* Corresponding Author
Ethical Perspectives in Mental Health Advocacy for College Students at Risk of Suicide: Insights from Buddhist Psychology
https://doi.org/10.22146/kawistara.101193 Fuji Riang Prastowo(1*), Kwartarini Wahyu Yuniarti(2), Yulianti Yulianti(3)
(1) Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies and Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada
(2) Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada
(3) Faculty of Cultural Sciences and Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
This study examines the ethics of mental health advocacy for Indonesian college students with suicidal inclinations, questioning the constraints of Western psychological models characterized by biomedical confidentiality and individualism, which predominantly lead to alienation. This study employs an autoethnographic method grounded on Buddhist psychology in order to argue that cognitive capitalism inside Indonesian universities exacerbates competition, hence intensifying mental health challenges among students. Employing Shiv Visvanathan’s cognitive justice paradigm, the study contests Western hegemony in mental health discourse, promoting a community-oriented approach consistent with Buddhist principles. The findings indicate that integrating Buddhist principles—such as Bodhicitta (altruistic purpose), Anatta (non-self), and the peer-support model Kalyanamitta—into mental health advocacy enhances resilience and mitigates alienation or Sakkaya Ditthi's illusion of self-identity. Lecturer counselors serve as essential advocates in learning resilience, assisting students in conjunction with psychologists and psychiatrists, therefore addressing deficiencies in Indonesia's disproportionately supported mental health system. The study analyzes clinical confidentiality practices in Western psychology, which may elevate suicide risks by diminishing options for communal assistance, and advocates for a model that emphasizes collective healing, compassion (Karuna), and the involvement of peers and mentors. This paper provides an integrated inclusive framework that incorporates Western and Buddhist viewpoints in Health Promoting Universities, providing a culturally pertinent approach to suicide prevention in Indonesian universities. This paradigm emphasizes community engagement and ethical advocacy, addressing mental health comprehensively, enhancing resilience, and diminishing stigma.
Keywords
References
Alonzo, D. & Gearing, R.E. 2021, "Suicide Across Buddhism, American Indian–Alaskan Native, and African Traditional Religions, Atheism and Agnosticism: An Updated Systematic Review", Journal of religion and health, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 2527-2546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01202-z
Brymer, M., Jacobs, A., Layne, C., Pynoos, R., Ruzek, J., Steinberg, A., Vernberg, E. and Watson, P., 2006. Psychological first aid: Field operations guide. 2nd ed. National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Available at: www.nctsn.org and www.ncptsd.va.gov
Chou, K., Ho, A.H.Y. and Chi, I., 2006. Living alone and depression in Chinese older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 10(6), pp.583-591. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860600641150
Farrell, L., Bourgeois-Law, G., Regehr, G. and Ajjawi, R., 2015. Autoethnography: Introducing ‘I’ into medical education research. Medical Education, 49(10), pp.974-982. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12761
Fjorback, L.O., Arendt, M., Ørnbøl, E., Fink, P. and Walach, H., 2011. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 124(2), pp.102-119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01704.x
Foley, R. and Platzer, H., 2007. Place and provision: Mapping mental health advocacy services in London. Social Science & Medicine, 64(3), pp.617-632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.09.014
