APA Launches College Mental Health Campaign
APA is sponsoring a campaign this summer to promote mental health on college campuses that will include outreach by APA staff and district branches and state associations to media, colleges and universities, and other interested organizations.
Free information for the public about college mental health issues is posted on APA's consumer Web site,<www.HealthyMinds.org>.
The campaign is part of a larger overall strategy aimed at addressing suicide, depression, and general mental health issues on college campuses. To carry out this work, Michelle Riba, M.D., then APA president, established the Presidential Task Force on Mental Health on College Campuses earlier this year. The task force is charged to do the following:
Review and summarize the existing data on college mental health and on access to psychiatric services on college campuses. | |||||
Review existing guidelines regarding college mental health and draft a policy statement on the role of the psychiatrist in the delivery of mental health services on college campuses. | |||||
Develop a resource guide on college mental health to identify services that should be available to college students. | |||||
Collaborate with other professional and advocacy groups working on college mental health issues. | |||||
Develop a plan to support psychiatrists who are working in college settings. | |||||
Develop a policy regarding discrimination against college students with mental illness. | |||||
Develop a media strategy to enhance public awareness about college mental health issues. | |||||
APA members interested in becoming involved in the campaign locally should send an e-mail to Hillarie Turner, senior communications specialist in APA's Office of Communications and Public Affairs, at [email protected] or contact their district branch or state association.
