Mental Health Matters Sparking the Conversation Video Transcription

[Jim Conneely] -  I'm Dr. Jim Conneely, the Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of North Georgia. I'd like to welcome everyone and thank you for logging in for your interests in this important conversation surrounding Student Mental Health. University of North Georgia and higher education especially has a mission to educate. We have not always done that when we're talking about mental health issues. But UNG has really worked hard to educate our students, our faculty and staff. With regard to the program services and outreach that we have at the university, we have worked with our policies like excused absences, hardship withdrawals to recognize that mental health does impact our students lives on a daily basis.

As an institution, we have worked hard to recruit talented and qualified professionals and our student counseling area, our wellness area, and our student outreach and care area. These are licensed professional counselors and the student count and center that will help work with our students and meet their therapy needs. Our approach to students support is both an advocate standpoint, but also from an educational standpoint. We want to be an advocate for all students and their mental health needs. But we also recognize that we need to work with our students on an individual using a case management approach. The Dean of Students Office provides outreach teams that address crisis level situations, which could include risk of harm to self or others, but also solicits concerns from students and others that may provide opportunities to intervene and to support students who are in distress as we move forward and to help navigate this conversation about mental health. I like to introduce Mr. Glen Harris Junior, who serves as Assistant Dean for students for Care and Outreach.

[Glen Harris] - Thanks, Dr. Conneely. Many members of the UN G community have asked or perhaps even wonder, like what is UNG doing to support the mental health needs of our students. And I can personally, it says that there is no one-person or no one office that does it all. It really requires an open dialogue and some intentional collaboration. And so part of this conversation and joining me today will be Dr. Simon Cordery, Dr. Kel Lee Cutrell who are the Director and Associate Director of Student Counseling Center? Meri-Leigh Smith, who is the Associate Director for wellness and health promotion. And Dr. Alyson Paul, who is our AVP and Dean of Students for the Gainesville and Cumming campuses. If you do have a question related to the mental health of students at UNG, you would like to ask, you can definitely place those in the Q&A box and we will be able to address those in a few minutes. The Dean of Students Office, we support students through a variety of difficult circumstances. And sometimes we learn of those difficulties to excuse absence requests. And that lets us know if a student is sick or hurt or otherwise struggling with an issue that is impacting their ability to attend class. Many students, they'll let us know that they're struggling using flight support form and flight support form is there so that way students can let us know when they're struggling. Or someone else can let us know that a student is struggling and they might need some support. We also have the see something, say something formed which is there for anyone in the community to share a concern of harm to the campus community or even harm are concerned about an individual. So this allows us to learn more about the situation, assess the level of risk, and find ways to intervene and provide some timely assistance there. So you'll see on the screen here the link to a Flight Support, the web link UNG. edu slash flight support as well as go.ung.edu-BIT for our see something, say something. And so we would definitely encourage students, faculty, staff, parents. If you are concerned about yourself or concerned about someone else, you can definitely use those to help get the process started for making sure that everyone is getting taken care of. Earlier this year, the Dean of Students Office, student counseling, Campus Rec and wellness, co-developed a stepped care model to assist students who are in distress. We took some of the most common concerns our students experience related to mental health. And this includes anxiety, depression, grief, relationship, and family concerns, stress management, among several other things. And we created an intervention structure that has multiple levels of care because we know that students are, their needs are at various levels as well. And so the idea is that this is really to help students address their needs in a more timely manner and promote some resilience and empowerment for students. And so one of the things that we really have a champion this year is this idea that while we recognize not everyone needs counseling, everyone needs support. That's exactly what this stepped care model is going to do. And so there's a go link for the stepped care model as well that you'll see on the screen. Go.ung.edu/steped-care So for each concern that we have listed on there, you're going to see a variety of different levels of support and intervention. So these are going to be some self-directed and self-support things. So these might be apps, webinars, articles, screening tools that I can use for myself. They're going to be some campus supports what are already in place that UNG has on on campus to help. They're gonna be peer supports that are there. So these might be campus ministries or student clubs, organizations, or perhaps an RA who's in the residence halls. Workshops. We have single solution focus, counseling sessions, group therapy, individualized short-term therapy, and then referrals to off-campus providers. And so students can go up and down. The stepped care model in any order is not linear, but it really is meant to provide multiple levels of support for students on a variety of different needs. So with that thought, I want to pose a question to Dr. Cordery, who is joining us. Simon, can you paint a picture for us about just like what the mental health crisis has looked like on a national level, on a local level. What had the trends and mental health been at UNG for our students?

