A cornerstone to “Being Well” is understanding what mental health means for each of us. To help students to better understand the wide range of mental health concerns that exist, the University Counseling Center’s (UCC) Student Advisory Board (SAB) is hosting the second annual May Mental Health Month at UO.
This year’s focus is on increasing communication about students’ mental health concerns in an effort to encourage students to support each other. The UCC SAB hopes to improve awareness about mental health challenges and destigmatize self-care and seeking help. The UCC SAB would like to equip every student on campus who feels like they or their friends may be experiencing mental health challenges with the tools they need to care for themselves and others.
In collaboration with many of our campus partners, we are putting on six unique events throughout the month, as well as tailoring our pre-existing weekly wellness workshops towards this effort.
Here are some of the events that the SAB will be co-sponsoring:
Mental Health in Communities of Color: Sigma Lambda Beta, the multicultural fraternity, will be hosting an event that focuses on the importance of mental health and well-being, as well as the stigmatization that occurs within multicultural communities. Thursday, May 10th, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. in the EMU Coquille room (Rm 104).
Inside Out: A Pixar film that follows a young girl’s emotions as she experiences a cross-country move. This film screening will be followed by a short discussion about emotional health and awareness themes from the movie. This is also a great time for students to take a break from their school work, hang out with friends, eat some snacks, and watch a wonderful film. Friday, May 11th, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in PLC 180.
Meet a Therapist: Have lunch with therapists from the Counseling Center. This is a chance to put a face to the people who work at UCC and hopefully increase students’ comfort level when wanting to seek services. Tuesday, May 15th,12 to 1 pm. in Hamilton Dining Hall.
Student Suicide Prevention Training for those who wants to better understand how to support a student who may be considering suicide. Tuesday, May 22nd, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. in EMU Diamond Lake Room 119
Duck Nest Workshops: May Mental Health workshops are open to all students and are aimed to increase communication about mental health and decrease the stigma around expressing challenges. These workshops will happen every Monday in May from 2:00 - 2:50 p.m. in the Duck Nest at the EMU.
Friends and Peers/How to Support a Friend — May 7th. We will discuss ways to communicate with friends about mental health and offer strategies for helping a friend who may be in distress.
Mental Health with Parents and Families —May 14th. We will discuss how to communicate with families about mental health when there may be some stigma or barriers to those discussions.
Mental Health and Faculty/Staff — May 21st. We will explore what accommodations can be made for various mental health challenges and how to address this with professors and other staff.
These are just a few of the exciting events planned for May Mental Health Month. Click here for a full list of events.