'Horses can't lie': Montana universities adopt new approaches to address mental health
Billings GazetteSep 24, 2022
Sep. 24—Stress and anxiety are nothing new on university campuses. But recent studies and metrics show that student mental health is declining at an alarming rate and universities across
Starting this fall at
The nonprofit equine therapy program Horses Spirits Healing will offer a limited number of students the opportunity to work with therapy horses as a form of treatment for anxiety and depression. The goal is to develop a new sense of mental wellbeing while also building and a new sense of community that may previously been lacking.
"It develops something in common for them all to go home and talk about," program director
The goal of expanding mental health care options is just one of several new initiatives across
"College campuses are facing an unprecedented mental health crisis," Wayne State Professor and summit keynote speaker Dr.
Concerns have grown
In response to the growing awareness of college student mental health struggles, the
"Over the intervening seven years, I think that those concerns have only grown,"
In the spring 2022 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (
State campus faculties reported that many of the issues facing students today like anxiety, depression, trauma and family separation are not new but generational factors like social media pressures, the COVID-19 pandemic, current inflation rates and costs of living have taken a toll on a larger majority of students' mental health in recent years.
Another trend reported throughout the summit was the de-stigmatization of discussing mental health and increased student engagement. Students were surveyed about symptoms like amounts of sleep, exercise and financial circumstances rather than questions directly addressing conditions like depression or anxiety.
"What would start as a student coming in needing to drop a class would turn into a bigger conversation,"
In addition to student challenges, there is a lack of available faculty and staff trained to treat mental health issues. Referring to a faculty study conducted across universities last spring, Zhou reported 80% of college faculty having one-on-one conversations with students about their mental health with only 50% knowing how to recognize mental distress.
Forester said her campus has felt this strain of sufficient professionals with available personnel having similar encounters.
"We only have one counselor here and they're completely booked for weeks out," she said. "So our faculty and staff have tried to pick up the slack to try and fill that role and fill those gaps."
Creating a community
The primary takeaway at the summit was to re-direct the focus of mental health treatment as a public health crisis rather than an individual crisis. Representatives from the
Proposals included incorporating available mental health resources into class syllabuses, continue to research and address current and developing trends, have professors and instructors undergo "gatekeeper" programs to identify mental health distress and make initial interventions or referrals without having to provide clinical care, and develop local partnerships outside campuses to enhance services.
"All of those people are in the room and at the table because we all have a role in mental health and in helping our students thrive," Miller said.
Universities that are currently lacking enough counselors on campus like Great Falls College MSU have begun partnering with local counselors in the community, while the
At MSUB, Horses Spirits Healing already offers a different approach to mental health service. Originally started to treat military veterans, the program became widely embraced for its effectiveness in lowering patients' heartbeats and stress levels while also developing bonds with the animals and regular physical routines that include riding and caring for the horse.
Because horses are able to pick up on the mood and emotions of their riders, patients develop the physical strength and stability along with personal confidence needed to effectively ride the horse that, in turn, carries over into their everyday lives.
"Horses can't lie," Tusler said. "So they can act like more of a vessel to patients rather than traditional couch therapy."
The program will accept limited applicants up until the end of October and goes for eight weeks. Six students will partner with two horses throughout the program with a school counselor on staff to intervene when necessary and provide regular therapy efficacy.
Because the program has had so much success with bringing local veterans, families and organizations together, MSUB is hoping it will be able to do so for its students.
"The goal [with the new program] is to create that sense of community," Tusler said. "Where, by the end, the students have hopefully created new friendships, new connections along with more life skills that they might carry on going forward."
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