THE SILHOUETTE • A5
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012
Student Wellness
Mental health a rising priority on campus Panel discussion credits current efforts
JOY SANTIAGO / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Experts laud McMaster’s mental health awareness, but more can be done. Farzeen Foda
Senior News Editor
On March 13, McMaster University hosted a Mental Health Symposium to evaluate the mental health efforts across campus. The event featured speakers from key players in combating student mental health issues. Dr. Debbie Nifakis, associate director of counseling for McMaster’s Student Wellness Centre (SWC), John Starzynski, president of the Mood Disorders Society of Canada and Dan Johnson of The Jack Project at Kids Help Phone were among the speakers present at the event. To evaluate current efforts at McMaster and consider alternate options, seven panelists, including the speakers, expressed their perspectives. In addition to the speakers, the panelists included Deb Earl, mental health team nurse for SWC, Siobhan Stewart, McMaster Students Union (MSU) presidentelect, Mariette Lee, a McMaster student, Dr. Allan McFarlane, professor emeritus in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience and Heidi Muller of Student Conduct an Community Standards. Panelists and speakers discussed the state of the mental health support currently available on the McMaster campus. It has been noted that such services available on campus are of exceptional standard already, but are hindered by the lack of student awareness, noted Allan Fein, wellness education coordinator for the SWC. Discussions sought to “get some of the voices on campus together,” he said. He further explained that the event looked at ways of building awareness about the services available to students battling difficulties in any domain of university life as those often translate into adverse mental health outcomes. Fein expressed that one untapped avenue of communication with the student body appears to be McMaster student cards, which are a staple item for all students. Keeping vital contact information on
student cards may be a simple way to build awareness to such services as the Student Wellness Centre. The Jack Project at Kids Help Phone was initiated by the father of Jack Windeler, a Queen’s University student, who in 2010 took his own life in his battle against mental illness. The group focuses on the transition from high school to university. It was noted that early intervention programs might be an effective measure to help students feel better connected to their new surroundings. While some are already in place, they may be improved and/or better publicized. These efforts are aimed at “catching students before they fall through the cracks of the system,” said Melissa Fernandes, wellness education assistant for SWC. Proposals to improve mental health services on campus were a key element of Stewart’s election campaign and include the establishment of an after-hours peer support line, fall break, and implement training for mental illness following the LGBTQ Positive Space Training model. The event marks neither a starting point or an ending point in campus mental health efforts, noted Fein. Given the strong foundation in place already, there remains potential for refinement in policies and publicity of services. Considerations proposed at the event included revisions to policies pertaining to voluntary and involuntary university dropout. Currently, students forced to take leave from university either by choice or force are faced with immense difficulty when they try to return to their studies. The time off reflects negatively as a result of the current policy framework, thus often restricting re-entry for such students, noted Fein and Fernandes. The next steps at this time involve consolidating the ideas that came out of the symposium and look to the improvement of current services and the allocation of new recommendations to those parties on campus that can affect the envisioned change.
Alzheimer’s Society
Virtual tour a success Kacper Niburski
Assistant News Editor
There’s nothing popping about kernels in one’s shoes. It’s uncomfortable. It’s irritating. It’s a simulation of what dementia patients go through daily. Through a use of taped fingers, weights and glasses festooned with saran wrap, the McMaster’s Alzheimer’s Society, in partnership with the Hamilton-Halton Alzheimer’s Society, challenged students on March 13 to enter the mind of a dementia patient. As the first virtual dementia tour offered at McMaster, the event seeks to raise awareness surrounding the mental illness itself as well as to foster a relationship of empathy between someone afflicted with the disease and their care provider. Brianna Smrke, Education Committee executive, was one of the co-organizers. “We were hoping to see how the event could be adapted to engage a group of university students for which it wasn’t originally created. Our other goal was to get people to think more carefully about how they treat elders – whether they are relatives or acquaintances,” she said. This is only partly true. Besides fostering an environment where people are more conscientious of their actions toward a patient, the tour – which was originally started by P.K Beville – also develops a feeling of empathy. With cotton in one’s ears, weights on one’s
appendages and tape wrapped around one’s fingers, a participant gets a brief glimpse into the warped mind of a dementia sufferer. Karen Robins, Public Education Coordinator for the Halton chapter of the Alzheimer society, expanded on this idea. Drawing on the mission statement of the Alzheimer society, which is to offer either counseling or education regarding Alzheimer’s, she stated that, “Knowledge is power.” “We can be a voice, a soundboard,” Robins added, “not only for people suffering from the disease, but for their care partners as well. It is such a long journey. It is not all of a sudden. As long as people understand this is an illness that takes time, people will need consistent support.” In the coming years, such understanding and education is only expected to increase as the disease is getting more and more notoriety. No longer is there a stigma regarding the illness. Instead, with baby boomers entering the age of grey hair and failing memory, people are becoming more aware of the diseases associated with an aging population. Despite the success of the tour, both Robins and Smrke stressed that there is still more to be done. “It’s a great start, “ said Smrke. “It went well, but I’m already thinking of how much better it will be the next time we run it – how many more people we’ll be able to encourage to think a little differently about aging and dementia.”