MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES IN THE BERKSHIRES
Why is this important?
MENTAL HEALTH IN THE US
Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability affecting approximately 350 million people worldwide (Murray, 2013; de Gregorio et al., 2021). More specifically, data show that the prevalence and severity of mental health disorders are increasing among young adults in the United States (Hunt and Eisenberg, 2009; CDC 2019; SAMHSA 2021).
In addition to being highly prevalent, mental health conditions are serious and often unremitting diseases with grave consequences, especially if left untreated. For example, in its most severe form, depression can lead to suicidal ideation. Furthermore, suicide disproportionately affects young adults and is now the second leading cause of death for adults aged 18-35 in the United States (CDC, 2020). Unfortunately, only one fourth of those who died by suicide received mental treatment at the time of their death (CDC, 2013).
Although there is not a unified mental health survey of high school-aged adolescents in the United States, data from 2019 show that almost 40% of children aged 12-17 experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (Bitsko et al., 2022). Moreover, there continues to be a lack of mental health treatment for adolescents. Fewer than one in five children received care for anxiety, eating, or substance abuse disorders (Merikangas, 2011)
THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION
School-based mental health education programs have the potential to mitigate the mental health treatment gap. By increasing awareness of mental health problems and available resources, these programs may reduce mental health stigma and encourage students to seek help for themselves or their peers (Salerno et al., 2016).
According to research on school-based mental health education, students who participated in programs such as Surviving the Teens Suicide Prevention and Depression Awareness Program reported an increase in self-reported intent to seek mental health support for themselves or others from the beginning to the end of the program (Parikh et al., 2018; Strunk et al., 2014; Schmidt et al., 2015). Research has also shown that students who participated in mental health awareness programs reported a decrease in self-reported mental health stigma, or negative attitudes or behaviors to people with mental illness (Lindow et al., 2020; Parikh et al., 2018). Other positive outcomes that have resulted from mental health education include improved school environment or climate (DiGirolamo et al., 2021; Parikh et al., 2018) and decreased peer violence (DuPont-Reyes et al., 2021).
WHY ARE WE CREATING A RESOURCE GUIDE?
The growing rate of mental health issues amongst young adults has been concerning. Unfortunately, students continue to experience limited access to resources. As part of their senior capstone project, a group of public health students from Williams College wanted to help address this issue at MGRS and interviewed faculty, staff, and students about the student body’s needs. We learned that there is a lack of awareness about specific mental health conditions, particularly anxiety, and available mental health resources.
To address this gap, we decided to collaborate with the MGRS counseling office and the student peer team to create this mental health resource guide. We’ve included resources ranging from inpatient and outpatient providers to crisis hotlines and self-help guides because we understand the importance of having access to multiple treatment options. We see this guide as providing a type of mental health education, which as we know from the literature can help reduce stigma and increase help-seeking intentions and behaviors. Our hope is that this website starts more conversations about mental health at MGRS and makes finding mental health support a bit easier.
