March 1, 2022–A small grant from the American Psychological Association will support suicide awareness and prevention efforts by a Missouri Western State University faculty member and her students. Dr. Nuchelle Chance, assistant professor of psychology, received the grant through the APA’s Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training in Psychology Task Force.
The grant covers both research and outreach efforts with a special emphasis on racial and ethnic minority disparities associated with mental health and suicide rates.
Two students have been selected as research assistants, Latonya Mitchell and Marian Montiel. They will receive scholarships while working toward developing a presentation or written manuscript on mental health and suicide based on their own research question.
“I hope to gain a better awareness of who I am and who I am becoming, to help me become a better psychologist in the future,” Mitchell said. I want people to know that we all suffer from different things, and we are more alike than we are different.”
Montiel also hopes to gain a better understanding of mental health to apply to her future work as a clinical psychologist.
“I hope to give as much of myself as possible, in every aspect,” Montiel said. “To give that comfort and hope to someone who may have been through similar things I have gone through and let them know it’s going to be okay.”
Both Montiel and Mitchell say they have experienced depression and anxiety, and believe that experience will help them help others.
On the outreach side, Dr. Chance and her students will work with Can You See Me, Inc., a non-profit that works to raise awareness about mental health issues co-founded by student Demetrius Chance. One of the outreach programs will be a podcast hosted by Creative Minds, a student-founded group. The five-part podcast will stream live with guests, activities and giveaways. The first podcast will originate from the Blum Student Union at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, with subsequent episodes airing March 8, March 15, March 22 and April 5.
Follow along with the outreach and research efforts via the Take a Chance Social Science Research Lab on Facebook.
Missouri Western State University is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit missouriwestern.edu.