By Sandra C. Roa, University Communications and Marketing
Andrew Devendorf鈥檚 family history inspired his passion to promote mental health literacy. Since an early age, he noticed the stigmas and lack of open dialogue about mental health, particularly depression. His older brother, Matt, suffered from depression, and sadly it resulted in his suicide. His death significantly impacted Devendorf鈥檚 life and motivated his research on how societal stigmas affect outcomes for individuals with depression. He鈥檚 also working to find new ways to normalize conversations about mental health, especially with clinical psychologists, who tend to distance their own mental health from their work.
鈥淧sychologists are not immune to mental health problems and that鈥檚 okay,鈥� Devendorf said. 鈥淏y us being openly accepting of our own mental health problems, I鈥檓 hoping we can set a good example for how others can talk openly and seek care.鈥�
USF鈥檚 Counseling Center offers several confidential mental health resources including in-person and virtual visits with a crisis counselor. The center also provides access to Togetherall, a free anonymous peer support platform, and TimelyCare, a virtual health and well-being platform and mobile app that鈥檚 free to current students.