The GLCA hosted a Presidential Summit on Mental Health and Wellness in December 2019. Mental health and wellness are issues that touch all of us, regardless of what role we have on our campuses. The summit was an opportunity to meet as a consortium to deepen our understanding, learn from experts, and from one another.
The motto for the summit was Learn, Share, Do. Learn: Learn from outside speakers and panelists and from each other. Share: Share with others in similar positions and through informal exchange of ideas, networking, and bench marking. Do: Campus teams work together on a campus-based plan of action.
By no means intended as a comprehensive list, this summary and resources page continues our work of learning and sharing in support of college student Mental Health and Wellness:
Active Minds
Active Minds is the premier organization impacting young adults and mental health. Now in more than 1,000 campuses and communities, they reach more than 1.9 million people each year through awareness campaigns, events, advocacy, outreach, and more.
Healthy Minds Network
The Healthy Minds Network is one of the nation’s premier research organizations contributing to adolescent and young adult mental health.
JED Foundation
The Jed Foundation provides colleges and universities expert support, evidence-based best practices, and data-driven guidance to protect student mental health and prevent suicide.
JED: The Role of Faculty in Student Mental Health
Jordan Porco Foundation: Fresh Check Day
Fresh Check Day is an engaging and uplifting mental health promotion and suicide prevention event for colleges. Listed in the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s Best Practices Registry, Fresh Check Day features peer-centered interactive booths, a festival-like social atmosphere, and exciting prizes and giveaways. Participating schools receive high-quality event planning support/consultation and a complete program resource toolkit.
McLean Hospital
Some free videos and other training available (at cost).
Best Practices for Death Notification
The Steve Fund
The Steve Fund is dedicated to supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color.
The Key Podcast (Inside Higher Ed, April 25, 2023). Ep. 95: Redefining Mental Health for Today’s College Students
Feeling distress isn’t itself a sign of trouble; inability to manage it is. A panel of experts discusses this and other pressing issues: Lisa Damour, a psychologist and author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, Nance Roy, chief clinical officer at the Jed Foundation; and R. Ryan Patel, senior staff psychiatrist at Ohio State University and chair of the mental health section of the American College Health Association. This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 mental health support via text message: Text 741741
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Available 24 hours: Dial 988