More than folders

The new mental health initiative, Green Folders, is a good step forward, but will hopefully be followed by more ambitious and effective projects.

The folders, which offer a four-sided page of resources on warning signs for a variety of mental health issues, definitely help to increase awareness about mental healthcare on campus.

Most professors and TAs have little to no knowledge on these issues, so it gives them a gateway to recognize and address problems that are clearly visible in their classes.

That being said, a folder still only provides very limited resources — four pages doesn’t encompass all of the stressors and difficulties that students may face.

On top of that, mental health issues are unfortunately not always clearly on display in class.

A folder won’t teach professors how to build closer, more caring relationships with their students — that would require a larger cultural shift in teaching on campus.

The school could easily take further steps towards helping train faculty and staff to deal with these sorts of issues more effectively.

For example, with accessibility issues at Queen’s, an online training was set up to give people resources on how to cater to someone with specific accessibility needs. While the online aspect of it can lead people to engage less actively with the material they’re supposed to learn, the intention of implementing a training model is a positive one.

Enrolling each professor and TA into a special seminar or course offered by the university to help them understand and pinpoint mental health issues, while also teaching them to reach out to students and create a safe space, would be a good next step.

One thing is undeniable — it’ll be far more constructive than simply handing them a four-page folder of information. A folder doesn’t make a mentor or a confidant out of a professor — it only gives them a basic understanding of the issues they might encounter.

These folders are a positive step forward, but, at the end of the day, offer only a quick Band-Aid solution to the larger, more complex problem.

Professors and TAs need more than just a folder — they need constructive and effective training and to change the way they approach teaching.

— Journal Editorial Board

Tags

Health, Mental

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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