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Show THE THUNDERBIRD!! SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITYDMONDAY JANUARY PAGE 3 28, 1991 Coalition to work for minority programs BY KRISTIE ELIASON Thunderbird Staff Writer The members of the Utah Coalition for the Advancement of Minorities in Higher Education, UCAMHE, met Friday at SUUs Student Center to discuss ideas which will bring an awareness of multicultural issues. The coalition started informally about 10 years ago, to provide a network and support group for professionals in higher education, and to increase awareness of minority issues. The coalitions goals include increasing the awareness of people of color in the higher education system. The group advocates more participation in and meeting the needs of minorities through legislative changes and educational programs. For example, the group discussed creating legislation that would require college students, especially education majors, to take a multicultural class before graduation. Changes that have been promised by the State Board of Regents and the State Board of Education havent come to said Lynne Finton, director of SUUs Multicultural fruition, Center. She has been in the coalition since 1986, and said that the group decided to become more formal to make their ideas heard. UCAMHE President Forrest Crawford is an assistant professor of teacher education at Weber State University. He said the coalition is interested in surfacing the issues of minorities in Utah, especially in higher education. We hope to create a coalition that can focus on quality Crawford said. minority education, At SUU, Finton has personal goals for the multicultural issue. I would like to bring a cultural and ethnic awareness to the general population here, Finton said. It is difficult to keep minorities at SUU because of Finton said. She is now revising multicultural programming, orientation and is working to get minority students more involved on campus and in the community through activities and seminarS. r fJt UCAMHE member Mel Gillespie, higher education from Weber State University, discussed ways to further advance minorities in by increasing awareness of multicultural issues. Victims of depression often suffer needlessly EDITOR S NOTE: This is the second of a two-pa- rt series on the subject of depression. JAMES SPAINHOWER BY of The Thunderbird Staff DEPRESSION Misconceptions are widely held that treatment for depressive illnesses, which leave those afflicted with a deep sense of helplessness, is of little use in easing the suffering. It may come as a surprise for many to learn that most depressive illnesses respond well to a number of treatments, the various symptoms and complications of depression can be minimized, allowing sufferers to return to a normal lifestyle no longer burdened by what has been termed the common cold of mental disorders, according to Clincal of director SUUs Dunford, Counseling Gary Center. Since depressive illness is a syndrome consisting of several distinct types and an even greater variety of symptoms treatment varies considerably from patient to patient, depending on diagnosis and illness severity. Sometimes to cure depression, medical intervention is needed. With less severe depression, counseling is said Psychologist Dean oftentimes the best method, Pearson, counselor at the Southwest Utah Mental Health-Alcohand Drug Center. A number of antidepressant medications are available to treat depression, two of tne most commonly prescribed drug groups being the tricyclics, and the MAOI drugs, which alleviate a wide range of the symptoms of depression and anxiety, Pearson said. Unfortunately, some depressives seek relief by using alcohol, which serves only to compound the problem. If they use alcohol, they are only doubling their depression since alcohol is a central nervous system Pearson said. Alcohol may provide a depressant, of relief (by) releasing some sense temporary ol inhibitions, but most people become aggressive when intoxicated. or cyclothymic disorder, an illness characterized by alternating periods of mania and melancholia, or mental depression, is most effectively treated with lithium, a drug which serves as a mood stabilizer and possesses an antipsychotic effect. Lithium has also been used widely for major depression and to a limited degree, impulse disorders, Dunford said. Medication can be extremely helpful in treating many forms of depression, but Dunford said that combining drugs and psychotherapy has proven to be the most effective especially when treating chronic depression. is Psychosocial therapy, or talking therapy, Manic-Depressio- All people have bad experiences; the point is to reap the benefits of a bad experience, said Gary Dunford, director of clinical counseling. frequently offered for groups, families, couples and individuals, and provides participants the opportunity to discuss and resolve problems through emotional support and insights gleaned through open dialog, Pearson said. Another therapy, cognitive, or thinking approach, is a method most widely used to help depressives isolate g the various negative factors in their life and bring about a positive response. People who deal with negative events experienced in their life can gain a great deal of motivation. All people have bad experiences; the point is to reap the benefits of a bad Dunford said. experience, At SUU, students are helping students gleam positive motivation from negative life experiences. Through the professional guidance of Dunford, stress-creatin- psychology majors and minors belonging to the Psi Chi National Honor Society provide students with counseling sessions at no cost with their peers at the Clinical Counseling Center, two hours each day, five days per week. At this writing, however, no definite schedule has been set for Winter quarter, according to Mark Winter, assistant professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Students talking with other students seems to work student with some. For instance, a might be able to talk easier with another Winter said. student, The concept of Psi Chi, Winter said, was to provide SUUs diverse campus community with an equally diverse cadre of peer counselors. Although Psi Chi has offered this service to students for only two quarters, students have been receptive, Winter said. Peer counseling in the past has been with drug and alcohol abuse, but wed like to address the whole, wide range of problems: students experiences on campus, depression, interpersonal relationships, neurotic behavior, everything but psychotic behavior. Students arent trained to handle such serious matters, Winter said. Winter believes that most of the problems students encounter in college, such as situational depression, can be dealt with effectively through peer counseling. Peer counseling has worked very well on other campuses; we expect to follow suit, Winter said. Regardless what form of treatment is used, Dunford believes the first step in solving a behavioral problem is recognizing that there is problem; often difficult to admit in a society that equates mental illness with a weakness of character or lack of morals. There are social stereotypes that negatively impact people with mental illness. When people feel isolated, helpless and hopeless, they feel as though no one can help and they tend to perpetrate their own illness, Dunford said. al |