Overview

Cornell's comprehensive and integrated public health approach has informed and continues to reflect the best practices represented by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center/Jed Foundation Model for Comprehensive Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Promotion. That model is drawn primarily from the overall strategic direction of the U.S. Air Force Suicide Prevention Program, a population-based strategy to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors for suicide. The Framework consists of seven key objectives (see diagram on left):

1. Foster a healthy educational environment

• Campus-wide committees
  - Executive Committee on Campus Health and Safety: Senior administration provides oversight of health policy and strategies, including mental health-related initiatives.
  - Council on Mental Health and Welfare: Staff, faculty, and student leaders guide development of the University’s mental health strategies.
  - President's Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD): Staff, faculty, and student leaders oversee development of prevention and intervention strategies related to AOD abuse, associated violence, and hazing.
  - Student leadership: Student Assembly initiatives and the Graduate and Professional Student Association's ad hoc mental health committee demonstrate the high priority of health and well-being to the student community.

• Leadership statements
  - Caring Community communications: President Skorton’s call for Cornell to be an “ever more caring community” (Aug. 2007) provides a philosophical foundation for Cornell’s comprehensive approach to mental health and well-being. 
  - In Spring 2010: President Skorton echoed this call and implored Cornell students "If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help" (March 2010). In an op-ed in "The Way Forward" (an op-ed in The Cornell Daily Sun, April, 2010), he called upon the campus community to engage in a comprehensive examination of the student experience in order "to have a broader and more holistic view of our support for students."

• Strategic plan
  The Cornell Strategic Plan (2010-2015) includes the following goal in service of Educational Excellence: "Promote the health and well-being of students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional) as a foundation for academic and life success."

• Policy initiatives
  - Faculty: The Faculty Senate voted to "strongly discourage" faculty from assigning students homework over academic breaks (March 8, 2010). Committees are reviewing the academic calendar and advising systems to optimize student support and reduce unnecessary stress. Read a Cornell Chronicle article about a meeting held between faculty and students to discuss ways to overcome stress to learn more (April 14, 2011).
  - Mental Health Policy Group: Faculty and staff collaborate on development and implementation of policies and protocols aimed at identifying and supporting students in distress. The MHPG's focus for the current year is examination of faculty opportunities to address student mental health within the academic environment.
  - Promotion of restorative natural areas: Cornell Plantations and Cornell Outdoor Education provide opportunities for experiences in the natural environment that reduce stress and promote mental health.
  - Disability services: Facilitation of services and accommodations enabling Cornell students with disabilities to enjoy the same educational opportunities as their peers.

2. Promote social connectedness and resilience

• Gannett Health Promotion: Provides resilience, stress management workshops (e.g., Finding Balance program in Engineering 1050 classes).
• Cornell Minds Matter: Leads programs, groups, and public events provide education and support on a range of mental health topics.
• EARS outreach programs: Provide interactive workshops on a range of topics (e.g., personal growth, communication, relationships, conflict management).
• Learning Strategies Center: Provides time management and study skills tools workshops.
• Alcohol education: All incoming first year students are expected to complete Alcohol Wise, an online educational program, before arriving on campus.
• Online resources: Mental health self-assessments and stress management materials help students develop coping strategies and learn when and where to turn for help.
• Promotion of social connections:
  - Residential and community initiatives: Community-building efforts through Residential Programs, West Campus Houses, Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, and graduate and professional school initiatives (e.g., the College of Veterinary Medicine's Peer Support Network) foster interpersonal connectedness and enhance the University's safety net for students.
  - Diversity programs: Multiple efforts, such as the availability of campus Program Houses and a Pre-Freshman Summer Program, as well as events designed to foster inclusiveness (e.g., the "Tapestry Program") help promote student welfare.

