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Requesting a Program

Why schedule an MHA presentation?

  • One in four young adults between the ages of 18 & 24 have a diagnosable mental illness yet this age group shows the lowest rate of help seeking
  • Mental health issues are a leading impediment to academic success
  • Untreated mental illness in college students is associated with lower GPA & drop out
  • Treatment is effective but shame & stigma interfere with acces
  • Our trained peers are the most effective means of encouraging our students to seek help
  • Evaluations were collected from 625 MHA program attendees during the 2018-2019 academic year. Results indicated that, as a result of the presentations:
    • 76.9% agreed or very much agreed that they became more aware of the emotional difficulties affecting college students
    • 80.2% agreed or very much agreed that they could better identify behaviors that could lead to problems or dangerous situations
    • 85.1% agreed or very much agreed that they were more aware of the campus resources where they could seek help or assist others to find help
    • 85.6% agreed that they learned something that could help them enhance their personal and/or academic success
    • 77.4% agreed that they intended to do something differently to enhance their personal and/or academic success
    • 92.5% rated the quality of the workshop as good (25.8%) or very good (66.7%)

Some words that students have used to describe the Mental Health Ambassadors and their programs include:

Calming, Dynamic, Engaging, Fun, Comforting, Interactive, Informative, Professional, Approachable, Knowledgeable, Clear, Relatable, Relaxed, Genuine, Warm, Well-Spoken, Confident, Open, Welcoming, Inviting, Inclusive, Personable, Enthsiastic, Passionate, Helpful, Supportive, Powerful, Kind

Requesting a Program

Program requests must be made at least 2 weeks prior to the desired presentation date. If the presentation request is for a class, the instructor must be present for the entirety of the program. To request a program, please complete the Mental Health Ambassadors Program Request Form(opens in a new tab). Questions about the content of MHA presentations or any modifications to existing programs can be directed to Dr. Leslie Martin.  In general, the content of our programs cannot be modified (our programs have been pre-developed and are typically presented as they have been designed).  

Programs are 50 minutes in length (note: the Counseling Center Services/How to Help a Friend presentation is also available as a 20-minute presentation).  All presentations are interactive in nature. Please note that most of the presentations require A/V equipment (e.g. computer with DVD player, projector) to be available to the presenters. Available programs are:

Conflict Management

This presentation will involve helping students understand their own approach to conflict management, strengths and limitations of various approaches to dealing with conflict, and strategies for managing conflict more effectively. Assertive communication will be touched upon.

Counseling Center Services/How to Help a Friend/How to Make a Referral to Counseling

The various services offered at Counseling & Psychological Services will be described. Signs/symptoms that someone may be in distress/in need of help will be discussed, as will how one can more effectively refer someone to get professional help. This program can be presented in 20 minutes or 50 minutes. The 50-minute version will include a short film featuring real stories of students’ experiences with mental health.

Depression/Suicide

In this program, signs and symptoms of depression and suicide will be discussed. Myths about suicide will be examined, and a short film about college student mental health will be shown and discussed. How to help a friend/family member that one suspects may be at risk for suicide will also be addressed.

Healthy Relationships

In this presentation, students will do an activity that helps them identify their relationship values. Factors that cause relationships to be healthy or unhealthy will be explored, and suggestions for healthy relationships will be addressed.

Stress Management

In this presentation, students will examine the healthy and unhealthy ways that they cope with their own stress. They will learn more about stress in general (consequences of poor stress management, when stress can be helpful, etc.), and will then be taught strategies for managing stress more effectively.


Didn't find the topic you were looking for? The Peer Educators in Wellness & Prevention Services (opens in a new tab) may be able to help by suggesting one of the programs (opens in a new tab) available through their office.

Contact Us

Miles Annas Student Services Building
614 Howard Street
Boone, NC 28608
Fax: (828) 262-3182