New University of Kentucky Task Force to Review Mental Health Services

The University of Kentucky is creating a task force comprised of senior officials to review the mental health counseling services provided to students on campus.

With recently rising rates of suicide, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues on college campuses around the country, the new task force at the University of Kentucky, announced by university president Eli Capilouto last week, will assess the mental health services extended to students and make recommendations how to make them better.

Chaired by College of Public Health dean Donna Arnett and Margaret Pisacano, the committee will include faculty members from different disciplines, as well as other mental health experts from across the campus.

“We must abandon tired stereotypes about mental health. We will instead make clear that seeking professional assistance in a time of crisis is a sign of strength and self-awareness; and not a sign of weakness,” Capilouto said.

“We will discuss openly and candidly the sources of anxiety, sadness, and fear in our midst. We will efficiently and effectively respond to despair with hope; to confusion with clarity; and to loneliness with connection. And we will discuss how we best equip each other with the tools to respond to setback with resilience.”

The university is planning to keep the task force in place over a long term period to gather input from students both on its campus and across the country on mental health.

Last year, in a similar move, Brown University announced plans to build a state-of-art comprehensive health and wellness center to provide physical, mental and emotional care to the university community.

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