Filling the gaps: School of Nursing leads effort to coordinate, expand campus mental health resources

The School of Nursing in the College of HEST is developing and implementing new suicide prevention and mental health education initiatives through a $306,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Nursing faculty members are working with NMSU’s Department of Student Life, Department of Public Health Sciences, Aggie Health and Wellness Center, NMSU police, the Chancellor’s Office and other groups to harness existing mental health resources on campus to create a centralized network that raises awareness of suicide prevention resources, increases access to mental health care services, and reduces the stigma associated with seeking care.

“NMSU currently has committed resources to address suicide prevention, mental health, substance use and behavioral health needs of students, but has significant gaps and a lack of campus-wide coordination,” says Alexa Doig, director of the School of Nursing. “Coordinating campus resources, establishing a network for mental health treatment and crisis response, and adding case management services are key components of our project.”

Shelly Noe, an associate professor and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, leads the effort as the project director. Ann Goodman, NMSU’s associate vice president of student development and dean of students, serves as the group’s prevention specialist. Elizabeth Kuchler, an associate professor and family nurse practitioner, and Conni J. DeBlieck, an associate professor and informatics specialist, also support the project in key roles: Kuchler is the outreach coordinator, and DeBlieck is the project evaluator.

“For me, it is important to address the factors that increase the risk of student suicide. We must reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and assist students to develop protective factors that promote resilience,” Noe says. “By raising awareness on campus and actively engaging student in suicide prevention activities, we create a community of hope and connection. NMSU seeks to partner with community providers and agencies to increase accessibility to mental health resources. The goal is to improve identification and treatment of at-risk college students to support academic success.”

Through targeted and coordinated outreach and education, the project aims to boost student help-seeking behaviors for mental health support, reduce substance abuse, promote academic success, expand mental health screenings, increase campus-based support services and off-campus referrals, and enhance access to mental health care services for all students, among other goals. The project team is also working to establish campus-based recovery groups and develop programming tailored to NMSU’s diverse student population to increase social connections and decrease negative attitudes toward seeking mental health care.

“Throughout the lifetime of the project, all students – that’s more than 11,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students – will receive messaging and information about suicide prevention and mental health services,” Doig says.

In addition, Doig says, 450 students, faculty and staff will complete in Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training, and at least 500 students will participate in educational programs and events. QPR training will empower trained students, faculty and staff to effectively identify, respond and make appropriate referrals for students in distress, crisis or at risk of suicide.

In fall 2022, the project team established the Mental Health Awareness and Campus Suicide Prevention advisory group to evaluate NMSU’s current mental health programs and initiatives and develop a data-driven strategic plan that improves and builds on existing resources. 

In early 2023, the team began rolling out targeted educational presentations to students, covering topics like resiliency, mindfulness and building socio-emotional skills. Over 2023, the team will also work to bolster NMSU’s case management efforts. The project calls for developing a new case management system designed to keep track of students who attempt suicide or express suicidal ideations.

The School of Nursing project is one of several new mental health initiatives NMSU has adopted in recent years. 

Also in fall 2022, the Department of Public Health Sciences and the Aggie Health and Wellness Center launched a pilot program with a $50,000 grant from the New Mexico Higher Education Department to train students to become mental health ambassadors. A total of 50 students each completed 25 hours of training in mental health first aid, suicide prevention and public health campaigning.