Logan Ramsey

News Editor

The Idaho State University Counseling Center used to only have “one-shot topic trainings” on different issues of mental health, but that all changed when they implemented RESPOND.

RESPOND training came to be in Fall 2019 and it’s a seven-hour workshop taught by Rick Pongratz, Director of the Counseling Center and Psychologies, and Susan MaComb, Counselor and Outreach Coordinator, among others.

“The program is about helping [faculty, staff, and students] develop the skills, develop awareness, and then develop their own confidence to actually act and help someone,” said Pongratz.

RESPOND stands for Recognize Signs and Symptoms, Empathize, Share observations, Pose open questions, Offer hope, Navigate resources and policies, and Do self-care.

“Most commonly people don’t realize the concerns are as pervasive as they really are and so I think that’s eye-opening.”

The workshop goes over the signs and causes of mental health issues, and how to effectively respond to them, “… which includes just being empathetic, listening, having a conversation, or perhaps referring them to a campus resource,” said MaComb.

According to MaComb, a person struggling with their mental health might not need the Counselling Center, but another campus resource, like an academic advisor or disability services.

RESPOND training is an interactive workshop, with group activities to help trainees recognize the signs of mental health decline and roleplaying to get supportive feedback from their peers.

“So it’s not seven hours of Rick and Susan talking,” Pongratz said.

The trainees of RESPOND have a range of starting knowledge on the subject of mental health. MaComb said that some trainees have taken suicide prevention training before, and some have no knowledge of mental health issues or what to look for. Some of the people who’ve attended are ISU Counselors who are just looking to learn more about the topic.

Pongratz observes a stigma around mentally ill people due to myths of them being dangerous and that they’re more likely to be the victim of a violent crime than the perpetrator.

According to MentalHealth.gov, only 3%–5% of violent acts can be attributed to individuals with a serious mental illness, and “people with severe mental illnesses are over 10 times more likely to be victims of violent crime than the general population.”

“As we are all products of our culture, we sometimes will carry some of those same worries,” said Pongratz.

The first half hour of RESPOND training addresses this stigma.

From there, they go over how to recognize the signs of a decline in a person’s mental health, and MaComb said one of the big markers is a change in behavior from the norm.

MaComb said someone who has experienced a decline in mental health could be a previously active student who stops showing up or stops turning assignments in, or someone who starts being quiet in class when they were engaged before.

According to the RESPOND survey, only 59% of trainees feel like they can recognize a problem a student might have at the start of the training, but after, 97% report confidence to recognize a student in distress.

“This is the first tool we’ve had that helps educate and empower the entire campus to be a part of the support structure for students,” Pongratz said.