The mental health field is an interesting and widely varying field. It offers lots of opportunities and can lead to very promising careers. Porter-Starke Services has an interesting initiative called the CARE Project that is meant to raise mental health awareness among students and the communities. Continue reading to find out about it.
The CARE Project is a brand new endeavor that is in its inaugural year. Headed up by Kate Sanders, Development Specialist at Porter-Starke, the CARE Project (or Community Awareness Research and Education Project) was created to get middle and high school students interested in scientific research and the mental health fields.
“The Indiana Counseling Association came to us with this great idea to get the students more involved and we are thrilled to partner with them,” Sanders said. “We want students to become more aware of mental health issues and how people think about them.”
The concept is similar to a science fair. Students do research projects at the level of their grade and age. They come up with a scientific question and then complete their research with the help of their classmates and peers.
“We have one student who tested the Stroop effect on his peers, and we have a group of college students studying how college-age students cope with stress,” Sanders said. “Students are gathering data from their peers, analyzing it, and then presenting it at the conference.”
The conference that Sanders spoke of is the Indiana Counseling Association’s annual conference this coming April. Porter-Starke offers a Resource Guide for teachers and anyone outside of the classroom who is interested in finding out more about the CARE Project. It’s a How-To guide for anyone who wants to complete the project on their own.
Click here for a copy of the Resource Guide.
The CARE Project is free to participate in and there is still time to join in. Click here for a copy of the Conference Registration Form.