Update: The original time of the event has changed and is reflected in the story. All of the speakers have not confirmed they will be able to attend at the new time.
A registered student organization will host a panel discussion about mental health at OU at the end of this month.
The discussion, titled “Mental Health on Campus,” will take place Feb. 29 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Ethics and Excellence Foundation Auditorium in Gaylord Hall.
OU’s Medical Issues and Discussion Panel will host five speakers — three professionals and two OU students, according to a press release. The professionals include psychiatrist Dr. Britta Ostermeyer, Director of Goddard Counseling Scott Miller and social psychologist Dr. Ryan Brown. The student panelists will be OUr Mental Health student leader J.D. Baker and medical student Neal Walia.
Baker, a public relations and public affairs and administration sophomore, said the purpose of the panel is to discuss where mental health is right now in terms of what experts in the field know and what the university is doing to ensure access to treatment for mental health issues.
"Mental health is something that affects everyone ... just as we all go to the dentist, or try to go to the dentist, we have to clean up our mind, we have some decay in our minds ... sometimes we need to take care of it,” Baker said.
Baker said mental health is crucial in the college years.
“It’s a very developmental time in our lives,” he said, noting that academic success and mental health are correlated and that students cannot go to class or do homework with sick minds.
For his portion of the panel, Baker said he will discuss what students can do to help each other and themselves, as well as improvements the university can make in how it helps students with treatment.
“Physical health is great, we can go see a physician for our physical health, but ... there are some improvements that should be made regarding counseling,” he said.
Baker said another subject that may come up during the discussion is the Behavior Intervention Team, or BIT.
“If someone in the OU community, faculty, staff or student, notices a significant behavioral change in someone else in the OU community or see that they’re abusing drugs or alcohol ... they can file an anonymous report,” he said.
BIT administrators will then reach out to the person and help them get the treatment they need, Baker said.
Baker said BIT changed his life, as it helped him discover he was struggling with depression.
“It’s really the best way for us, members of the OU community, to rely on each other and look out for each other,” he said.
“We should talk more about mental health and realize how important it is in our every day lives. It affects everyone differently, but it affects all of us,” Baker said.
