Campus Housing | Photo by Monica Brutto | The Wright State Guardian
Provost Amy Thompson discusses the importance of student mental health on campus after restructuring counseling services.
Changes at Wright State
On Feb. 3, 2023, the university restructured the counseling center on campus to no longer include Dr. Robert Rando, director of the Counseling and Wellness Center.
“We’re actually in the process of doing a national search for the Counseling Center,” Provost Amy Thompson said. “We’d like to get that [position] filled and hopefully put somebody in place this summer.”
Thompson further discussed the importance of mental health awareness for Wright State University students and staff.
One of the notable changes to mental health awareness on campus under Thompson is the Counseling and Awareness information located on the WSU Pilot homepage.
“I’m very tuned into the relationship between mental health well-being and faculty, staff and student retention, and so one of the things that President Edwards and I have established is the mental health task force on campus. It was through this work that we decided to put information on the Pilot page about where they can seek out mental health and resources across campus just to create awareness,” Thompson said.
Thompson said that the mental health task force meets every two weeks to discuss student, faculty and staff awareness at WSU.
The JED foundation
According to Thompson mental health is the second leading cause of reasons students dropout of college early.
“We need to be prepared to tackle this issue in multiple ways,” Thompson said. “One is to create a culture of well-being on campus and prevention through things like physical activity, healthy eating, exercise and allowing for access to resources and counseling.”
Wright State University works with the JED Foundation, an organization that focuses on mental health and suicide prevention.
According to the non-profit website, Phil and Donna Satow started the foundation in the wake of the couple’s son, Jed’s, suicide in 1998.
“Today, JED is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to young adult mental health. Together we’re helping students navigate the emotional challenges of high school and college, prepare for adulthood, and thrive,” the website reads.
The JED foundation currently works with over 370 institutions in higher education.
Helping students’ mental health
Thompson said the Wright State mental health task force is working closely with Dr. Huma Bashir and Dr. Josh Francis out of the counseling department to offer Mental First Aid training across campus.
“We’re really trying to train as many people as we can and how to record the signs and people when they’re not doing well and how to help and how to suggest that people might need to get additional help if it’s needed,” Thompson said.
Thompson added that students in need of help need to get past any stigmas related to mental health.
“I think part of my mission is to put that out there that, you know, we have to provide resources, we have to talk about this. It’s when people feel like they can’t share it that it causes even more problems for them,” Thompson said.
For those seeking mental health resources on Wright State’s campus, visit the Counseling and Wellness Center’s website.
