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New group offers mental illness support |
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Thursday, 02 November 2006 |
by ALLISON CASEY
Lifestyles Reporter
Those looking for support for mental illness now have a new place to turn.
The Appalachian State University chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is being formed on campus.
“NAMI
is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated
to improving the lives of persons living with mental illness and their
families,” according to NAMI’s Web site.
The group has three main goals: education, support and advocacy, Dr.
Joe P. Daly, management professor and advisor to the Appalachian
chapter of NAMI, said.
The chapter had its first meeting Wednesday in the Equity Office.
“The Equity Office does a lot with diversity,” S. Wade McGinnis, a graduate assistant for The Equity Office and NAMI, said.
“There’s the Black Student Association, there’s the Hispanic Student
Association, there’s B-GLAAD and a lot of other groups for diversity,”
he said. “The mentally ill are another group that’s stigmatized
against.”
“There is not a place on campus for people with these similar
interests,” McGinnis said. “We hope to serve as advocates. It’s not
group therapy by any means.”
Although the chapter is not group therapy, they plan to partner with
the counseling center and the departments of psychology and health
promotion, Daly said.
One of the programs in the works is called “In Our Own Voice,” a presentation in which the mentally ill tell their stories.
A large part of the chapter’s mission is suicide prevention, Daly said.
Although he said he does not know of any instances on the Appalachian
State campus, he is aware that it is not uncommon for university
administrations at other universities to cover up suicides and suicide
attempts.
“I hear stories about students who have mental illness who are mistreated at other schools,” he said.
“Students are high functioning if they have problems,” Daly said. “They
may not be comfortable with the title of ‘mentally ill,’”
Instead the title, “Consumers of mental health services,” is used, he said.
The chapter has not received a large amount of student interest as of yet, McGinnis said.
NAMI hopes to attract those in training to become mental health professionals.
“We’d hope they join because they really cared about mental health,” Daly said. “But they have a lot to gain by joining NAMI.”
“We’re casting a wide net,” Daly said. “We’d like to see people who are
suffering as well as families and friends of the mentally ill.”
In addition to providing support, the chapter will also educate others in looking for mental illness.
Appalachian’s NAMI chapter also hopes to work with pre-service teachers to train them on signs of mental illness.
“NAMI is a national organization and has a lot of great publications to pass out,” Daly said.
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