[Simon Cordery] - Sure, Glen, thank you. I will tell you that I've been the Director of Student Counseling for the past 12 years. And in that time I've seen just student counseling change a lot. It's very different today than it was 12 years ago. There has been a significant increase in the demand for services. We've grown as a university, but even the demand for services is outpacing that. And on top of the growth in the demand for services, There's also a increase in the severity of problems and crises that students are presenting to us with. And so it's kind of a one-two thing. The combination of those two things has has made student counseling very, very busy. It's not just a UMG trend, it's both a state and a national trend that's taking up a lot of space and time in universities across the country. A recent study from earlier this year in the Journal of affective disorders, compared to healthy minds study from 2013, the Healthy Mind study of 2021 last year. The Healthy Minds Study is a web-based annual survey that examines mental health service utilization and related issues at college and universities across the country. There's over 450 colleges and universities that have participated. And over half 1 million students have participated in this survey. And the findings show that in the 2021 cohort compared to the 2013 cohort, that there had been a dramatic rise symptoms and mental health issues. For instance, there was 134% rise in the rate of depression. There's 109% rise in the rates of anxiety. 95% rise in the rates of eating disorders. A 64% rise in the rates of suicidal ideation, and a 45% increase in the rates of non suicidal self-injury. The data that I've collected here at UNG over the past 12 years parallels this data. And the increase in the demand and the increase in the severity of what we're seeing has led to sometimes a two to three-week wait to get student counseling appointments in the busiest time of the year. And this means that someone who is dealing with a problem like a breakup or some other type of issue in which they weren't having life-threatening or harm to others type issues. That means they would have to wait more than they would like to and more than they should. So we are what we figured out is what was working and student counseling is just no longer working. And so that's when we switch to the stepped care model that you spoke up, Glen. And we're really excited because we've added daily walk-in hours where students can come to make sure that they're seeing at their time of need rather that than our time of the therapist availability.

[Glen Harris] - Thanks, Simon. Every time I hear about those numbers up just the increases and the high acuity of student mental health. It shocks me every time. I think that there's probably a lot of things that play a role in that. I know your counterpart here instead and calcium gets here. So maybe I'll ask Kel Lee this question. Kel Lee, Why do you think that there have been such increases in student mental health recently?

[Kel Lee Cutrell] - That is a good question. So I think to help answer that, given a little bit of information about the typical traditionally aged college students that we see here. They are considered part of Gen Z. Those born 1997 to 2012, which makes them ten years old to 25 years old. They're here. They're the most ethnically diverse group. We have seen a significant increase in first-generation students. So a lot of wonderful things. Some stats regarding this group. 75% of them fear the future. 60% of them believe that humanity is doomed. So of course they're going to fear the future, right? There's, this group has seen an explosive rise in hate speech, hate crimes. Of the 68 million of them, 10 million have lost a parent. And we're talking ten years old to 25 years old. They've already lost a parent. 7 million of them have lost two parents. The grief is there. 95% of them use Internet and smartphones because they are what we consider digital natives. Along with that comes social media. So a majority of them have difficulty separating their online perfect identity with their more, what will say real identity because they're both of those 24/7, right? There's just one person, but they have two different identities. So separating that can be pretty difficult. And with social media, they have much more access to compare themselves. The people that live around the world. I didn't grow up with that. I grew up compare myself, did the kid next to me in the class chair. So that was a much more fair and realistic. This generation has unfair comparisons to people in Paris, California, they just don't live the lives that they live. So that is difficult. They also seem to not be as aware of what we call cumulative stress. You may hear them saying, I don't know why I'm stressed or just down is because they struggle finding words to put to their emotions and their problems. But they are also more likely than any other generation to call and say, am I going to skip class? I'm going to skip work to focus on my mental health. So they they know they need that focus, but they can't put it into words why they're struggling. Then, and even got to the big one yet then COVID hit. Resources became scarcer. The divide between the haves and the have-nots became greater. Some students didn't have the technology to keep up. Some students didn't know how to ask for the technology. And then you had students felt very uncomfortable putting their space on camera. So they turn the camera off, which heightened the disconnect and it deepened the isolation that they were feeling. The impact of this has been great and it's been lasting. So what are we going to do about those issues? I believe this is going to answer some of that for them.

