By Allison Kronberg/Murphy News Service

Apparel design freshman Alyssa Johnson’s mom is a nurse and has worked with patients with Alzheimer’s, but aside from that, she said she doesn’t know much about mental health.

But she discussed mental health at length in the hallway with her friend, University of Minnesota biological sciences freshman Olivia Elick, after an event at The Whole in Coffman Memorial Union on last week.

The first-time event, called Mind and Music, aimed to do just that — to start the conversation about mental health.

The U chapter of To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) put on the event in collaboration with Active Minds, University Counseling and Consulting Services and Boynton Health Services. About 50 people attended the free concert, which featured performances from the University’s student band, Young Adult, along with A Cappella choir Urban Sound and local band Tough Sell.

“It’s a super chill environment,” Kyle Hemmingsen, mechanical engineering junior and vice president of TWLOHA, said. “So people might be more comfortable being around people and to make an effort to get this conversation going.”

Boynton Health Services student mental health surveys have shown that while students say they want other students to come to them to talk about mental health, the same students say they think other students would judge them if they were to bring up mental health.

Elick said she rarely talks about her experiences with mental health on campus.

“You’ll never say I’m going to UCCS, or I’m going to go to Boynton third floor,” she said. “Nobody says that because it’s not spoken about ever.”

Gary Christenson, Boynton’s chief medical officer, said art can be a very approachable way to start the conversation.

Christenson spoke in between performances at Mind and Music and read questions submitted anonymously by the crowd.

Some questions included, “How well does exercise help somebody with mental health issues?” and “How do you tell family members you’re suffering from a mental illness?”

Christenson also played a role in introducing Cirque De Stress and Pet Away Worry and Stress on campus.

Mind and Music follows another event a few weeks ago in The Whole, called Finding Harmony, which had established Minnesota musicians to share their experiences with mental health through discussion with the crowd.

“I’m interested in creative ways to address mental health,” Christenson said. “The arts help distract from some of the scary elements of health care and bring anxiety down.”

Hemmingsen said the Mind and Music might become an annual event from here on out.

Business marketing education senior and The Whole Music Club program board chair Kelsey Hart said the venue is interested.

“This is a new thing for us,” Hart said. “So we can see how it goes and see if we would want to make changes for the future.”

For Elick, the event helped her open up to her friends about her experiences with mental illness.

She said she hopes the University is able to do it again.

“I’m glad that I came tonight, because I could just chill for a little bit,” Elick said. “And it was good for me — just a moment to step back.”

Reporter Allison Kronberg is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.