Thoughts on Reel In Support

Reel In Support, was an initiative designed by a group of my peers that allowed a way for people dealing with psychological issues to have a platform to address their issues and get help.  Mental illness is a topic that a lot times get overlooked.  People don't realize that a lot of times people have to hide their issues pertaining to mental illness so that people wont think their crazy or treat them differently.  Although, support groups are really good for giving a more social connection with people dealing with similar issues their are pros as well as cons. One pros of support groups are the fact that people can share common experiences in a safe way.  The con to this is that things are not as confidential.  This is where Reel In Support comes into play.  Reel In Support is the idea to provide a website where everything is confidential and allows psychologist to help and share with people common issues.  REEL the motto can be broken down as (RESPECT,E,ENCOURAGE,LIFT), which is supported by the image of the fish. The fish is to help get the idea of reeling people in like you would do with fish.  I truly liked this presentation because I think it truly addresses an issue that often times gets overlooked.  Some people are seeking helping and can't really afford to see a psychologist or to attend support groups.  That is why a site like this will be helpful because it provides people a place to come and get help for free.  Also, since the site is confidential people don't really have to worry about people knowing who they are.  One of the things I believe the group could add on was adding a place where people could have direct access to hotlines and general information to deal with some of the issues they are having.  A lot of people aren't aware that their are hotlines for things such as suicide and depression and having that accessible that will be helpful even when someone isn't online to help out.  Another area I believe the program can be tweaked is with picking people qualified for the website.  The website is suppose to be ran by people that are students that need clinical hours and doctors. The only problem with this is that students aren't really trained enough to be helping people with serious mental issues.  Therefore, that only leaves a limited amount of people truly certified to do this type of work.  If the site only has a couple people it really puts a lot of pressure on the person to devote a lot of time to the site and some people that are certified might have practices of their own. Also with everything being online it limits the actually interactions and only allows them to focus on what is being told to them which might not be as helpful with diagnosing people properly.