5 Ways University Students Can Get Help for Mental Health Problems

Co-authored by: Alia Al Hazami, Iman Ben Chaibah, and Omar Al Owais

Where can you get help from when facing mental health problems? And are there different methods to get help for different personal preferences?

When we go through any organic health problem, our first thought when it persists is almost always that we must get it checked by a doctor. Whether this problem was a skin problem, a blood pressure problem, an eyesight problem, etc. We almost always assume that the solution is by going to a doctor and getting help. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the thought process when the health problem we’re facing is mental rather than physical. Some people never think of getting help when it comes to their mental health, simply because it doesn’t cross their mind, after all, mental health can be intangible and not physical in comparison to the other physical health problems where we can measure them and test for them. The biggest issue that stops people from getting help when they need it is the fear of embarrassment and the fear of what people would think of them if they knew: What will their family think? Will their pain be justified or will it be brushed off? Will they be forced to drop it and told to “man up?”

So, let’s agree that dealing with mental health in a process-based manner similar to the one we follow with physical health problems, i.e. getting professional help, is the appropriate approach and is essential in dealing with it and managing it. We often know deep within when a problem is more than we can handle. We often know when something is seriously wrong. But we need to try not to let the fear of “what will people say” stop us from caring for ourselves. No one knows what’s going in our mind more than ourselves, so we owe it to ourselves to try getting help when we need it.

There is a whole variety of mental health help to choose from, there are many options that cater for all kinds of personalities, including the level of comfort they have with speaking out about their mental health, how comfortable they are with certain professional job titles, and of course the level of privacy they want to maintain whether by going physically to an office or a clinic or at the privacy of their own smart devices using an application instead.

Here is a list of few sources of help that you can refer to and choose at your discretion:

1. The university in-house counselor. While they do not necessarily have the authority to prescribe medication, they will be able to run some tests. By visiting the counselor, you will be able to identify the issue you are suffering from and get the encouragement to seek professional help. Pinning down the problem and admitting to it is the first step to recovery.
2. Visiting a wellbeing center. There is a center called The LightHouse, according to their website, they bring together “an international team of licensed psychologists and psychiatrists offering a range of treatments. Our modern, friendly clinic is an ideal setting where you’ll feel safe and confident to explore your mental health and emotional issues.” The ideal thing about this center is that they offer the medical professionals in a space that’s open and safe, and the labeling from outside the center is simply “Center for Wellbeing.” It’s ideal for those who would like to avoid explicit terms such as clinic or psychiatrist, and they offer great help on all emotional and mental issues.
3. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a mode of treatment for mental health conditions whereby the therapist and the patient engage in a hands-on “dissection” and tracking of thoughts. CBT involves active and critical thinking about one’s thoughts. What some therapists emphasize on is the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and actions; whereby thoughts influence your emotions, and emotions, in turn, influence your actions. A recommended CBT specialist can be found at the Moving Forward Consulting Services. CBT has been proven as a very effective method in dealing with different sorts of mental health problems.
4. Visit the American Center for Neurology and Psychiatry. They have branches across the UAE and have specialized doctors in several fields. The center offers a free space to speak up and get a proper diagnosis. You are then offered several treatment methods that are tailored to your own experience. Their recovery process is gradual and provides support to the patient as well as to the patient’s family.
5. With the digital age we’re in, there are also mobile apps and websites that pair you with therapists according to your needs and give you the convenience of communicating with them via the app either as instant messages, voice calls, or video calls. This solution is often the most accessible in terms of cost and gives you the convenience of getting the help you need, at any time of the day and anywhere you are in via the privacy of your own phone. Two of the apps that are credible are Talk Space and better help.

This article has been written as part of The UAE Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism sponsored by Al Jalila Foundation.