By Erin Jester
Being a college student is stressful enough.
Learning to balance academics and social life while figuring out how to thrive in a new environment can take a toll on any young adult’s mental health, but being a member of a sorority can come with additional pressures.
Which is why Lara Zwilling, L.M.H.C., an instructional assistant professor in the University of Florida’s College of Public Health and Health Professions’ undergraduate programs, jumped at the chance to speak with sorority women about mental health resources on campus and how to respond to someone in crisis.
Zwilling was recently invited to speak to Sister Support Ambassadors, a UF Panhellenic Council-run group that promotes mental health awareness and provides training for sorority women to support and encourage each other to seek help when needed.
“When we get rid of the stigma, and we realize that mental health is health, it’s going to allow more people to be treated,” Zwilling said.
Like many mental health awareness groups on college campuses across the country and the world, SSA began as an online resource during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Programming and outreach have grown since then, with biweekly mental health training for 36 ambassadors – two women from each on-campus sorority – covering a variety of wellness topics. SSA also hosts two Panhellenic-wide programming events per month, which included Zwilling’s lecture.
“Ultimately, being a sorority woman at the University of Florida comes with the expectation of having it all together,” said Ella Weepie, a sports management student and executive director of SSA. “It can be really overwhelming.”
Weepie said SSA aims to equip ambassadors with the skills to recognize mental health warning signs and be able to appropriately respond.
The group has invited speakers from the UF Police Department; UF’s Counseling and Wellness Center and UF Student Government, and works alongside Thrive IFC, a men’s mental health initiative through UF’s Interfraternity Council, and Flipping the System, a national organization founded at UF that fights sexual violence on college campuses.
Zwilling was the first faculty member to speak to SSA. She was invited by a student in her therapeutic communications class.
“Therapeutic communication is a lot about de-escalation, verbal and nonverbal communication, with patients who are scared and vulnerable and overwhelmed,” said Zwilling, who has spent her career working in student mental health.
Zwilling has been giving presentations for years on how to respond to someone in distress without unintentionally escalating the situation.
Reducing stigma is only one part of the equation. When someone reaches out, she said, “The way you respond is such a predictor of whether that person decides to receive help.”
In her presentations, Zwilling asks listeners to shelve the initial curiosity they might have when someone reaches out for help in a moment of crisis and instead focus on validating distressing emotions and asking what they can do to help. It’s important to offer a listening ear and avoid judgmental language.
Zwilling also wants people to know that you don’t have to be in crisis or have a mental health condition to need support, and that counseling can benefit everyone.
“I think it’s getting better, I really do, but we still have some work to do,” Zwilling said.
Weepie said SSA tries to time topics to coincide with periods of potentially elevated pressure: Stress management is emphasized during finals week, eating disorder awareness around spring break and formal events season.
“It helps ground you a little bit and feel support from places you didn’t have before,” she said.
For people who are experiencing a mental health issue, many resources exist both on campus and off.
The Counseling and Wellness Center offers individual and group counseling, crisis support and substance abuse services.
The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology’s Free Therapy Night offers short-term treatment to adults who are uninsured or can’t otherwise afford psychotherapy. The clinic is run by master’s students and faculty.
Another option is the Alachua County Crisis Center. Callers can anonymously talk through a situation with a staff member and get advice about how to offer help to someone who is struggling.
UPD’s Office of Victims Services provides victim advocates who can offer emotional support and accompany victims through the criminal justice process, and officers are now bringing licensed mental health counselors to wellness checks.
“We’re not the pros, we don’t have all the answers,” Weepie said. “That’s what we’re trying to do – bring in people who are professionals and do have the tools.”
If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, help is available. Call or text the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or call the Alachua County Crisis Line at 352-264-6789.