Fukui, N., 2022. Compassion as our origin: Examining a Kyoto school approach. Knowledge Cultures, 10(1), pp.123-140. https://doi.org/10.22381/kc10120227
Gallagher, S., Raffone, A., Berkovich-Ohana, A., Barendregt, H.P., Bauer, P.R., Brown, K.W., Giommi, F., Nyklíček, I., Ostafin, B.D., Slagter, H., Trautwein, F. and Vago, D.R., 2023. The self-pattern and Buddhist psychology. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02118-3
Garbarino, J., Governale, A., Henry, P. and Nesi, D., 2015. Children and terrorism: Sharing child and youth development knowledge. Social Policy Report, 29(2). Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED569207.pdf
Gawrysiak, M.J., Grassetti, S.N., Greeson, J.M., Shorey, R.C., Pohlig, R. and Baime, M.J., 2018. The many facets of mindfulness and the prediction of change following mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(4), pp.523-535. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22521
Gooding, P., 2017. The government is the cause of the disease and we are stuck with the symptoms: Deinstitutionalisation, mental health advocacy and police shootings in 1990s Victoria. Continuum, 31(3), pp.436-446. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2016.1275146
Hendler, R., Kidia, K., Machando, D., Crooks, M., Mangezi, W., Abas, M., Katz, C., Thornicroft, G., Semrau, M. and Jack, H., 2016. We are not really marketing mental health: Mental health advocacy in Zimbabwe. PLoS ONE, 11(9), e0161860. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161860
Hetrick, J., 2022. Deleuze and the Kyoto school: Onto-logics. Philosophy East & West, 72(3), pp.717-738. https://doi.org/10.1353/pew.2022.0055
Kartikasari, B., 2023. Fakta-fakta mahasiswa bunuh diri di kamar kos daerah Pogung Sleman, ini pernyataan kampus. Jogja.Tribunews.com, 18 September. Available at: https://jogja.tribunnews.com/2023/09/18/fakta-fakta-mahasiswa-bunuh-diri-di-kamar-kost-daerah-pogung-sleman-ini-pernyataan-kampus
Kato, H., 2016. The relationship between the psychology of religion and Buddhist psychology. Japanese Psychological Research, 58(S1), pp.70-84. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpr.12121
Kelly, B.D., 2023. Beyond mindfulness: Buddhist psychology and the Abhidharma. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 25(1), pp.71-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2022.2081952
King, S.B., 2023. Mindfulness, compassion and skillful means in engaged Buddhism. Mindfulness, 14(10), pp.2516-2531. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01847-1
Koteyko, N. and Atanasova, D., 2018. Mental health advocacy on Twitter: Positioning in Depression Awareness Week tweets. Discourse, Context & Media, 25, pp.52-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2018.04.007
Lapadat, J.C., 2017. Ethics in autoethnography and collaborative autoethnography. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(8), pp.589-603. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800417704462
Lengacher, C.A., Johnson-Mallard, V., Post-White, J., Moscoso, M.S., Jacobsen, P.B., Klein, T.W., Widen, R.H., Fitzgerald, S.G., Shelton, M.M., Barta, M., Goodman, M., Cox, C.E. and Kip, K.E., 2009. Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for survivors of breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 18(12), pp.1261-1272. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.1529
Maylea, C., Makregiorgos, H., Martin, J., Alvarez-Vasquez, S., Dale, M., Hill, N., Johnson, B., Thomas, S. and Weller, P., 2020. Independent mental health advocacy: A model of social work advocacy? Australian Social Work, 73(3), pp.334-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2020.1725076
Nazarzadeh, M., Bidel, Z., Ranjbaran, M., Hemmati, R., Pejhan, A., Asadollahi, K. and Sayehmiri, K., 2016. Fatal suicide and modelling its risk factors in a prevalent area of Iran. Archives of Iranian Medicine, 19(8), p.571.
