Members from BC’s counseling office will conduct a mental health advocacy workshop on July 26 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. through zoom. Faculty members can attend this event for free to learn new skills and knowledge about the impact of mental health, understanding the symptoms and how to effectively help students in an emotional crisis. Any faculty member who plans on attending the meeting must register on the workshop’s website.
According to the faculty website, the goal of the workshop is for faculty members to acquire critical skills, including:
- An understanding on the impact of mental health, knowing the symptoms of an emotional crisis and suicidal tendencies
- A better confidence in knowing that they can be a reliable support system to someone in need of help.
- An understanding of the symptoms of indirect trauma.
- The skills to establish boundaries.
The workshop will consist of the attendees being placed in small groups. In each group, participants will be seated in various scenarios where they’re guided on how to effectively deal with an emotional crisis, such as an individual exhibiting suicidal tendencies or learning how to de-escalate a crisis. In addition, attendees can also expect several self-care activities laid out throughout the meeting. According to Steven Martel, head counselor and workshop organizer, the session is not just knowing how to respond to an individual facing an emotional crisis, it also aims to help with personal care. To Martel, the duty of responding to an emotional crisis can take a major toll on oneself, so knowing several ways of preserving one’s well being is another major aspect throughout the workshop.
Members attending the event are not obligated to do any work outside of the workshop. However, there will be a chance for attendees to complete a project after the session. The project involves creating a self-care action plan. If you choose to do so, a $250 dollar stipend and 8 PD hours will be given to eligible faculty who complete the final project.
Although the meeting is solely for faculty and staff, there are future plans to transform the workshop into a one-credit mental health course for students by Fall 2024. The class will be exclusively taught by Martel and will include the same contents from the meeting. According to Martel, the course will be “weekend intensive,” meaning sessions will first be held from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday. The following day, class will resume from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. As of now, the course is not placed on the schedule, but is due to soon. So be on the lookout if you’re a student interested in taking this course.
Lastly, if you’re a faculty member interested in the workshop but cannot attend it, have no worries, the workshop is a quarterly event. You can expect to see it return sometime soon.
If you have any questions, please contact Steven Martel from the counseling office for any additional details about the workshop.
