There are many barriers to seeking mental health support including feelings of personal shame and skepticism about treatment effectiveness. Traditional therapeutic models assume that talking to someone in an office on a weekly basis will lead to generalization of new skills; however, people often need coaching and support in the precise moment that something challenging is unfolding to augment the success of therapeutic interventions.

There are also significant barriers to implementation of in-the-moment support: cost, therapist availability, ethical and legal issues, and potential for therapist burnout. Our team of trained peer coaches, DukeLine, has the potential to overcome these barriers and provide much-needed support to students.

DukeLine: A Peer to Peer Support Program

Poster by Christina Boghosian, Brendan Burg, Kyra Citron, Jalisa Jackson, Brooke Keene, Bruny Kenou, Laura Li, Urmi Pandya, Elizabeth Roy, Ameya Sanyal, Taylor Shabani, Savannah Erwin, David Goldston, Guillermo Sapiro, Timothy Strauman, Sue Wasiolek and Nancy Zucker