[Glen Harris] - Thanks, Kel Lee. Yeah. There's a lot to take in there. I think you mentioned that generational pieces. But then COVID, of course, exacerbating a lot of that. I think in my time working just with college students, I know that regardless of generation, regardless of age, every student, regardless of their background, they're going to experience some level of adjustment when it comes to college. And that could be changes and academic rigor, binding, community, understanding new processes, being away from home, using technology, right? Balancing school work, family responsibilities. And unfortunately, while we're in school, life events can occur without notice. And it can really derail students and their plans and add to some of those adjustment consistency that they know that they're going to, that we know they're going to experience anyway. So I wanna get to, I guess some of the solution. I want to be able to start to talk about, what is it that UNG is doing to support students who are, who are navigating mental health, what resources are, are in play? And there was a question I was in the chat, I'll respond or in the Q&A, I responded and typing, but I want to also clarify. About the Flight Support and I see something, say something that is a way for us to be able to recognize when someone is in distress, why support is really meant to be more for those lower-level concerns, right? So someone might be just having a difficult time emotionally. There might be some some life stressors, some financial hardships, things going on back at home with their family. Some health concerns, those type of things. Whereas the see something, say something is meant to be for when we have concerns about safety and welfare for someone in the community. Someone might be a harm to themselves or harm to others. Either way, you don't get don't get so caught up in what form to fill out. Just fill out a form. It'll get directed to us and then we can get it sent to the right people. So I see a couple of questions coming into the Q&A. I encourage you all to continue to submit that. That'll be great. I look forward to answering some of those in a second, but I want to be able to kind of make sure we have time to talk about some of the resources. So what are some of the resources that students have found helpful? And maybe we'll start with Meri Leigh on with this. Well, Meri Leigh, what are some of the resources that students are finding helpful to navigate some of these mental health challenges that we're seeing.

[Meri-Leigh Smith] - Yeah, Glen, I mean, we've talked a lot already today about stress reduction, about isolation, and how students can reach out and get some help for that. And these resources that we offer a campus recreation and wellness, I feel like really offer that stress reduction through exercise and physical activity and help address that social isolation by being around others. That they can connect with, things that they find in common. Some of those things that we offer our facilities on our Salonica and Gainesville campuses. Those are open for students. They're great facilities, great places to meet up with friends, workout, and just interact with others. And then we have our programming areas like intramurals. If you're interested in sports and teams or just being a part of something, those are great ways for students to connect. You don't already have to have a preform team to join those sports. And then our outdoor pursuits program for those that love nature, we have such beautiful natural resources around us for students to get out into. I don't think a lot of students know that we have equipment rental programs where they can check out tense and sleeping bags and all the equipment that they would need to escape into the outdoors for the weekend with friends. We offer trips and are climbing wall just a place to try something new. We have our wellness tabling events through our peer health educators. And our peer health educators are available for students to reach out to on a peer to peer level. If they don't feel comfortable reaching out anywhere else, they can reach out to those peer health educators to find resources and connections on campus. So a lot of really great resources through campus recreation and wellness that students can take advantage of. And that's not just on the Dahlonega and the Gainesville campus. We do offer other programming on all five campuses. Another thing if students don't feel comfortable with that first, initial step of reaching out and in person. There's a great new online forum called together all, which is an online community that's safe, anonymous place for students to go and share their thoughts, concerns, or their feelings with other students from around the country. And so it's a great way to kinda put your thoughts and feelings out there and nobody else knows who you are. And you can also get some response and support from that from those individuals. It is monitored by licensed therapist and mental health professionals. So it's a very safe way to engage in a very non-threatening way.

