Fort Peck Community College Adds Mental Health Support

The Fort Peck Community College is reaching out to help its students and staff in a fashion that no other Montana or tribal college has previously done. Talkspace, an online mental health care service, became available to all Fort Peck Community College students and staff members on Tuesday, June 1.

“They are getting really quality mental health care,” Olivia Headdress, acting vice president of student services, said. “Mental health help is lacking in our area with only so many providers. It’s private and they can go to it anytime on any day.”

Nourah AbuShaban, recruitment and retention at the college, explained that those interested will make their own on-line profile including describing their issues such depression or anxiety, and then Talkspace will match the individual with a therapist licensed in that field. Participants can change their therapist if they wish.

Participants will have an initial 10-minute call with the therapist. The program allows unlimited messaging to the counselor and one faceto- face call that lasts about 30 minutes a month.

The service is free to students and staff members’ families. Those eligible will receive an email from the college to describe more details.

“It’s all confidential,’ Headdress said. “We’re never going to hear that so-and-so has this issue.”

Positive feedback has already been received regarding having Talkspace available.

“There’s a lot that want mental health care, but because of the stigma, they don’t want to talk about it openly,” AbuShaban said.

They note that some students needed to drop classes because of suffering from mental health challenges.

“Many times, if they are allowed to speak about issues that are bothering them, they can resolve it,” Headdress said. “Even for our staff and faculty, it could make a difference.”

Talkspace may be an extremely important outlet if students are considering taking their own lives. A benefit is that students can receive help from a therapist without being nervous that peers might see them entering a health office and dealing with that stigma.

“It’s a great program,” Headdress said. “I’m really excited.”

In her proposal, AbuShabon noted that Native communities experience higher rates of suicide compared to all other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., with suicide being the eighth leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives across all ages; Native American women are disproportionately affected by suicide, and that suicide is often caused by high rates of poverty, substance abuse, geographic location and limited access to health services; Native American women experience higher levels of violence than other U.S. women. Nearly 84 percent experience violence in their lifetime; Native Americans experience PTSD more than twice as often as the general population; and alcoholism mortality rates are 514 percent higher than the general population.

“As a result of historical trauma, intergenerational trauma, chronically underfunded federal programs and broken promises on the part of the U.S. government, Native Americans experience the worst health disparities compared to the general population. This was true before the pandemic, and unfortunately COVID-19 has only worsened these pre-existing conditions,” AbuShabon wrote. “FPCC’s students have experienced a prolonged period of uncertainty, grief, and loss as a direct result of the pandemic. The feedback I have been receiving from students reflect mental health struggles that negatively impact daily life and academic performance, and no good options for seeking help.”

She added, “While the statistics used to justify implementing Talkspace as a response to Covid-19 are focused on Native American experiences, we have many students who are not tribally affiliated from all over the country that are enrolled with us and taking online classes, and those students will now be able to benefit from Talkspace too. Providing care for as many people as possible in the community and in our larger community is one of our cultural/indigenous values that we seek to uphold.”

Fort Peck Community College is the first college in Montana to provide the service to its students. The school is using COVID-related funding to bring the on-going program to Fort Peck Community College.

“We might be the leader for other colleges,” Headdress said. “It’s important for them to get the resources that they need. They can’t perform well in classes if their health is suffering.”