3. Increase help-seeking behavior

• Real Students, Reel Stories: This 2-part health and well-being program welcomes new students to the Cornell community and introduces them to campus resources. Video stories, in which Cornell students share their challenges and triumphs, help new students learn how to navigate their first year and encourage them to ask for help when it's needed. The film was piloted with new students in fall, 2010.
• Media communication: Advertisements, posters, resource cards, and web pages promote the concept of the Caring Community, including availability of campus resources and attentiveness to others in distress.
• The Caring Community website: Cornell's gateway to information about campus and local resources, events, leadership statements, and news in support of the health and well-being of the campus community.
• EARS (Empathy, Assistance, and Referral Service): Student volunteers (trained and supervised by the Dean of Students Office of Student Support and Diversity) provide anonymous telephone or walk-in peer counseling for undergraduate and graduate students.
• Parent education: Written materials (e.g., Family Guide, electronic newsletter, and parent website) and on-campus events (e.g., Orientation Resource Fair, Convocation, Family Weekend programs) inform parents about mental health issues and services.

4. Identify individuals in need of care

• "Notice and Respond" gatekeeper training for faculty, staff, and students:
  - "Assisting Students in Distress" Seminar: This seminar helps faculty departments and staff groups explore how to assist students. New facilitators have been added to expand the reach of this program.
  - "Friend 2 Friend" Program: This program helps students learn how to recognize and reach out to other students in distress. The  program was piloted in the College of Engineering, (fall 2010).
  - Notice and Respond web content: The Gannett website provides extensive resources to assist members of the Cornell community.
  - Faculty Handbook (pdf): “Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress” provides information on signs of distress, mental illness, and strategies for promoting student well-being in the living and learning environments.
  - Staff Handbook (pdf): “Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress” provides information on signs of distress, mental illness, and strategies for promoting student well-being in the living and learning environments.
• Community consultation and intervention through Gannett: CAPS staff members provide guidance for faculty and staff concerned about distressed students and coordinate interventions as needed.
• Mental health screening by Gannett:
  - Health history form: First-year and transfer students who identify (on prematriculation health form) a history of mental health concerns and/or treatment receive information about services and support available at Cornell before arriving on campus.
  - Primary care mental health screening: Medical patients are assessed at the time of their visit. Those indicating high levels of distress are given referrals to counseling and/or resources or self-care.
  - Interactive Screening Program: Web-based outreach program to identify, engage, and refer to treatment students with depression or other serious mental health conditions.
  - BASICS (Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students): A service of Gannett Health Services for students to explore their alcohol and other drug use. Students are referred to the program by residential staff, judicial administrators, and health care providers, as well as by self-referral.
• Alert Team: Staff members from key departments (e.g., Residential Programs, Cornell University Police) meet weekly to discuss situations (often pre-crisis) involving students whose behavior or well-being is of concern to others.
• Professional Academic Advising Leaders (PAAL): Staff members from academic advising and deans offices within undergraduate colleges coordinate strategies and share best practices related to student support.
• Victim Advocacy Program: Supports victims of crimes or other traumatic experiences.

5. Provide medical and mental health services

• Gannett Health Services: Interdisciplinary staff is committed to a collaborative approach to caring for the physical and mental health of patients. Medical and counseling professionals work in integrated "teams" and partnerships to provide care for students with complex health issues (e.g., eating disorders, substance abuse, or chronic illness).
  - General Medicine, Sports Medicine: Physicians, mid-level providers, and nurses often are the health care providers of choice for students who are experiencing emotional distress related to medical problems, not yet aware of the emotional cause of physical symptoms, or not comfortable with, or ready to access, mental health care.
  - Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS): Provides on-campus services for students, same day triage and emergency care, and referral to community providers for off-campus and specialty care.-
  - Let's Talk: Walk-in consultations with CAPS counselors at nine locations across campus increases access to services, particularly for high-risk students.

6. Deliver coordinated crisis management

• Gannett phone consultation: 24/7 phone consultation with a health care provider or counselor for students and people with concerns about a student's well-being.
• 911: 24/7 emergency call to police.
• Crisis Managers: Staff members are on-call at all times to coordinate the University’s response to student crisis situations.
• Community Support Team: Staff members from across the university provide support for groups of students and others in the aftermath of tragedies or other crises.

7. Restrict access to lethal means

• Secure access to chemicals and equipment
• Install safety structures on bridges (temporary fencing in 2009; net systems to be installed in 2012)
• Means restriction study and website

More information

For more information about Cornell's Student Mental Health Framework, contact Timothy C. Marchell, PhD, MPH, Director of Mental Health Initiatives.