National Suicide Prevention Day was Sept. 10, midway through National Suicide Prevention Week.
It’s 2019 — social norms are shifting and more long-overdue conversations are being had out in the open.
The conversation and stigma surrounding mental health is slowly shifting to one that is acceptable to be had out in the open.
According to the Center for Disease Control, suicide is the second leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 24 years old.
On a college campus, where the majority of the population falls within that age bracket, having the conversation is crucial to the health and safety of all students.
Aside from national phone numbers and resources for those who may be struggling with a mental health crisis, students have resources on the University of Idaho campus, primarily in the Counseling and Testing Center. There is a crisis hotline as well counseling services within the CTC.
Yet resources for those who are struggling with mental health and in need of counseling prior to the crisis point have been on the slim side in recent history — a shortage of staff available for counseling services makes seeing a counselor in a timely fashion a rare occasion.
To get an appointment, students have to wait about two weeks, according to CTC Director Greg Lambeth. This fall, the center has a full staff on hand to help keep the wait times down.
This window of time was by no direct fault of the university — a staff shortage is a staff shortage and something most departments on campus face in some form or another.
While this shortage may not be completely unique to the department, the gap it creates within the university community and the needs of the students it serves is unique. Bringing on a full staff at the CTC would bridge that gap to a certain degree. However, a two week-plus waiting period can still be enough time for an individual’s situation to escalate to the point of no return. While not all gaps are life and death, this one could be.
However, this is a particularly glaring gap given the immediacy students seeking this resource have. Roles in the Counseling and Testing Center have finally been filled.
This is about as much as students could ask for, assuming it truly does close the gap and make counseling and psychiatric services more available.
If nothing else, it is a step in the right direction. The purpose of counseling services at the CTC is to give aid to students in need before they reach the point of a crisis.
Having a collection of clinicians on tap to help students in a more immediate manner is a step toward fully addressing the mental health epidemic.
Mental health is not an issue that can be even remotely addressed with the bare minimum. Filling the gaps from the spring is a start, but mental health demands more than the bare minimum.
— Editorial Board
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or the UI Counseling and Testing Center Emergency Crisis Intervention at 208-885-6716.