Student outreach organization tackles issues of mental health
The Counseling and Mental Health Center is expanding its partnerships with a variety of student organizations in an effort to promote mental health awareness.
FrogSpeak is one of those organizations.
With the help of the Counseling and Mental Health Center, FrogSpeak is attempting to erase the stigma surrounding mental health at TCU.
FrogSpeak is a student-run blog designed for students to anonymously share and learn from the experiences of others on their mental health struggles.
The blog has gained more traffic and attention this semester by being featured on the R U OK? website, a suicide awareness and prevention campaign on campus, said Cortney Gumbleton, leader of R U OK?.
Gumbleton, the Counseling and Mental Health Center’s suicide prevention outreach coordinator, serves as the organization’s advisor. She said FrogSpeak provides another outlet for students struggling with mental health to share their stories.
“Here, students can share their struggles publically, however, FrogSpeak serves as an outlet where they can just get their feelings out,” Gumbleton said. “Those that share their experiences probably don’t know how much they are helping students who are dealing with mental health issues.”
Emily Sivak, a graduate student studying accounting, said she came up with the idea for an impact project with BNSF Next Generation Leadership Program during her senior year at TCU.
With the help of her partner, the two teamed up to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health on campus.
“With our project, we are talking about the importance of mental health at a college level and what TCU is specifically doing to erase the stigma surrounding mental health and seeing a mental health professional,” Sivak said. “We wanted to feature personal stories to showcase experiences that students have had with different mental health issues.”
Sivak said FrogSpeak is probably one of the only organizations on campus that engages with students through a blog.
“The blog is what makes it so impacting,” Sivak said.
FrogSpeak is there to encourage students to talk to others and start the conversation about mental health, Sivak said. Sivak said that the tagline ‘U Are Not Alone’ is supposed to show others that they are not alone by sharing their experiences surrounding mental illness.
“I think we’ve been successful so far and have done just that,” Sivak said.
the transition
What once started as just a blog, FrogSpeak has expanded to become a student organization.
Going into this semester, many students took interest in FrogSpeak. Those that got involved wanted to see FrogSpeak broaden its role on campus, Sivak said.
“We went through a period of transition and came up with initiatives to implement throughout the year,” Sivak said. “It’s amazing to see how FrogSpeak started out as an idea, which eventually became a blog, and now a campus organization.”
This year’s president, sophomore business major Darby Curtis, said she encouraged Sivak to expand FrogSpeak and become an organization.
“When I heard of FrogSpeak at the end of last year, I immediately wanted to get involved in some way or another,” Curtis said. “I’m so passionate about mental health and saw so much potential in FrogSpeak and have worked continuously this semester to build it up to the organization it is today.”
Curtis said that a journal is a way of healing the heart and so much more can be done to help. The main goal of FrogSpeak is to encourage students to talk to others and start the conversation about mental health, Curtis said.
“As a blog, it is a way to share your story with others who have gone through the same thing,” Curtis said. “The amount of entries we receive show how big of an issue mental health is at TCU and how much more we should do to tackle these problems.”
what they do to help
FrogSpeak will hold a number of events next semester.
Some of which will combine the gravity of sharing stories and conversations about mental health with the positive of concerts and other activities, Curtis said.
“They are all aimed at promoting conversation and directing people to post more on the blog,” Curtis said.
All entries posted on the blog are anonymous. Seeing anonymous posts may help ease the pressure of being open with an array of people, said Sivak.
However, when submitting a post, individuals have the option to include their contact information. The organization never publishes this information for confidentiality reasons, but if they receive a post that may be life threatening, FrogSpeak may take further action, Curtis said.
Curtis said that FrogSpeak has the option to send the contact information of those who are considered “at risk” based on their blog submission, to the Counseling and Mental Health Center for professionals to be aware.
“Even though we are a student organization, we want to try to stay as connected with the Counseling and Mental Health Center as possible,” Curtis said. “No, we are not mental health experts, but we are able to recognize when someone needs professional attention.”
making a difference
The ultimate goal is to break the stigma and open conversation because “these are issues people do not want to have dialogue about,” Curtis said.
“We can come forward and say ‘I have diabetes’ or ‘I have cancer,’ but we can’t say ‘I have bipolar disorder,’ and that bothers me,” Curtis said. “I want to see a day where if you can’t make it to class or work because you had an issue with your medication for a disorder, you don’t have to make up a lie or feel embarrassed to tell the truth.”