[Alyson Paul] - Hi Glen also have found that students had found, as she mentioned together all and that's kind of an online tool. I've also heard a lot of students who like using Headspace, Headspace app that typically if a general person were to download it, it may cost anywhere $40-60 a year, but U NG students do have free access to that by using their UNG email account. And, you know, it's an app that you have on your phone and it provides a variety of mindfulness and mental health tools. It has programs on that facilitate meditation and sleep gods and prompts and even exercise and movement and videos as well. It has some wakeup videos or wake up routines that you can go through. So students can select a session, popping their headphones, and they can listen to whatever they need as they walk across campus, prepare for a test or get ready for bed. We do know that even just sleep routines and sleep etiquette is sometimes a challenge for our students that then exacerbates their stress and anxiety levels because their sleep habits aren't consistent and well, so that's one that I have heard a lot of students utilize as well. Meri Leigh I don't want to downplay some of the things that really brought up because Mostly it's just creating and finding a community for yourself. We often find that when students get connected to others that they feel comfortable with and they find their group are aware, they feel like they belong on campus. They began to just share with each other. And that in itself can alleviate a lot of the stress and anxiety and mental health concerns for our students. Then probably one of my favorite that I see a lot and especially we're getting ready to get to the end of the semester. So we tend to sponsor different pet therapy programs and it's just so interesting to watch our students have when we have our dogs on campus, whether it's down with the dogs are de-stress best at hosts. Some of our pet therapy events to watch students who are walking by and they're focused on what they need to do and maybe typically don't even look up from their phones, but they see those dogs sitting there and they find themselves just walking right over there and sitting down and just cuddling and playing with the therapy dogs in that process you see you just can watch some of the stress sort of wash away. So students need to know that those opportunities are going to be coming up, as well as other very intentional programs that are designed to both recognize the stress and anxiety that comes with the end of the semester and final exams. And just getting some getting your mind off of those final exam prep for just a minute and focus on just the breathing is often helpful for our students. Then also students find, you know, we have been offering several virtual and in-person workshops that we have started to see students be interested in. Some of those are on mindfulness and meditation. Even though managing stress, our students are interested in learning those skills. And so just to make them more accessible to students, some students want those to be in person, but many students are just interested in checking in with those in a virtual environment so they can find a list of those workshops on the student counseling website as well. But that's just a few things that I've seen.

[Kel Lee Cutrell] - Yeah.  The pet therapy always brings in a lot of students. You can just be at a table with some resources. And you have a dog there. And they come for the resources. You have them in faculty and staff loved the animals as well. What we're doing here in student counseling. We've kind of changed our approach a little bit to fit more of the needs of the students. And to do that, let me explain this a little bit. We have what's called and I have a hard time saying it. Single solution focused sessions. I call them one at a time because it is easier for me to say one at a time sessions is exactly what it says. A student may have an issue, one issue, one little struggle. They come in, we focus in a session on that one struggle. What Bi given some coping skills, maybe some guidance. After that conversation, they leave without a next appointment. They go try out those new coping skills. If it works, great. If it doesn't work, They are always welcome to come back. That alleviates a lot of some students concerns that once they walk in our door, that they are signing up for long-term therapy. As Glen said earlier, everybody needs support. Not everybody needs therapy. However, for those who do need more than that one time session, we do still offer the brief therapy. And I'm really, really excited to announce this semester. We have incorporated groups that has been, in my opinion successful. We will continue with groups and some of the ideas, the topics around our groups as anxiety seems to be a big struggle for college students. So anxiety, we have a couple of groups around that. Grief. As I mentioned before, with the 10 million that have lost at least one parent. Self-esteem. And what was the interpersonal skills? Everybody can use some boundary setting and communication skills. So we have those, but we do plan to add more topics as we get this going. So I'm really excited about some of the various options that student counseling is offering. Now.

[Simon Cordery] - Hey guys, I also want to remind you that we have added what we call Nigel cares, which is a 24/7/365 helpline. And students can call that number literally at anytime and speak with a licensed mental health professional. And I think this is great. It's especially good for students that are maybe struggling in the middle of the night after regular university hours. Or if, for instance, they are having some trouble on the weekends that they that they want to address, or if they have a schedule that makes it difficult for them to attend counseling during the regular. Business day. So this is a great service that we've added. You can call, you can get help. You can also go to therapy either virtually or in person through Nigel cares if you'd rather see somebody off campus. And also, you know, as far as emergencies are concerned, we're going to continue to handle emergencies the same way we've always done. And that is imminent crises can always walk into student counseling during regular business hours and be seen. And we're located at 246 Stewart on the Dahlonega campus and the students center on the Gainesville campus. In coming on the second floor in an Oconee. There are places that you can see. You should know where they're at. As far as after hours emergencies, a staff clinician is always on call for life-threatening emergencies on campus and you can contact that person through contacting UNG public safety. I'd also like to point out we have a great, great website. It's got a lot of information on our services, self-help information on screeners. And there's also a list of several crisis hotlines and help lines that are under the talk to someone tab. Also, I want to mention that we have a telepsychiatry services where students can if they're referred by student counseling, can contact the service and receive free psychiatric evaluations and get the medicines that they need to reduce that barrier to being successful in college. And they don't have to pay for the service, but they still have to pay for their medications.

