Presentation Slide:
References:
ACTIVE MINDS CHAPTERS TEAM. Retrieved 24 October 2022, from https://www.activeminds.org/blog/how-active-minds-chapter-presidents-are-preparing-for-a-fall-like-no-other/
Presentation Script:
Preface:
I explored Active Minds Club at Carolina, a student led organization here at UNC that is intended to fight against the stigma that surrounds mental health issues.
Many studies done in recent years have analyzed the impact of Active Minds. According to Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Student peer organizations’ activities can improve college student mental health attitudes and perceived knowledge and significantly increase helping behaviors (Sontag-Padilla 2018).
In identifying my subculture, I wondered what kinds of students involve themselves in Active Minds at Carolina Club. This prompted me to ask the research question:
What are the primary reasons behind college student’s involvement with the Active Minds at Carolina Club?
Background Information:
Active Minds is a nonprofit organization that exists at universities across the United States. Active Minds at Carolina is the UNC-Chapel Hill chapter of Active Minds. This student-led organization is dedicated to providing a support system for college students and an educational program intended to raise awareness of mental health conditions. Active Minds builds a community of support within a college campus and aims to empower college students.
Observational Data and Analysis:
First Observation
During my observations, I both sat in on an Active Minds at Carolina general board meeting and conducted an interview with the funding chair officer. Contrary to what I had thought, this meeting was primarily intended for the club’s designated committees to break out into groups and discuss from all four quarters in the room. There are four committees: outreach and community, funding, podcasting, and publicity. They each focused on one part of the planning process behind the events.
Second Observation
During the interview, the funding chair officer enlightened me further on what kinds of members made up this club. She told me that the first people who get invited are either psychology majors or people who have a general interest in mental health. Members who end up staying are typically the students who benefit from ‘moments of de-stressing’ and students who have a common goal that they feel like they are working towards. She described the atmosphere of the club as a “common space where people feel comfortable talking about their mental stresses”. Additionally, she argued that a great way members help themselves is by helping other people through spreading awareness over what you are going through.
Conclusions:
With regards to my research question, the ways that members collaborate and discuss their own needs improves the process by which members plan events for the community. Active Minds fosters a very social atmosphere that feels inviting and welcoming which helps members feel comfortable talking about anything that is going on in their lives. As mentioned in a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, the most often reported benefits related to receiving mental health services were reduced feelings of stress, improved mental functioning, and resolution of one’s problems. (Vidourek, King, Nabors, & Marianos 2014). The ways in which Active Minds members immerse themselves are consistent with the reported benefits. The emphasis on these self care or compassion projects that members are staying for is what makes Active Minds so unique. Furthermore, the motivation behind Active Minds is the concept of projects that benefit not just you but everyone else. Ultimately, Active Minds addresses both the help-seeking behaviors of college students and Carolina community as a whole, which increases participation.
Explication of Research
Preface:
The question of how to address mental health issues has existed since antiquity. The mental health crisis has only built up in the last decade has affected students across the United States. Many students, including myself, have battled mental health obstacles with the rise and fall of the pandemic. Concerning myself with mental health services UNC had to offer, such as the Active Minds club, was something I had already planned to explore. Initially, I had assumed clubs like these simulate group therapy sessions. I expected to learn how a student led organization addresses the mental health crisis while simultaneously supporting the needs of college students. More importantly, I was curious as to what kinds of students are involved in this club. This prompted me to ask the question: What are the primary reasons behind most college student’s involvement with the Active Minds at Carolina Club?
Background Information:
Active Minds is an organization led by students that empowers young adults to fight against the mental health surrounded stigmas and promote mental health. There is a significant increase in perceived knowledge, connections to services, helpful behaviors, and emotional support for students involved or familiar with Active Minds (Sontag-Padilla 2018). Organizations, such as Active Minds at Carolina, are meant to play an important role in improving the campus climate with respect to mental health. (Sontag-Padilla 2018). At UNC, Active Minds at Carolina plans and creates several mental health related events throughout the school year.
