We are a chapter of Project LETS, Inc.
"Project LETS, Inc. exists to support students and young adults living with mental illness. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to honest + open conversation surrounding mental health education, reform, advocacy, and suicide prevention. We believe in individual, personal relationships, and that everybody has a fundamental right to access help and treatment.
We aim to provide real information, by individuals living with mental illness - not a laundry list of clinical symptoms that reveal little for how your life is affected, or how to cope successfully. We aim to close the gap between impersonal, clinical research and lived experience. At Project LETS, Inc. you will discover you aren't alone, find a safe outlet to express everything you're experiencing - from stigma, shame and fear, and in time, recovery. Most importantly, we aim to show others people living with mental illnesses live successful, incredible, meaningful lives."
"Project LETS, Inc. exists to support students and young adults living with mental illness. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to honest + open conversation surrounding mental health education, reform, advocacy, and suicide prevention. We believe in individual, personal relationships, and that everybody has a fundamental right to access help and treatment.
We aim to provide real information, by individuals living with mental illness - not a laundry list of clinical symptoms that reveal little for how your life is affected, or how to cope successfully. We aim to close the gap between impersonal, clinical research and lived experience. At Project LETS, Inc. you will discover you aren't alone, find a safe outlet to express everything you're experiencing - from stigma, shame and fear, and in time, recovery. Most importantly, we aim to show others people living with mental illnesses live successful, incredible, meaningful lives."
Our Model: Peer Mental Health Advocates
Peer Mental Health Advocates are trained to assist students through the process of seeking adequate mental health care, while remaining mindful of financial barriers, cultural barriers, and myriad other factors that can prevent access to some forms of treatment. PMHAs can help students choose a CAPS therapist, find an affordable off-campus provider, connect with a psychiatrist, or access credible resources and information, if therapy isn’t an option. PMHAs also provide a variety of peer counseling services, including developing crisis and safety plans, building coping mechanisms, helping students access accommodations, and providing emotional and social support. The student dictates the course of action for the semester, and the advocate will help complete tasks and work towards whatever the student goals is trying to attain.
Required weekly meetings allow mentors to create a space where their peer can more freely discuss issues of mental health and illness, and their experiences. These meetings may also allow PMHAs to facilitate relevant conversations that acknowledge mood fluctuation and changes in symptom presentation, identify social and academic stressors, and address students’ short-term goals and accomplishments. Peer mentors are not therapists-- they’re educated students with lived experience, and every PMHA knows to address this distinction by establishing clear boundaries with their mentee. During these sessions, PMHAs are encouraged to share their own lived experience, and use their knowledge to help support and advise their peers. PMHAs are not simply active listeners; they perform various kinds of tasks for their peers, and are again, encouraged to offer guidance and advice (within limits).
If a student is having a tough week and their mental health is impeding their academics, they may have difficulty reaching out to all pertinent campus resources for assistance. For example, a student who is experiencing a bout of depression, with side effects of intense fatigue and inability to concentrate, may not have the time or energy to make multiple phone calls to the various administrative departments that could provide academic support. Even emailing professors to address the aftereffects of a flare-up can be emotionally taxing for some students with mental illness-- they may feel that, in order to be taken seriously, they are obligated to disclose medical information and apologize for their symptoms.
In a situation like this, a PMHA could advocate for the appropriate adjustment of academic deadlines, connect the student with a dean, and help them to communicate with administrators and professors. Crafting emails and making phone calls on their peer’s behalf can free up time for the student to fully focus on recovery; still, PMHAs do not take any action without student approval and consent during every step of the process.
All Brown students are welcome to request a PMHA. Peer support services can be helpful to many different types of people, provided that the mentee is able to relate to their Advocate-- and we strive to match students with appropriate Advocates, in hopes of establishing the best partnership possible. Requesting a PMHA could be a preemptive action for students who anticipate their semester to be fairly manageable, but know that they might need someone to call a dean on their behalf, should their illness flare up. For students with families that stigmatize therapy, meeting with a peer mentor might feel more approachable than a CAPS appointment. And the PMHA program could be a helpful alternative service for students who are unable to afford an off-campus therapist.
