Welcome
Welcome to Gracious Kinstsugi! My name is Emily Bauer and I have a dream of spreading mental health literacy on college campuses. It is my sincere hope to empower non-clinicians, together with campus counseling staff, to openly address mental health concerns in open ways that have a direct impact on students and their well-being.

Unique Perspective
I sit at a unique intersection of seasoned Student Affairs administrator, researcher, and trauma-informed social worker. As an orientation director, I learned first hand the importance of education around mental health and success initiatives. In this, I was lucky to be involved as one of the first university teams in the U.S. to train as Mental Health First Aid Instructors. This curriculum introduced me to the concept of mental health literacy and showed me powerful ways to engage with others in supporting student mental health.

Mental Health Literacy
Mental health literacy is an evidence-based concept used by the World Health Organization to measure the mental health of entire communities. The power to openly address mental health issues, build resilience, and lower stigma around help-seeking is powerful. I believe this to be the best theoretical lens to apply to campus mental health work.

Research
Through doctoral research at Northeastern University, I was able to apply this theory to campus and create ways for university staff and faculty to engage appropriately with this topic. This is important as we all know that counseling centers by themselves are not a sustainable solution for the thousands of students experiencing a range of mental health issues.

Trauma-Informed
As a trauma-informed social worker, I have gained insight into the importance of personal skills, such as emotional regulation, that can be used to enhance student toolboxes for success. I believe that these insights can contribute greatly to conduct teams, care teams, and wellness initiatives on your campus.

Crisis
Currently, I am an active volunteer for a national suicide lifeline. This work, along with national best practices, allows me to bring real-life crisis work to thinking through barriers that you are seeing on your campus around acute crises.