[Glen Harris] - Thanks, Simon. We did receive a question in the chat about psychiatry. And so I'm glad that she did mention some of the free psychiatry services that Nigel cares does offer. And I loved the fact that each of you all have just come in a different perspective. Some of the peer support, some things that you can do by yourself. Some of the group therapy or individualize that single one session one at a time type of approach. One of the things that I have found that students really enjoy is just a ways to help destigmatize mental health and really fun interactive ways. So over the past two years, we've hosted on every campus was called Fresh check day. We've done it in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Oconee Gainesville and Dahlonega. And then we've done like a smaller version of fresh check day on every campus in the spring called refreshed. But fresh check day is really kind of like a uplifting, positive mental health promotion and suicide prevention event. And we have different interactive boosts, games, prizes, activities. Of course, free Food, t-shirts, all the things. And I think students really appreciate, and we tried to do it within the first month or month-and-a-half of this semester to really show students from the very beginning that, hey, you, Angie cares about this, but also there are tons of different ways to get support and to start to be more comfortable talking about it. Will you be able to kind of demystify some of those things? There's information many times about how one out of ten college students experienced suicidal thoughts. And there's a booth that we typically do, let's call it nine out of ten, which means that the other nine out of ten can be there to help that helps support that person going through that mental health challenges. It's a fun time. If you've never been, you're missing out. But I would encourage you to check out some flyers. I know today's webinar or conversation really. We have families, parents who've joined, we have faculty, staff, students. So if you ever want to know more about fresh check day, you can definitely reach out to me and I'll be happy to share some more information there. I know that there are other things that you, when she does to kinda help if you want to support students coming through mental health Meri-Leigh, is there a couple of things that maybe come to your mind about that?

[Meri-Leigh Smith] - Yeah, Glen. I mean, we talk about all the resources available, but students ask so much. What can I do to know more about how to help my friends or to how to help my family and support them. And so we do offer mental health first aid training here at UNG and we offer those in the fall and spring semesters. And those are classes that teach the skills that are needed to help those friends and family members who may be going through some mental health or substance use issues or crisises. And so it really gives you the language to use. It gives you the skills to be able to have that conversation and then really teaches you about all the resources so that you can then help those friends and family members. Connect and find help. So it's a really great course and we split it over two days to try to make it a little bit easier to do. You do get a certificate at the end. That's good for three years. We really want to try to get it to the level that people think they need CPR to save a life. We really think that mental health per se, it is also that resource that can hopefully help you save a life as well.

[Glen Harris] - Awesome. Thanks for sharing that. So we've shared a lot so far. Everything from the stepped care model. And maybe I didn't explain that quiet As as detailed as I would like, but what the stepped care model students can go on there, find an issue of concern whether it's anxiety, depression, disorder, eating, trauma, and whatever area of concern that they have there. And they will find literally a list of peer supports, self-help, group options, individual therapy like they will find each of those different things for their specific area, for their specific concern. This is something that you can just do is essentially just having the tools at your fingertips, right? I think Simon and you were talking earlier about just the increases in mental health and the need for more timely support. Everyone may not be able to get to the counseling center right right away. They stepped care model side allows you to have access to those resources and real-time for whatever you have going on. We've talked about flight support and see something, say something that togetherall app, merely one of the things that I've really liked about it together. All thing that you've mentioned is it's anonymous, it's confidential, right? While they do have these clinicians who kinda help monitor the conversations going on, students can just be themselves in that space and connect with others who don't have any idea who they are. There's no affiliation tied to it. And students really find that to be helpful. So I'm so glad that we've been able to kinda share a lot about what UNG is doing. I do want to be able to look to the Chat for some questions, and so we'll take a few minutes to do that. If you do have the chat or the Q&A, if you do have questions, feel free to do that. Simon, I think I might kick this question to you and we'll see how we'll do it. But the question says, I think greater integration of psychiatry into the range of tools at UNG uses will be helpful. I know that psychiatrists have an enormous positive impact. What do you think? Obviously, we talked about the psychiatry, psychiatry services available at the UNG. Could you maybe elaborate on how this Psychiatry pieces kinda coupled with counseling and those types of things. Glen, Research shows that the best outcome for mental health issues is the combination of talk therapy and medication. Certainly, you can do one without the other, but the best outcomes or when they're used together. And so I think it is an integral part of, of taking care of someone's mental health. And there is a shortage of psychiatrists in the United States, in Georgia, in the areas that our campuses are located and in the nation. So this resource were, we, were, we were able to contact these people virtually, I think has really lowered that barrier to people that are needing that help. And we don't recommend medication for every single person. But for those who needed it really is a fantastic resource that I'm so grateful that the state has helped us get that resource for us. Thanks, Simon. Kel Lee, we talked a little bit about the stepped care model. We talked about conduct that one at a time. Session. You mentioned how students can still go to individual therapy or group therapy afterwards. But I do know at times, students perhaps need higher levels of care. And there was a chat here that kinda talked about, there was a question in the chat that kinda talked about working with folks in the community. So can you talk about maybe if a student does need a higher level of care, how student counseling might work to help get that person connected to someone off campus?