Observational Data and Analysis:
First Observation:
My first observation took place on Monday, October 3, 2022, from 5:00 to 6:30 PM at the Carolina Student Union in Chapel Hill, NC. I sat in on the Active Minds general board meeting. I initially felt reluctant to just show up over a month after this club had already started. Upon meeting the co-president of the organization, she greeted me with a smile and asked if I was here to attend the meeting. Her warm presence and willingness to accept me into today’s discussion was very appreciated and reflective of what this club has to offer. Nobody was surprised or confused by my presence during the meeting which made this environment feel very inclusive than I felt by Natalie’s introduction. I was wondering if there would be a time throughout this meeting where we would talk with each other about mental health or discuss personal troubles. A girl sitting next to me informed me that the remainder of the meeting consisted of discussions from all four quarters of the room.
Each of the members would break out into each of the four designated committees; outreach and community committee, funding committee, podcasting committee, and publicity committee. Each of these subgroups focused on their area of expertise. Each committee focused on one part of the planning process behind the events created by Active Minds. These members interacted by contributing and suggesting ideas between one another about what the best approach would be to achieve their committees’s goals, relating to the club’s goals. To me, these committees represented the subcultures within this subculture. Each member identified with and was responsible for contributing to their committee’s goals. Although my conversation with my ice breaker buddy was brief, I was able to conclude that most students here were involved for reasons beyond just mental health support of their own. Many students involved in Active Minds are involved in the planning process of all kinds of mental health related events.
Second Observation:
My second observation also took place on Monday, October 3, 2022 at the Carolina Student Union as it proceeded the general board meeting. I was able to interview the funding chair officer of Active Minds who was very confident in her role as a board member and was more than willing to participate in my interview. I began by asking her what she believes are the primary reasons behind most member’s involvement with the Active Minds at Carolina Club. She enlightened me on the atmosphere of the club by describing it as a “common space where people feel comfortable talking about their mental stresses”. I learned that members feel comfortable talking about anything thats going on in their lives, Active Minds fosters a very social atmosphere that feels inviting and welcoming. People want to join not only because they see that it’s a very social atmosphere but because they have interest in the topic already.
I asked her specifically what kinds of students typically involve themselves in this organization. The further into the conversation, the more comfortable I felt asking her questions about her personal opinions about the club. She said the first people who get invited are either psychology majors or people who have a general interest in mental health, both of which are people who possess academic/professional devotion. She then described that people who end up staying are typically the students who benefit from that ‘moment of de-stressing’ and students who have a common goal that they feel like they are working towards. I asked her if a student would come to Active Minds to seek mental health assistance or would that assistance be more involved in the activities. She confirmed that it would be more involved in the activities, however she hopes that it would still bring them into the club itself with regards to community the involvement aspect. She argued that a great way to help yourself is by helping other people by planning events and spreading awareness over what you are going through as well. I was thoroughly impressed by her willingness to speak to me as an outsider, and her open-mindedness to discuss various misconceptions about Active Minds.
Conclusions:
I was certainly surprised by my findings. Considering that this was the first mental health related organization I have ever been involved with, I couldn’t help but assume it would serve as a big group therapy session. Similar to how the movies and popular media represent mental health services, I imagined the group would sit in a circle and we would talk through our problems together. At first I was surprised by the way Active Minds facilitates their meetings and discussions. After I conducted my interview, the process by which Active Minds addresses the needs of both members and the Carolina community as a whole were very inner connected. With regards to my research question, the ways that members collaborate with each other and discuss their own needs improves the process by which members plan events for the community.
References:
Sontag-Padilla, Lisa, (7, July 2018). Strengthening college students’ mental health knowledge, awareness, and helping behaviors: the impact of Active Minds, a peer mental health organization. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 57, no., pp. 500–07. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.03.019.
Clark, C. (2020, June 23). Importance of Mental Health Services on College Campuses. Time lyMD, https://timely.md/blog/mental-health-services-on-college-campuses/
Vidourek, Rebecca A., (2014, January). Students’ Benefits and Barriers to Mental Health Help- Seeking. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1009– 22. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2014.963586.
Nutt, A. (2018, June 28). College Students Are Forming Mental-Health Clubs — and They’re Making a Difference. Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/06/28/college-students-are-forming-mental-health-clubs-and-theyre-making-a-difference/
Featured Image:
Future College Student. Published August 23, 2021 by Carolynne Telford. Retrieved 24 October 2022, from https://www.bethel.edu/blog/letter-to-future-college-student/