Young, Gifted, and @ Risk: High-Achieving Students of Color and Mental Health

Pembroke 305, 172 Meeting Street

Brown University's Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, in collaboration with the Stephen C. Rose Legacy Fund, convened leading mental health scholars, practitioners, and members of the University community for an important dialogue on mental health. The symposium provided a unique opportunity to hear experts' perspectives on the challenges facing high-achieving, high-aspiring people of color during college and emerging adulthood. Participants addressed areas of consensus and divergence, identified opportunities to build knowledge, and recommended action steps to move forward an agenda promoting the mental health of young people and emerging adults of color. 

9:45 - 10:00 a.m.: Opening Remarks

> Video: Opening Remarks from Tricia Rose and Evan Rose

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Marginality, Belonging, and Success: The University Experience and the Mental Health of High-Aspiring Students and Emerging Adults of Color

  • The quality of the university experience, environment, and community can have sizable effects on the mental well-being of young people of color. This panel discussion aims to address the forces at play in the university environment, the scope and scale of the challenges they present, and their impact on the mental well-being and overall success of high-aspiring young people of color during their college years and early adulthood. Experts will compare the distinctive mental health challenges of the college years and environment to those in other life stages and settings. 
  • Alfiee Breland-Noble, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center; Kevin Cokley, Professor of Counseling Psychology, Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas-Austin; David Rivera, Assistant Professor of Psychology, William Paterson University.

> Video: Alfiee-Breland Noble
> Video: Kevin Cokley
> Video: David Rivera 

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.: Lunch and Conversation: The Quiet Crisis: Contextualizing the Challenges to Mental Health of High-Aspiring Young People of Color

  • Annelle Primm, M.D., MPH, Deputy Medical Director, Director, Division of Diversity and Health Equity, American Psychiatric Association 

> Video: Annelle Primm

2:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Mental Health on Campus and Beyond: Obstacles and Solutions

  • This panel discussion explores the strengths and weaknesses of existing policies and practices aimed at helping young people overcome mental health challenges in university settings and beyond. Experts will address the unique obstacles to mental health literacy and help-seeking among young people of color, as well as the need for broader engagement with peers, families, communities, and other key stakeholders in promoting their health and well-being. The panel will highlight innovative mental health programming, and offer suggestions for addressing the mental health crisis moving forward. 
  • Daphne Holt, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School;Michael Mason, Ph.D, LPC, Staff Psychotherapist, Multicultural Specialist, University of Virginia; David Henderson, Director, Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.

> Video: Daphne Holt
> Video: Michael Mason
> Video: David Henderson 

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.: Open Dialogue and Next Steps

Co-sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Office of the Dean of the College, and the School of Public Health

Related Video