LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Allison Tu may seem like your average high school senior. But as she presented her research that she’s helped lead and compile over the last year regarding mental health stigmas in Kentucky teens, it was obvious that her passion will take her far. Tu is the founder and executive director of StAMINA – the Student Alliance for Mental Health Innovation and Action.

• Students and a UofL professor conducted a qualitative study
• Presented findings during the Kentuckiana Health Collaborative Community Forum
• Goal of group is to diminish mental health stigmas 

“StAMINA, this group of a dozen or so students and adults allies working together, has been able to make so much progress and began so much change. And that is so exciting to me,” Tu said.

Tu founded the group when she discovered her own friends struggling with mental health issues.

“There are so many students who struggle on a daily basis, and there are so many students who are struggling with really severe issues on a daily basis,” she said. “But unfortunately because mental health is so stigmatized, they aren’t getting the help they need. For me, that was really motivating to create StAMINA and start driving changes.”

The group focuses on de-stigmatizing mental health issues in teens – and looks for ways to make mental healthcare more accessible, and less taboo. She said just talking about mental health is a great first step, but she wanted to take things one step further, and research the topic. She said she knew they needed someone academically-minded to help them, and started emailing professors at the University of Louisville. Tu said many didn’t answer her emails, some were too busy, but then Dr. Stephen O’Connor responded. O’Connor is associate director of the UofL Depression Center and guided the students in research. Together, they spent a year working on a ‘strong qualitative study.’ They presented their findings during the Kentuckiana Health Collaborative Community Forum. 

“What we wanted to do was showcase our findings and share everything we’ve learned from students, parents, and other adult allies…everything we’ve been doing over the last year. We really wanted to communicate the power youth voice,” Tu said.

Much was discovered in their focus groups, interviews, etc. One major takeaway?

“Whether it’s a forum like this or even if I’m just at the lunch table talking to my friends, whenever we start a conversation about mental health, I think that is the biggest barrier,” Tu said. “Just getting the conversation going and started can be so difficult because there’s so much stigma around mental health.”