Implement a new conflict management program through the Office of the Dean of Students.

• Continue to expand the availability of emergency financial assistance, access to food security resources, and information about local resources.

• Explore the feasibility of becoming a Collegiate Recovery Network campus.

• Identify and assess opportunities for graduate, law, online, and professional students to engage with mental health, wellness, and recreation activities and programs.

• Improve care coordination and access to psychiatric medication by strengthening partnership and improving information sharing and clinical consultation between CAPS & SHC, including through the use of a unified instance of Medicat, our electronic health records system.

• Explore and recommend support programs related to student executive functioning.

• Partner with UA to increase fundraising for the student emergency fund.

2. Improve Faculty & Staff Readiness to Support Student Mental Health

• Provide suicide prevention training for faculty and staff in partnership with Forefront.

• Provide de-escalation and conflict management training for faculty and staff.

• Develop and facilitate training for faculty/staff at the department level about CARE Team, referring students of concern, Withdrawal for Medical Reasons, and academic early alerts.

• Train at least 100 faculty/staff/graduate assistants in Mental Health First Aid to ensure their readiness to recognize and respond to students in distress and to make appropriate referrals. Train 1-2 additional staff to be MHFA facilitators each year.

3. Increase Access to Clinical Mental Health and Basic Needs Services

• Research, propose, and implement a Certified Peers program.

• Develop an outreach and engagement plan that includes tangible activities to promote mental health for underrepresented groups (LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, international students, and others).

• Conduct feasibility study to explore the creation of a CAPS graduate intern program.

• Conduct feasibility study to explore the creation of SU Counseling Teaching Clinic.

• Increase the number of groups available through CAPS, including support groups for underrepresented students. Explore hiring contracted group facilitators.

4. Optimize Administrative Processes, Risk Management, Data, and Resources

• Research and recommend online training to educate all employees about mental health, basic response skills, and how to make referrals.

• Evaluate mental health clinician staffing levels and prioritize hiring candidates who specialize in serving diverse populations.

• Conduct biennial CARE Team assessment using NABITA's best practice guidelines.

• Conduct annual evaluation of physical structures that pose a risk for potential self-harm or suicide. Propose facilities enhancements as a result of the evaluation.

• Review and revise the Student Death Protocol and postvention plan.

• Conduct the Healthy Minds Study in 2024-25 to gather new data and measure progress.

• Further integrate health, counseling and wellness services to improve care coordination, collaboration, and student access to health and wellness information.

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