BYU–Hawaii’s Counseling and Disability Services presented a booth during lunchtime on Jan. 16 welcoming students to a new decade with new health opportunities. Their booth introduced students to the Counseling Center and to the different activities they will be doing during the Winter 2020 Semester.
There were three Counseling and Disability Services employees attending to the booth. One of them was Kyle Mullins, a psychology senior from Indiana interning at Counseling and Disability Services. Past Counseling Center activities were focused on helping students manage stress, foster better mental health, face their fears, and prevent suicide. Mullins said they are continuing these events and adding two new workshops.
One of the new workshops will be a five-week online program on building self-confidence. It will be taught by Elder Stephen Kittelson who used to be a senior missionary at the center. The other will be a splitting of the past workshop Be Kind to Your Mind. It will now be split between single students at the Hales and married students at TVA.
The center continued to advertise its telemental health program. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America defines telemental health as “online therapy, also known as telemental health, [which] is a growing field. A therapist or counselor provides psychological counseling and support over the internet through email, video conferencing, online chat, or a phone call.”
Mullins said, “It’s the same thing as what Kittelson is doing with the self-confidence program. He’s a professional you can access online.” This way students can get help without going to the center. The school’s telemental health program is complimentary for students, as are the visits at the center.
Alita Wu, a freshman from Taiwan majoring in TESOL, walked by the booth and stopped to examine the presentation. She explained her thoughts of the booth and its success in garnering more students to take charge of their mental and emotional health. “I think it will help a little bit, but the people who don’t want to, because they are afraid, will still not go.”
Rachel Pushnam, a graphic design senior from Malaysia who was beside Wu, agreed with her. “Everyone’s very different and [a person may be] timid. Some people are willing to go because of their friend. If people have friends that are welcoming when they are in trouble, they may be more likely to go to the Counseling Center.”
Wu said coming to the Counseling Center “can change [your] thoughts. We are uncomfortable to come because then you may know some of our problems.” Wu also extended a call for people to come due to the fact others may need them. “Invite them to come, not because you need help, but because people you could meet need help.”
Pushnam added it does not matter what major or minor students are studying. “Everyone needs help.”
The stigma of going to therapy
Mullins said he thinks there is definitely a stigma on going to counseling, but it’s also starting to disappear. A lot more people have been seeking help.” Mullins explained students may be in therapy or in help groups, but may just be reaching out to friends or avoiding counseling.
“I definitely see that some groups are apprehensive about it.” Mullins said some students from collectivist cultures are apprehensive about sitting in one-on-one therapy sessions, but “it’s something that is very helpful.”
Very Well Mind, a website about psychology, lists some traits of collectivist cultures. A few of them include: “Social rules [which] focus on promoting selflessness and putting the community needs ahead of individual needs, people are encouraged to do what’s best for society,” and there is “greater emphasis on common goals over individual pursuits.” Very Well Mind also notes “cultures in Asia, Central America, South America, and Africa tend to be more collectivistic.”
Megan Russell, a recent political science graduate of BYUH, researched the different collectivist cultures which focus more on devotion to groups, and individualist cultures which focus more on one’s devotion to one’s self.
Russell does not believe group therapy would be a draw for collectivist cultures either unless the group is full of familiars. “It’s more about relationships than the actual number of people.” The collectivist cultures focus more on family and community input rather than the input of an outsider therapist.
According to Mullins, there is still hope for those who may be disinterested in group and individual therapy. “Doctor Orr said in Polynesia, art therapy tends to be better than speaking therapy. If you find being in a group setting is better, then definitely go for that.”