One part of this initiative is the Healthy Academics Toolkit, a data-driven tool to support a shift in policies, practices, and pedagogies in classrooms, research labs, and advising offices. The toolkit offers an interactive data visualization for instructors to understand the unique needs of the student populations they serve. Data are linked to specific strategies and resources that can be implemented in learning environments to proactively support the health and well-being of undergraduate and graduate students.  

At UW-Madison, students indicated that in the past year they were more likely to turn to their instructors for support related to mental health concerns than their peers. Furthermore, a recent multi-university survey  found that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty have been more engaged with student mental health issues, with 80 percent of respondents reporting they communicated with students one-on-one on the phone, video, or email about mental health and well-being during the past year. Yet at the same time, some faculty report feeling unprepared to address this increased need and navigate the emotional labor involved. This highlights the importance of providing faculty with the training and resources to support students’ mental health and well-being as an ongoing and integral component of teaching and learning.  

“It is our hope that the resources and strategies embedded within the Toolkit can be engrained into the culture and practices of our academic environments to cultivate a more equitably healthy campus” says Claire Barrett, UHS Healthy Academics Manager and trained psychologist. 

UW-Madison students who hold one or more marginalized identities are more likely to report a lower sense of belonging, decreased levels of flourishing, and higher rates of mental health concerns. Likewise, students of color are already at increased risk for psychological distress due to issues of racism, while at the same time being less likely to seek mental health treatment.  The learning environment is a crucial setting for creating an equitably healthy campus that fosters well-being through classroom culture, trauma-informed practices, advisor relationships, decreased stigma regarding mental health issues, and instructor knowledge and skill to support students in distress. 

“The Healthy Academics Toolkit is an important resource for faculty that is both informative and interactive and helps illuminate the link between academic environments and well-being. The interactive data visualizations are fun to play with, while conveying important results from (among other sources) The Healthy Minds Study,” said Morton Gernsbacher, Vilas Professor and the Sir Frederic C. Bartlett Professor of Psychology. “The Health-Promoting Strategies & Resources page provides nearly a dozen recommendations for strategies and policies, including valuable templates for syllabus statements.” 

Instructor support of students is never intended to replace professional, clinical support that is needed by students; rather, is integral to creating a culture of care across campus. Resources available through the Healthy Academics Toolkit are intended to increase instructors’ knowledge and confidence with responding to students in distress and creating conditions where all students can thrive at UW-Madison.  

To further support mental health, UHS Prevention and Campus Health Initiatives has also developed a new suicide prevention training for UW-Madison faculty and staff that will be available soon. The interactive, asynchronous training was developed in response to faculty- and staff-identified needs. It covers skill-based topics such as responding to students in distress and referring students to campus resources. UHS Mental Health Services offers ongoing consultation for instructors who may have questions regarding how best to support a student, when to involve other professionals, or how best to get a student connected with services. Crisis consultation services are available for students 24/7 hours a day by calling the UHS Crisis Line at 608-265-5600 (option 9). 

UHS supports and affirms all student identities. To meet the needs of our diverse student population, Spanish-speaking providers are available in Survivor Services for individual counseling and victim advocacy, individual counseling in Mental Health Services and Dígame sessions in Chican@ and Latin@ Studies (CLS), and the Primary Care and Women’s Health in Medical Services.

If English isn’t a student’s first language, it can be challenging to communicate health concerns or clinical terminology to a provider. Eliminating a language barrier is important to ensuring a student’s concerns are heard and they receive the appropriate treatment.

“The ability for students to request a provider who speaks Spanish creates room for clarity and easier communication,” says Mary Eldridge, a victim advocate and Survivor Services coordinator. “The reality is that there are some words for which there is no translation, and students feel like they’re being heard and understood.”

Claudia Marte, a Spanish-speaking provider in Mental Health Services, says it may be comforting for a Latinx student to talk with a provider who holds the same identity or has had similar life experiences.

“It gives a sense of trust,” says Marte. “It’s a positive thing for a student to see someone who looks like them in a space where they may not.”

Margarita Perez, a provider in the Women’s Health Clinic, says that the option to speak Spanish during an appointment can help ease anxiety. “Even for students who are proficient English speakers, they can be more comfortable speaking their first language, and it’s important to feel that way when talking with their provider.”

In addition to eliminating a language barrier, offering services in Spanish helps to reduce stigma. Eldridge says the focus on community and family is very ingrained in Latinx communities, and this can cause students to put their own needs aside to take care of their families.

“As a mental health provider who speaks Spanish, [these concerns are] something that could bring us closer because [the student] may not feel comfortable saying that out loud to somebody who’s not familiar with the culture or may not relate to it,” Eldridge says.

“Talking about mental health is difficult because it’s perceived as a weakness in some cultures and communities,” says Dr. Beatriz Lavell, a primary care provider. “Students may not want to be upfront about their concerns and then they hide them which can create more instability and anxiety.”

“One of the strengths of the Latinx community is resiliency,” Marte says. “The downside of that is that it doesn’t give you permission to feel badly if you are struggling with a mental health issue.”

Marte says some students may struggle with navigating between two cultures and asking themselves how they can be proud of their Latinx culture but still be proud to be an American.

Unique needs of Latinx students

Eldridge says many Latinx students that she meets with identify safety—physical safety, emotional safety, and financial safety—as significant concerns related to their student experience on campus. Eldridge adds that the current political climate weighs on some Latinx students, both for their individual well-being and out of concern for family members, some of whom come from different countries.

Students from marginalized communities can feel triggered if they feel their sense of belonging is questioned, such as if a student hears a slur.

“There are many ‘what if’s’ where students prepare for the worst possible outcome. When students are immersed in this type of climate, they can experience more anxiety.”

UW-Madison will not provide information on the immigration status of its students, faculty or staff unless required to do so under force of law. The Multicultural Student Center has online resources related to DACA/undocumented student support and the Dean of Students Office can support students as they process recent events or navigate campus services and resources. UHS providers do not ask students for their citizenship status.

“Students can come to see us without any fears,” Lavell says.

 For students interested in utilizing UHS’s Spanish-speaking services, they can request a Spanish-speaking provider when they make an appointment. To make an appointment, call UHS at 608-265-5600 or log in MyUHS and request a Spanish-speaking provider in the notes section.