Remember when Ariana Grande gave fans $5 million in free therapy? It felt like a maniacal dream. The Grammy-winning artist provided free and accessible mental health support before my school and health care providers.\
Like many students in college, I was burned out from back-to-back finals at the time and wanted to know if the “Just keep Breathin” singer could actually help me breathe. Through weekly live video chats, my counselor and I were able to identify and deconstruct the sources of our daily stress and anxiety. Our conversation was flexible, open-minded and confidential. I could say literally anything that came to my mind, and most importantly, I felt heard.
Through my first trials of therapy, I learned that mental health care is a partnership, not a transaction. My intersecting minority identities—Asian-American, Hindu, and vegetarian—made it more difficult to communicate culture-specific stressors, such as my experience of racism with a white therapist. Addressing mental health issues for students of color, especially those from low-income and first-generation backgrounds, can be very challenging on college campuses.
Earlier this year, President Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan Safer Communities Act led by Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy. Not only is this the first major gun safety law in decades, it has also reinvested in school-based mental health services. This includes expanding the behavioral health center model nationwide, integrating mental health services into Medicaid and CHIP, and improving provider he training on suicide prevention, crisis, and trauma.
BSCA also invested $500 million to increase the number of qualified mental health providers, $500 million to diversify school counselors and psychologists, and $1 billion to improve student learning conditions. It promises a huge funding package for youth mental health. Extending mental health care into the education sector is a promising goal, but funding alone cannot guarantee equitable care for marginalized student populations. Based on experience, I advocate a deeper understanding of the social and cultural context among Connecticut policy makers before enabling appropriate behavioral and educational provisions.
With increased federal funding, the U.S. Department of Education recommends that states learn from evidence-based research to reduce absenteeism and improve continuity for children transitioning between primary and secondary education. . This means that greater efforts are needed towards solutions to address where marginalized students are.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on existing student mental health gaps exacerbated by increased distance learning and social isolation. A Connecticut student of color has encountered racist attacks throughout the pandemic, from “zoom bombs” containing racist slurs to hateful speeches on his social media. Her UConn Microaggressions survey in 2020 found that 50% of her students felt isolated on campus because of their race, and 40% felt pressured to minimize elements of their racial identity. reported that
Racial hostility toward students of color can have repercussions on their healthy eating, classroom focus, and sense of security. He recommends that part of his BSCA funding for schools in Connecticut be funded for qualitative research on the experiences of minority students. Data that captures the social and cultural underpinnings of mental health can help recruit a diverse workforce that successfully fills gaps.
Despite the BSCA’s bipartisan nature, calls for expanded mental health care in schools have met with backlash from some Connecticut legislators over parental consent. Multiple Republicans say parents often feel excluded from decisions about their children’s health. I was prompted for a fix to notify.
Parents may feel left out of their decisions, but these thoughts can exacerbate the existing stigma around children’s difficult journeys to seek help. Instead of introducing, I believe we can broaden the impact of BSCA by finding more school-based alliances for students of color. With more practice, thousands of students in Connecticut can find a safe haven. In the words of Ariana Grande, “Just hold your breath.”
Mukund Desibhatla is a Master of Public Health candidate at the Yale School of Public Health.
