Concerned About Your Friend's Mental Health?

08/22/10

Telling a friend you are concerned about their mental health can be scary.  You might not know what to say or how to say it.  You might also be afraid your friend will become angry, that your friend might dismiss what you have to say, or that your friend might not want your help.  If your lack of confidence or fear keeps you from talking to your friend, your anxiety might increase and your friend might suffer more than is necessary. And let’s face it, sometimes we worry that our friend might be thinking about suicide…but fear can keep us from asking.  That does not have to be the case.

Pathways is a crisis intervention and suicide prevention training offered by Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to members of the IC campus community.  Pathways will teach you to identify someone who might be in distress, approach that person and refer them to available resources.

Students interested in attending a Pathways training can contact Student Leadership and Involvement, within the Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs, for dates, times and training locations.  Direct questions about Pathways can be directed to Dr. LeBron Rankins at lrankins@ithaca.edu.

Student Testimonials

• Very informative; I learned things that I thought I knew bud didn’t and how to approach people in distress.

Why did you attend the workshop:

• “Selected it at random.  Ended up liking it anyways.”
• “To be honest, I needed it to fulfill a class requirement.  However, I am very glad I came to this workshop.”
• “I chose this because a friend expressed how helpful and educational the session was.”

Relevance of the training for you:

• “I can use this in the near future – specifically with my roommate – I have the skills to approach [my roommate] because the signs are there.”

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