Inequalities in Mental Health & Well-Being: Discussion with Dorynn Mentor, College Student Leader
Doreen is a junior studying Epidemiology and currently serves in Indiana University's student Government as the Codirector of Health and Wellness, and she is also the vice President of IU School of Public Health Student Government to startups off, I would love to ask you, Doreen, what are some of the inequalities that you see on I use campus when it comes to mental health treatment and support
Dorynn Mentor
@doment13 · 1:55
So I think those are the main inequalities that I see on campus, the fact that we only get two free appointments and some people may be more than others and it helps. But I feel like I used to do a bit more. Also, the fact that not all insurances are applicable
So, in fact, for your first semester of getting mentor health treatment at IU's clinic, you're only getting one therapy appointment, which is again, a limitation and inequality in a lot of cases. So you also mentioned some ongoing issues that impact IU students, and I wanted to follow up and ask in your view, how have these inequalities that you mentioned been impacted by Coven 19 in the election
Dorynn Mentor
@doment13 · 2:52
And they possibly don't get the human interaction that they would want. And they're far from their friends. And I think that, you know, especially since their first appointment is only one intake appointment, they definitely need, like, more mental health services to try to account for that
Dorynn Mentor
@doment13 · 1:50
And just that stigma and just the amount of money that mental health services cost is just like disheartening, because we realize that anybody can suffer from it. And I think that workplaces should really realize that because I am an Epidemiology major. We talk a lot about mental health and all our classes, environmental health and community health in most of sick days taken from work or due to stress. And a lot of times offices don't understand that
I don't know statistics about this, but I have a feeling that they're one of the prominent demographics that does work to rid of mental health stigma just because College age is like one of those ages that mentor health issues are so prominent within. But I'm curious to kind of get your thoughts on this. What do you think are some things that IU is doing and some things that IU is doing right in responding to the added stress and decrease in well being that students are experiencing
Dorynn Mentor
@doment13 · 3:09
Iu also offers services like a 24 hours hotline where you can talk to a certified counselor or psychologist, and they kind of help you through your problem. They have a quick appointment, which is usually like 15 minutes, and it's if you're experiencing a crisis. And I am not sure how it is going now during Covet, but before Covet, you could go in and make it. You didn't have to make an appointment
Dorynn Mentor
@doment13 · 3:53
Well as a director of health and well being for I used to in government. I think that it's important that I stress mental health and lead students to the research resources that are available to them and also maybe create new resources. So currently there is an event actually on Friday, November 6, which is tomorrow from seven to 08:00 p.m. And it's called Glow and Flow with Iousg and it is for mental health awareness, erasing the state round mentor health and a stress relief
But this conversation is not yet over. So for you all listening, I would love to ask you, have you noticed a shift in conversations about mentalhealth in College, the start of the pandemic? And if so, how have these conversations then been impacted by the election? Feel free to also share about your personal experiences, but again, huge. Thank you you to Doreen for talking with me here on Swell
Dorynn Mentor
@doment13 · 0:35
It was nice talking to you as well about mentor health services and where we are in terms of I use mental health services but also mental health services in general. It's always good to have somebody to talk to about that and bounce back ideas on. And I had a great time discussing my future plans concerning mental health. And I hope that you have an amazing weekend and, you know, just an amazing fall season overall
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 3:36
And like you both mentioned in this conversation, if you come from a low income family or, for example, there have been times when I have been unable to utilize mental health services because where I was living, I didn't have a car and there wasn't reliable transportation, and I wasn't able to get to a counselor or therapist by walking. So what do you do?