Nissen, E.R., O'Connor, M., Kaldo, V., Højris, I., Borre, M., Zachariae, R. and Mehlsen, M., 2020. Internet‐delivered mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for anxiety and depression in cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial. Psycho-Oncology, 29(1), pp.68-75. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5237
O’Connell, L., 2023. Being and doing anorexia nervosa: An autoethnography of diagnostic identity and performance of illness. Health, 27(2), pp.263-278. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593211017190
Parrott, S., Britt, B.C., Hayes, J.L. and Albright, D.L., 2020. Social media and suicide: A validation of terms to help identify suicide-related social media posts. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 17(5), pp.624-634. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2020.1788478
Parsons, C.E., Crane, C., Parsons, L.J., Fjorback, L.O. and Kuyken, W., 2017. Home practice in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of participants' mindfulness practice and its association with outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 95, pp.29-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2017.05.004
Petrie, K., Spittal, M., Zeritis, S., Phillips, M., Deady, M., Forbes, D., Bryant, R., Shand, F. and Harvey, S.B., 2023. Suicide among emergency service workers: A retrospective mortality study of national coronial data, 2001–2017. Psychological Medicine, 53(12), pp.5470-5477. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291722002653
Purbaya, A.A., 2023. Mahasiswinya tewas di kos dengan sepucuk surat, Udinus Semarang berduka. Detikjateng, 12 October. Available at: https://www.detik.com/jateng/berita/d-6978315/mahasiswinya-tewas-di-kos-dengan-sepucuk-surat-udinus-semarang-berduka
Rigsby, C.A., 2014. Three strands of nothingness in Chinese philosophy and the Kyoto school: A summary and evaluation. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, 13(4), pp.469-489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-014-9398-6
Sagita, N.S., 2023. RI darurat kesehatan mental, Kemenkes ungkap kasus bunuh diri naik terus. Detikhealth, 13 October. Available at: https://health.detik.com/berita-detikhealth/d-6979625/ri-darurat-kesehatan-mental-kemenkes-ungkap-kasus-bunuh-diri-naik-terus
Sahdra, B.K. and Shaver, P.R., 2013. Comparing attachment theory and Buddhist psychology. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 23(4), pp.282-293. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2013.795821
Salzberg, S., 2011. Mindfulness and loving-kindness. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), pp.177-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2011.564837
Smyth, J., 2020. The neoliberal toxic university: Beyond no is not enough and daring to dream a socially just alternative into existence. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 52(7), pp.716-725. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2019.1654370
Stahl, S.T., Beach, S.R., Musa, D. and Schulz, R., 2017. Living alone and depression: The modifying role of the perceived neighborhood environment. Aging & Mental Health, 21(10), pp.1065-1071. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2016.1191060
Teale, J., 2017. Independent mental health advocacy: The right to be heard - context, values and good practice. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2017.1294746
Tovote, K.A., Schroevers, M.J., Snippe, E., Emmelkamp, P.M.G., Links, T.P., Sanderman, R. and Fleer, J., 2017. What works best for whom? Cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depressive symptoms in patients with diabetes. PLoS ONE, 12(6), e0179941. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179941
Visvanathan, S., 1998. A celebration of difference: Science and democracy in India. Science, 280(5360), pp.42-43. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5360.42
Visvanathan, S., 2016. The pluriverse of failure in Indian science. Social Research, 83(3), pp.723-747. https://doi.org/10.1353/sor.2016.0051
Walker, E., Shaw, S. and Anderson, J., 2020. Dyspraxia in medical education: A collaborative autoethnography. Qualitative Report, 25(11), pp.4072-4093. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4352
Wawan, J.H., 2022. Penjelasan Hotel Porta soal kasus mahasiswa UGM lompat dari lantai 11. Detikcom, 9 October. Available at: https://www.detik.com/jateng/jogja/d-6337958/penjelasan-hotel-porta-soal-kasus-mahasiswa-ugm-lompat-dari-lantai-11
Yong, A., 2013. Christianity and the notion of nothingness: Contributions to Buddhist-Christian dialogue from the Kyoto school by Mutō Kazuo. Buddhist-Christian Studies, 33(1), pp.209-213. https://doi.org/10.1353/bcs.2013.0024
Yulisnawati, E.A., 2023. Mahasiswa Unnes tewas diduga bunuh diri di Mall Paragon Semarang, tinggalkan surat wasiat bikin nyesek. Jawapos.com, 11 October. Available at: https://www.jawapos.com/berita-sekitar-anda/013064680/mahasiswa-unnes-tewas-diduga-bunuh-diri-di-mall-paragon-semarang-tinggalkan-surat-wasiat-bikin-nyesek
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/kawistara.101193
Article Metrics
Abstract views : 252
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 Fuji Riang Prastowo, Kwartarini Wahyu Yuniarti, Yulianti Yulianti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Jurnal Kawistara is published by the Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada.