DU MIND, the Department of Psychology, the Health and Counseling Center (HCC) and the Center for Multicultural Excellence hosted the first annual DU Mental Health Day on Thursday, April 17.
The DU Mental Health day was focused on reducing stigma around mental health issues and providing students an environment to openly talk about these issues. The event featured a Keurig giveaway, free food, t-shirts and wristbands. It also allowed students to participate in stress and wellness check-ins. The event included a reception leading into a screening of an original documentary that featured DU students and faculty telling their own stories.
DU MIND is an organization that was founded in September 2013. Their main goal is to break down stigmas surrounding mental health, according to sophomore Amanda Pennington, co-president and founder of DU MIND. According to Pennington, Colorado has the reputation of being a healthy state, but it also has the highest suicide rate. DU MIND hopes to get de-stigmatize mental health so that people will not be afraid to get help.
“The stigma comes from fear and misunderstanding. Instead of how they see it in the movies, we want people to understand it more through education,” said Pennington. “Another thing that keeps it stigmatized is not talking about it. So we really want to bring it to the forefront and start those conversations. You just have to talk about it and acknowledge it, which is what we were trying to achieve with the event.”
Jacaranda Palmateer, director of counseling at HCC, helped collaborate with DU MIND. Palmateer helped with scheduling volunteers for the mental health screenings and took part in the organization process.
According to Palmateer, other events similar to the Mental Health Day have been held on campus, including stress workshops and depression screening days. However, the Mental Health Day was the first event to focus on promoting awareness and reducing stigma around mental health issues.
“We really wanted to just have a day where students could be open and speak about mental health issues,” said Palmateer.
According to Palmateer, stigma regarding mental health issues could keep people from seeking out the help that they need.
“I think what’s hard is that a lot of people think that they are going to be judged more than they are,” said Palmateer. “When people seek help they need, they have a high success rate, especially on a campus. They’re just scared that they are going to be judged. We really want people to get help when they need it or even get it proactively.”
As part of the Mental Health Day screenings, students were asked to complete a 23-question survey and then they were able to speak to a counselor about their results. An estimated 200-250 students completed the screening, although exact numbers have not yet been calculated, according to Palmateer.
The DU Mental Health day was the first event hosted by DU MIND that included co-programming with other organizations, according to Pennington. It was also larger than any event DU MIND has hosted before.
“The event couldn’t have gone better,” said Pennington. “The outpouring of support and collaboration of the different departments really made [this event] different than others we’ve put on. We had a lot of advertising and really worked as a team.”
According to Palmateer, the event also allowed students to understand what resources are available to them on campus. The HCC provides $10 sessions of counseling for most undergraduates and graduates, and is also able to refer students to other resources on campus, as well as get students connected to resources for mental disabilities.
DU MIND hopes to continue hosting events such as the DU Mental Health Day and expand their ability to spread awareness and education beyond the DU community, according to Pennington.
“DU is our home. But stigma is still here,” said Pennington. “Our focus is geared towards changing it on a large scale as well, including the Denver community and even farther to all of Colorado, as far as we can go to get those conversations started.”
Pennington said DU MIND is always accepting new members. The group meets at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays behind Jazzman’s. Interested parties may also contact Pennington at amanda.r.pennington@gmail.com.
