Caldwell University Raises Awareness of Mental Health Issues, Becomes Jersey’s First Stigma-Free Campus

Governor Richard Codey Joins President Blattner to Mark Occasion 

Caldwell, N.J., Oct. 7, 2015– Caldwell University showed its support for raising public awareness about mental health issues by becoming New Jersey’s first stigma-free campus  on October 7. Former governor Richard Codey joined President Nancy Blattner to mark the occasion and to tour the campus’s new Wellness Center.

“We are very happy to become a stigma-free campus to show our students and the community that our institution is committed to overcoming the stigma attached to mental health issues. We are dedicated to improving the quality of life for young and old who suffer with mental health disorders,” said Blattner.

The stigma-free initiative is sponsored by the Codey Fund for Mental Health. Codey and his wife Mary Jo, an alumna of Caldwell University, founded the fund, which is aimed at ensuring that compassionate, quality mental health care is accessible to everyone and that the stigma associated with mental illness is overcome through public awareness and education.

“I salute Caldwell University on becoming the first New Jersey university to become a stigma-free campus. Now I know why my wife went here,” said Codey.

The university has numerous programs dedicated to mental health. The Wellness Center combines the Counseling, Health Services and Campus Ministry offices; the Counseling Department collaborates annually with the Mental Health Association of Essex County to hold an annual mood checkup/depression screening event, which took place on Oct. 7, and the Psychology and Counseling Department runs the Helpline Center in partnership with the National Suicide Prevention Hotline where Caldwell graduate students volunteer and gain professional experience.

Consistent with Caldwell University’s commitment to promoting mental health, the institution offers a CACREP-accredited Master’s degree in Counseling with a Specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. This 60-credit program fulfills coursework requirements for licensure in New Jersey as a Professional Counselor, preparing graduates to effectively function as mental health counselors in a variety of human service settings.