The Healthy Minds Study: Why we need your help? - A Counselor’s Perspective

I have been a psychologist at FAU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) for the past 7 years, and in that time I’ve heard from students about challenges they face and aspects of their lives where they might be stuck or struggling.  Most are juggling multiple responsibilities like coursework, jobs, and commitments to organizations or causes while navigating shifts in relationships and family roles and expectations. Some have a clear vision for their future but are uncertain how to get there, while others are still working to define that vision.  Additionally, all are impacted by their intersecting cultural identities both in how they see and experience the world. By the time I see students at CAPS, they have tried to address these challenges on their own. They typically express feeling overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, or disconnected in some way that significantly interferes with their lives.  

The mission of CAPS is to provide FAU students with quality, individualized, timely, and effective mental health services that allow them to improve and maintain their mental well-being so they can meet their educational, personal, emotional, and psychological goals. CAPS also provides training, consultation, and outreach programming to students, faculty, and staff so that they might better respond to the psychological needs of the student body. Additionally, CAPS trains graduate students in the provision of short-term psychological care.  This is why the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) is so important.  HMS will provide a detailed look at the prevalence of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, and self-injury among the FAU student body. It will also provide information about students’ use of mental health related resources, and barriers to accessing these resources. This is vital information to inform the work we do at CAPS, and will help the university to identify needs and priorities, evaluate programs and policies, plan for services and programs, and advocate for resources.

 

If you haven't already, please complete the HMS survey as it closes out on Sunday, February 28th.