Providing Mental Health Support for Your Chapter
More so than any recent generation, today's collegiate members are confronted daily with a number of responsibilities, stresses, and expectations. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 20 to 24-year-olds.
- More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from all medical illnesses combined.
- The suicide rate peaks among young adults (ages 20-24).
- One in 12 U.S. college students make a suicide plan.
- Every day, approximately 80 Americans take their own life and 1,500 more attempt to do so.
- There are more than four male suicides for every female suicide.
- Depression affects more than 19 million American adults 18 and older each year (nearly 10% of all American adults).
- About 15% of the population develops clinical depression at some time in their lives.
- The majority of young adults age 18 and older who are diagnosed with depression do not receive appropriate or any treatment.
The intimate relationship and bonds formed within a fraternity can play a critical role in identifying early warning signs for someone experiencing mental distress and engaging in effective intervention for that individual. As such, the Fraternity has partnered with the Human Power Project to offer the Behind Happy Faces Advisor Resource Series for our alumni volunteers and collegiate chapter officers.
The Advisor Resource Series is comprised of five 5-10 minute online modules. Click on the title below to access each module:
- Face the Facts - mental health overview
- Complete Pre-Assessment within Module One
- Face Forward - creating effective coping mechanisms
- Face Reality - mental distress, warning signs, and how to get help
- Face the Mirror - self-care for advisors and officers
- Face the Challenges - handling crisis situations
- Complete Post-Assessment within Module Five
Participants are welcome to complete all five sessions in one sitting or spread it out over as many sessions as they would like. While not required, participants are advised to complete the sessions in sequential order.
For best viewing, access the program using your desktop and either the Chrome or Firefox browser. Courses may not load correctly using Internet Explorer and interactivity may be limited on a mobile device.
The Fraternity also offers the Behind Happy Faces Collegiate Member Program to help equip all chapter members with important mental knowledge and skills. The Collegiate Member Program is a series of five (5) 15 to 25-minute in-person workshops. The program has been included as Module D of All Chapter LEAD. One lesson should be facilitated each academic term as part of the chapter’s All Chapter LEAD implementation, which is recommended to be one All Chapter LEAD session facilitated for the chapter each month of the academic year.