[Kel Lee Cutrell] - Yes, Actually, we have a few ways that we can do that. We have a resource guide that is very extensive for all of the communities that UNG is involved in. We also work with another agency where they have case managers that can help us, especially if a student is going back home. And back home is another state. We may know the resources around here, but maybe not out of this area as well. So there's two ways, Christie Campus and Acadia that we can work with their case managers to help us navigate through that if we need them to. So that does happen, that we need to refer to off-campus for high levels of care. We have a scope of practice that we work within that helps guide us on what needs to be referred out and what can stay in-house? I'm not sure I saw that question on the question-and-answer, so I'm not sure if I'm answering you fully.

[Glen Harris] - I think that's helpful. Okay. There was a question here. Someone mentioned that they work in their student and the counseling program and wondering how we can help with the great need. I didn't mention fresh check day earlier today or earlier, I guess a few moments ago. One of the really cool things that I like about fresh check that is that it's really intended to be peer to peer. The idea is that it's peers talking with their peers to help destigmatize the conversation. So getting involved with fresh check today, we've had several student organizations and clubs be a part of that over the years and then has been a wonderful opportunity for doing so. And so, if you are interested in learning more about how to get your student club, your organization involved and help facilitating booths or to be able to volunteer with those events. We are more than willing to connect with it. You can just e-mail me. I'm Glen.Harris@ung.edu,  And we will be happy to see how we can get you all plugged in and engaged their Glen.

[Simon Cordery] - I also wanted to add, I saw a question from a student about how they, how they can get involved. And I wanted to add also that I think I want to remind people that that mental health first aid is a really crackerjack opportunity to get some of those basic skills on how to talk to people about mental health issues. In addition, Meri Leigh's programs with peer health educators, peer mentors, those are all great opportunities. But most of all, I want us to start having conversations about mental health as health, not as something that we keep secret and not as something that we deny, but it's something that we all have a part in making our society better in this way.

[Glen Harris] -Thank you, Simon. We might have a few minutes for any last minute questions about what UNG is doing to support students and mental health. So if you do have a burning question, encourage you to put it in the Q&A box while we still have some time. As you're gathering as you're gathering your thoughts around that question. I do know that sometimes and Dr. Paul, I'm gonna put you on the spot here. But I do know that sometimes just taking the first step can be really difficult. There are a lot of barriers to why individuals don't get support. And I hope that I'm trying to not answer the question, but I'm hoping that this session has shown where you can find really passive ways of being able to do that and really direct engaging ways. But can you maybe speak a little bit about like what you've seen in the Dean of Students Office. The barriers as to why students don't get support and how you work with them to help them navigate that a little bit.

[Alyson Paul] - Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Good. Yeah. So you and ask the students a lot coming through and we may see I'm requesting a hardship withdrawal or they're coming up on a flight support form. And often the student is at a point, especially if they're requesting a hardship withdrawal where things have gotten so far that they feel like there's no way that they can continue on in their courses for the term. And so there's a lot of resources that we want to prefer, but the student is getting ready to leave. What we want them to do is to, if they need to leave, to take the time to leave. But we also want to make sure that they get connected even upon their return so that if there's a group therapy option for them or they need something different that we have to offer them and gotten connected. And so we need to get them connected to maybe something in Campus Rec and wellness or something within student involvement, or something within our MSA office so that they find those connections and sense of belonging that they need. We want to make sure that upon their return we do it differently. Students are busy. You know, we love as soon as they are energetic right at the beginning of the semester, it was great seeing welcome week. As you mentioned, fresh check Days a really positive celebration and see you as students walk by. But as the semester goes on, students are busy with classes. And then certainly this week is the tip of the iceberg where everybody is ready for this Thanksgiving break and there's lots of exams and papers due this week. And so sometimes we put those things off. We don't have time. We feel like we're running out of time to get these deadlines done. And so the last thing I need is now to take this extra time to do this thing that might be more of a healthy coping skill. But that's a skill that students have to learn. Because in life, this is the cycle of life where. It will sneak up on you think things are okay, you start to get busy, something comes up. And then all of a sudden you find yourself just doing the transactions of trying to get through the day. And when we put our mental health and our need to take a break and to look at, hey, how are we doing emotionally to the side? And then we find our self in a much of a catastrophe. And so we want to teach students that skill is not just about handling their emotional well-being right now, but it's also teaching them the skills to recognize in the future when they need to prioritize that and be well-rounded in the way that they look at their health and wellness.

