Mental Health Awareness Month serves as an opportunity to underscore the significance of mental health and wellness in people's lives. Recognized annually in May, this observance aims to elevate awareness surrounding mental health challenges and to advocate for support and understanding.
Across the country, structures will be illuminated in green light to recognize those facing mental health conditions. PCOM will participate in the observance by lighting the obelisks on City Avenue in green, the official color for mental health awareness. The display is an effort by PCOM to contribute to fostering a culture of understanding, empathy, and support for mental health issues.
The month-long initiative highlights the fact that mental health disorders can affect anyone, regardless of background or circumstance. It underscores the importance of early intervention and seeking treatment when needed, advocating for destigmatization and support for mental health issues.
“Mental Health Awareness is important because more than 1 in 5 adults live with a mental illness,” said Lisa Corbin PhD, LPC, NCC, director of the MS in Mental Health Counseling program at PCOM.
Corbin along with other program faculty recently donned green to show their support for Mental Health Awareness Month.
“We as a society, and especially as clinicians and counselor educators, need to normalize the occurrence of mental health issues so that people seek therapy,” she said. “We go to a doctor if we have a sinus infection, a physical therapist to rehab after an injury, a dermatologist for skin concerns, why wouldn't we go to a therapist to take care of the organ that takes care of every part of the body. Mental health is health!”
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