August 26, 2024
Ferris State University has partnered with Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services to provide greater mental health and wellness support to students.
BIG RAPIDS, Michigan —
Ferris State University students will have more access to mental health support through a partnership with Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services.
Andy Slater, director of the Personal Counselling Centre, said the partnership will help the centre and the Barkham Health Centre achieve a long-held goal: Free weekly sessions with psychiatrist Dr Jayanthi Peters will be available to referred students. The service will begin in the autumn semester.
Pictured is the Barkham Health Center on Ferris State University's Big Rapids campus.
“This partnership provides an increased level of support and benefits to students,” Slater said. “We are better able to work together to address all of our students' needs to help them succeed.”
Mental health concerns are on the rise among college students across the country, according to the American Psychological Association, which pointed to its 2021 Healthy Minds Study of 373 campuses, which showed that more than 60% of college students nationwide meet the criteria for at least one mental health problem.
Slater said staff and counsellors at the Barkham Health Centre are ready to take part in an awareness campaign to educate students who struggle to access psychiatric care through public institutions.
“Community mental health in our area often requires Medicaid coverage as part of the referral process and cannot accept all referrals from campus,” Slater said. “Our center has had to direct other students to Grand Rapids for counseling and care, which causes delays in starting treatment. Our hope is that our referrals will be sent to psychiatric services within days to weeks, rather than waiting months or missing care.”
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services is a psychiatric hospital and behavioral health service with its main treatment campus in Grand Rapids.
Slater said the addition of psychiatric care will enhance programs established and continued at the Barkham Health Center and the Individual Counseling Center.
“Our new access to psychiatry will improve our work. Pine Rest's capabilities in terms of mental health support exceed what the health center can offer our students,” Slater said. “Consultations with Dr. Peters will ensure our students receive the medication they need for the best outcomes.”
Slater thanked Dean of Student Life Lina Blair and Vice President of Student Affairs Janine Ward Roof for driving the initiative.
Click on Birkam Health Center and Personal Counseling Center for more information on available services.
