Editorial: Mental health peer counselors need comprehensive training
By Editorial Board
Jan. 18, 2016 11:18 p.m.
It’s impossible to be too careful when attempting to supplement underfunded and understaffed on-campus mental health resources.
During last week’s undergraduate student government meeting, Student Wellness Commissioner Marvin Chen said his office is working with UCLA Student Affairs to create a peer counseling support network and address the gap within current mental health services on campus.
In the fall, UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services reduced the number of appointments available to students with the UC Student Health Insurance Plan every academic year from 10 to six. The facility enacted this policy change because it was understaffed and hoped to reduce wait times for students who would have to wait more than a month to schedule follow-up appointments.
Creating a student-to-student counseling service shows valiant effort to create more mental health resources on campus. While in development, there are a few key issues this board believes should be addressed.
Chen said, starting this quarter, students interested in becoming peer counselors have started to undergo a quarter-long training program with licensed professionals.
Through this program, UCLA students will be able to supplement professional mental health services that are already struggling to accommodate the large number of students dealing with everything from the stressful transition between high school and college to long-term psychological disorders.
These students can act as a resource to other students who seek mental health advice, but don’t necessarily need professional help; however, any program involving mental health must be approached with serious deliberation. Training for this network should ensure students are well-versed in a range of sensitive and potentially traumatic situations, as well as made fully aware of UCLA’s privacy notice which covers patient-doctor confidentiality.
Mental health services are not one-size-fits-all, and students’ issues vary widely in severity and outcomes. It’s important that students are trained with a diverse set of skills, such as how to steer your way out of a panic attack, how to manage your stress and most importantly, how to know if you should seek professional help.
Additionally, student volunteers should be well versed in the issue of confidentiality. Peer counselors should be held to the same standards as any other health professional within CAPS.
Specifically, peer counselors must understand the importance of an individual’s right to restrict or limit the availability of their health information to others, including family or friends involved in paying for their care, whether it be for treatment, payment or healthcare operations.
That said, successfully completing training shouldn’t be the only marker necessary for students to become peer counselors. Washington and Lee University’s peer counseling network trains its volunteers for 40 hours prior to potential acceptance, and only has a 10 percent acceptance rate. UCLA’s peer counseling network should be similarly intensive and selective.
If executed correctly, this network has the potential to not just supplement mental health resources at UCLA, but redefine them for the better.
Seventy-seven percent of students say they would rather reach out to friends for support than go to a professional for help if they were experiencing suicidal thoughts. By providing students with trained volunteers around their age, UCLA will be helping a community of students who are uncomfortable seeking support.
Mental health issues are growing on college campuses, including our own. And as our student body continues to grow, these issues need to be addressed. Chen’s office and Student Affairs have already done the hardest part: They have started the process toward fixing a broken system. This board believes looking into the above concerns can only strengthen the cause.
Peer counseling can’t always replace the professional care many students need, but it can create a more holistic approach to mental wellness on campus. And that’s a start.
