PSYDEKICK: REDUCING THE STIGMA OF MENTAL HEALTH ON ECU’S CAMPUS THROUGH THE CREATION OF A PEER EDUCATION PROGRAM

Mental health issues have become a growing concern among all colleges and universities within the nation. There is a lack of education and resources on these topics, which fuels the growing issue of mental health illnesses among college students. According to a survey administered by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 75% of their students were unaware of the university’s counseling services and 92% claimed to be uneducated on mental health prevention (Catanzarite & Robinson, 2013). Psydekick was created on ECU’s campus to provide students with valuable information on ways to cope with the six mental illnesses seen primarily among ECU students: anxiety, depression, stress management, suicide prevention, eating disorders, and substance abuse. As an acting partner with the Counseling Center, the focus of this organization was on the advocacy and peer education of mental health on campus. Through extensive research on the topic of peer education, it was found that the “social learning theory” supported that peers learn best from one another within a specific social context and results in more behavior change (Catanzarite & Robinson, 2013). Psydekick would function as a source of outreach to educate students on different ways to cope with these prevalent mental health issues while attending ECU. When individuals are given accurate information, they can successfully empower and encourage positive behavior change among their peers (Catanzarite & Robinson, 2013). Members in the organization planned to complete national peer education training through a program called BACCHUS to become certified as peer educators, as well as complete training provided by the Counseling Center on the six special topics of mental health. Throughout this process, Psydekick was successful in providing information and research on the importance peer education holds in the area of mental health, which has further led to a professionalized peer education program being formed in direct connection to the Counseling Center