THE SUMMIT
COVER STORY
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Creates a risk of injury to any
works with the patient and with the es- sential multidisciplinary team to prepare a course of treatment and monitoring. Treatments span medication and psycho- therapy, depending on the individual and how his complex of symptoms presents.” Dr. Odom pointed out that mental health impacts hazing in such a way that human growth and development must be juxtaposed to better understand the holistic effect in terms of early child- hood and exposure to and experience of intrapsychic, physical trauma of both the mind and body. Indeed, mental health plays a noteworthy role in hazing, philo- sophically ‘we are what we repeatedly do’ and "I might add what we hear and see (what we experience)." This is the case with abuse, neglect, trauma and violence on the mind, body and spirit of the human person. One is exposed to abuse, neglect, trauma and violence in a given context and it is later manifested and perpetuated in a ‘fight or flight’ in terms of our need to survive. Dr. Odom professed that “one of the largest parts of many college students college experience involves ‘Greek Life’. Everyone has seen movies of frat houses and heard the countless amounts of myths about pledging. While hazing is banned by every college, every national headquarters of all fraternities, and even with the police, it still happens. On every campus there is hazing. Of course the severity of the hazing differs from house to house and university to university, but nonetheless it is more than common. Hazing is the most collective reason for fraternities to be kicked off campuses and to have their charter revoked by their respective National Headquarters. Despite the harsh consequences hazing is still alive.” II) How do you deal with ‘bad apples’ in the chapter/make better decisions? Dr. Wortham proffered the notion that “decision-making, including deciding to address Chapter members deemed inappropriate or toxic to the organiza- tion or for other reasons, has its chal- lenges. These challenges are multiplied in a fraternal organization where the value of brotherhood is central, if not
the bedrock. Challenges due to loyalty to individual members versus loyalty to the organization, ethical, legal or moral obligations, and emotional needs are faced in making such decisions. There is no one instruction or set of instruc- tions for making decisions, however. Because personalities, characters and personal styles are not likely to change, it is important to recognize and be aware of yours, because in some instances these must be overcome so that decisions advance a good that you have determined is worthy. In other words, you assess the worth of a goal in the context of your per- sonality and proceed courageously with a decision.” Dr. Odom articulated that it is essential to comprehend process (re- lationship, work, life, responsibility, role identity), become fully aware of self and other relative to differences in personal- ity structure primarily in terms of the type of human person a chapter seeks to recruit, this is to say, the majority of cases regarding recruitment & selection culminate with existing members attract- ing /recruiting like-minded persons iden- tical to membership or chapter profile which highlight specific lifestyle, char- acter, sociocultural background, religion, major discipline and mutual associations (“birds of a feather syndrome”). III) How do you balance stresses on college campuses? Brother Nettles iden- tified the importance of “when navigat- ing college, it’s important to identify key resources that colleges has to offer such as academic support centers, Health and counseling services, and student organizations that can serve as support groups with similar identities or interest (e.g. mental health, Resilience groups, etc). It’s also important to identify key mentors on campus and if needed, local doctors and counselors so that if you can navigate off campus services as well. While our fraternity brothers can serve in multiple capacities, sometimes others we identify with can help support us as well.” Dr. Wortham said, “In my psychiatric practice, I am a huge proponent of man- aging stress in a very practical manner, especially initially, and especially where
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Involves harassment of any
Involves degradation of any
Involves humiliation of an indi-
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Involves ridicule of an indi-
Involves or includes the will- ful destruction or removal of public or private property for the purpose of initia- tion or admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued member- ship in an organization Hazing includes physical injury, assault or battery, kidnapping or impris- onment, intentionally placing at risk of mental or emotional harm (putting “over the edge”), degradation, humiliation, the compromising of moral or religious values, forced consumption of any liquid or solid, placing an individual in physical danger (at risk) which includes aban- donment, and impairment of physical liberties which include curfews or other interference with academic endeavors. Dr. Wortham articulated the point that “hazing, as either a sanctioned or outlawed practice, has the potential to inflict emotional harm. That harm may be seen in either those with little or no predisposition to mental illness or in those who have increased risks for mental illness. Depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders stand out as likely conditions that could be precipitated or exacer- bated by hazing. Psychiatrists assess individuals for symptoms, such as loss of concentration, loss of interest, suicidal- ity, somatic complaints, sleep distur- bance and impaired functioning, to determine if variants of these disorders or full-blown syndromes are present. Once assessment and diagnosis are completed, frequently calling on other physicians and other mental health professionals to do so, the psychiatrist
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