[Glen Harris] - Thank you for saying that. The one thing that I, that I am reminded of is that UNG, being a student at UNG you are in a really great spot because there are a lot of resources and people to provide that support. And when you graduate and once you're no longer here, like there isn't a lot of hand-holding, here's kinda stuff. And so trying to help students build those resiliency skills, those and how to advocate for themselves, I think is so important. And doing that and sometimes taking that first step can be the most difficult but also the most rewarding and then also feeling because then it just opens up the flood gates. After that. We did get another, another question here. As far as the best resource to improve study skills and coping skills as a new college students. So I want to maybe talk from the academic side of things. And then perhaps if Kel Lee or Simon, student counseling want to talk about supports that are available through your area that you can elaborate. I won't say that there are a couple of different academic supports that are helpful as far as study skills and time management and organization and all those types of things. The first is student lingo. Student lingo is an online platform that you can just, if you just Google UNG student lingo, you'll probably find it as the first link, but it's there. And they have videos and tools that you can go when on all different types of areas, from testing anxiety to study skills to note-taking to time management. Like it's kinda go at your own pace, right? So kinda pick your own adventure and then go at your own pace. And so you can kind of review that information and that's completely free. We also have academic success coaches who will provide more of a one-on-one support for students. And so if you work better, having a person that you can meet with face-to-face or virtually to kinda work through your time management plan or your organizational skills and kinda have that level of accountability. Many students have found working with our academic success coaches to be pretty beneficial. I guess the latter part of that question speaks to the coping skills as a new college student. And maybe some of the supports us there. So Simon or Kel Lee maybe want to jump in there.

[Simon Cordery] - I will tell you that it's certainly the adjustment, the transition to college is probably one of the biggest adjustments that people are going to have in their entire lives. Especially since it's full of a lot of firsts for people. It's first time they're living alone, first-time they're making more decisions for themselves, et cetera. And so what I want to say is that's why we're here. And we definitely, what I would want the students to know is small problems are easier to solve them big problems. So don't, don't wait the first time you notice that things aren't going very well. Do something about it. Alright? That's one of the reasons we have all of these resources here is to make sure that we help students get on the right track and do well. As far as, you know, new, new students. I will tell them that time management is probably one of their biggest concerns and noted several great resources that can help them. But literally, you know, any, any problem a student could, could have, we've got some type of resource or somebody that can help them. So come early adult, wait till it's a big problem.

 Awesome. Well, I think those are all of the questions that we've gotten. So Dr. Conneely, I'll just turn the floor back over to you.

[Jim Conneely] - Thank you. I appreciate it. Hopefully you can see that University of North Georgia is truly committed to work with all students, faculty, and staff around this mental health issue. I would like to thank our panel of experts for sharing all they do their talents or expertise and their knowledge with regard to what we provide the program services. But most of all that we have a caring attitude towards working with students. We understand the stressors, we understand all the challenges that students are going through on a daily basis. And please note that we are committed to working with you. This panel of experts plus their staff can help you navigate the difficult times and point you in the right direction is you're trying to figure out the challenges that you do have. Again, I want to thank you for your time. I know that is a very busy time for all of you getting ready for the Thanksgiving break. Again, our panel of experts. Thank you for the knowledge and the continuing work at how do we serve our students to the best of our abilities? These individuals are the most creative group that really tried to help figure out how do we get through and what can we do. So again, I thank you all for participating and thank the panel of experts. And please know that everybody at the University of North Georgia is here for you. These are just a few define professionals and experts that can assist you. Have a good afternoon.