For many people, due to race, class, sexual orientation, gender, and culture, speaking openly about their mental illness can be incredibly frightening, and may even seem impossible. Being able to talk, one-on-one, with other mentally ill people is often essential to symptom management and healing. LETS believes that every person has a right to access good mental health care-- and recognizes that what constitutes “good mental health care” is entirely dependent on individual needs.
Brown students already use informal peer support to deal with issues of mental health-- they may message other students who are open about their own diagnoses, talk with friends behind closed doors, or frequently seek out their RPLs for mental health-related guidance. Peer mentorship already exists, but because it isn’t formalized, it isn't subject to any kind of regulation. In establishing the PMHA program, we aim to ensure that students will receive adequate, accurate, and relevant information from experienced students who can appropriately facilitate conversations about mental illness. Every Peer Mental Health Advocate will complete a rigorous training program in order to meet this standard. Our program aims to address the barriers that many students face when seeking mental health care, and provide students with a support system to help break down those barriers.
Required weekly meetings allow mentors to create a space where their peer can more freely discuss issues of mental health and illness, and their experiences. These meetings may also allow PMHAs to facilitate relevant conversations that acknowledge mood fluctuation and changes in symptom presentation, identify social and academic stressors, and address students’ short-term goals and accomplishments. Peer mentors are not therapists-- they’re educated students with lived experience, and every PMHA knows to address this distinction by establishing clear boundaries with their mentee. During these sessions, PMHAs are encouraged to share their own lived experience, and use their knowledge to help support and advise their peers. PMHAs are not simply active listeners; they perform various kinds of tasks for their peers, and are again, encouraged to offer guidance and advice (within limits).
If a student is having a tough week and their mental health is impeding their academics, they may have difficulty reaching out to all pertinent campus resources for assistance. For example, a student who is experiencing a bout of depression, with side effects of intense fatigue and inability to concentrate, may not have the time or energy to make multiple phone calls to the various administrative departments that could provide academic support. Even emailing professors to address the aftereffects of a flare-up can be emotionally taxing for some students with mental illness-- they may feel that, in order to be taken seriously, they are obligated to disclose medical information and apologize for their symptoms.
In a situation like this, a PMHA could advocate for the appropriate adjustment of academic deadlines, connect the student with a dean, and help them to communicate with administrators and professors. Crafting emails and making phone calls on their peer’s behalf can free up time for the student to fully focus on recovery; still, PMHAs do not take any action without student approval and consent during every step of the process.
All Brown students are welcome to request a PMHA. Peer support services can be helpful to many different types of people, provided that the mentee is able to relate to their Advocate-- and we strive to match students with appropriate Advocates, in hopes of establishing the best partnership possible. Requesting a PMHA could be a preemptive action for students who anticipate their semester to be fairly manageable, but know that they might need someone to call a dean on their behalf, should their illness flare up. For students with families that stigmatize therapy, meeting with a peer mentor might feel more approachable than a CAPS appointment. And the PMHA program could be a helpful alternative service for students who are unable to afford an off-campus therapist.
For many people, due to race, class, sexual orientation, gender, and culture, speaking openly about their mental illness can be incredibly frightening, and may even seem impossible. Being able to talk, one-on-one, with other mentally ill people is often essential to symptom management and healing. LETS believes that every person has a right to access good mental health care-- and recognizes that what constitutes “good mental health care” is entirely dependent on individual needs.
Brown students already use informal peer support to deal with issues of mental health-- they may message other students who are open about their own diagnoses, talk with friends behind closed doors, or frequently seek out their RPLs for mental health-related guidance. Peer mentorship already exists, but because it isn’t formalized, it isn't subject to any kind of regulation. In establishing the PMHA program, we aim to ensure that students will receive adequate, accurate, and relevant information from experienced students who can appropriately facilitate conversations about mental illness. Every Peer Mental Health Advocate will complete a rigorous training program in order to meet this standard. Our program aims to address the barriers that many students face when seeking mental health care, and provide students with a support system to help break down those barriers.
What have we done at Brown?
- Administrative policy reform regarding CAPS, SEAS, medical leaves, QPR Training, academic and social policies, etc.
- Educational workshops, panels and discussions ranging from depression, to abusive family issues, to eating disorders, etc.
- Provide safe, support spaces for students with mental illness
- Engage in creative, art therapy projects and alternative therapies, such as yoga and meditation
- Connect with student body to support struggling students
- Match students with recovery mentors, who have lived with the same diagnosis, etc.
