CU Boulder counselors publish book for engineering student wellness
Where can I purchase “Decompile Your Mind?”
The book is available on Amazon and at the Boulder Bookstore.
How can I find a therapist on campus?
Schedule or drop-in to a Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) screening appointment. During the screening appointment, the student and clinician will work together to identify services that best meet the student’s specific needs. If students are interested in working with an embedded therapist, they can make this request during the screening appointment.
West and Gilfillan
What is an embedded therapist?
Embedded therapists work specifically with students affiliated with a particular college or school. CAPS created the embedded therapy program in 2018 to increase students’ access to mental health support and integrate mental health programming within academic contexts. Most colleges have one embedded therapist, but engineering has two, Audrey Gilfillan and Alison West, who work with students in the Engineering Center.
As therapists embedded in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, Audrey Gilfillan and Alison West have developed a deep expertise in supporting engineering students.
Bringing together over eight years of experience working with engineering students, the two recently co-authored “Decompile Your Mind,” which tackles common challenges faced by engineering students, including perfectionism, imposter syndrome, self-criticism, loneliness, emotional suppression, rumination and uncertainty.
What about your work with engineering students led you to write the book?
Gilfillan: As Alison and I have worked together over the years, we have noticed certain trends. Engineering students are learning in an extremely competitive, rigorous environment that values attention to detail and reason. We also noticed that certain interventions resonated more with engineering students compared to students in other academic areas. For instance, engineering students are trained to be logical problem solvers. Along with approaching academics with these analytical skills, they often approach therapy and their mental health in a similar manner. That’s why we wrote this book—to offer tools and perspectives that speak directly to how engineering students think, learn and navigate mental health.
The book is called, “Decompile Your Mind.” What does this mean?
Gilfillan: In engineering language, decompiling means to turn computer code back into a readable form so humans can understand how it works. Rather than avoiding or reactively making decisions based on distressing thoughts or emotions, readers can follow the steps outlined in the book to “decompile” the underlying needs and values represented by those experiences and use problem-solving to more effectively meet their underlying psychological needs and make decisions aligned with their values.
West: For instance, a student reacting to their anxiety about an upcoming exam might procrastinate and avoid studying. Instead of yielding to the urge to avoid the discomfort, the student can decompile the anxiety to regulate and understand what’s driving their internal experience. In this process, they will discover what they value (e.g., learning and growth). From there, they can engage in problem-solving and produce effective, realistic actions that are aligned with those values, such as studying with a friend or going to office hours. Most importantly, they don’t need to stop feeling anxious before they can take action. Our world can become really small if we listen to our anxiety every time it tells us to run.
What mental health challenges do you see most often among engineering students?
Gilfillan: Engineering students are trained to be strong problem solvers, so they often approach their mental health as a problem to solve. They're motivated, creative and ready to try new strategies—which is a real strength in academics and careers—but in the context of therapy, that problem-solving mindset can sometimes intensify their distress.
West: Attempts to problem-solve distressing emotions might look like getting stuck in questions such as, “Why is this happening?” and “How do I make it stop?” These are valid questions, but they often overshadow an important one: “What am I feeling?” We try to help readers stay in the “what” a little longer, before jumping into solutions.
It should be said that problem-solving, logic and reasoning can help someone avoid distressing emotions. But, while this may work in the short term, research shows avoiding emotions for long periods of time leads to negative consequences. We often see students who have been avoiding emotions for so long that they end up feeling mentally exhausted by their thoughts. They have difficulty making decisions, become fixated on finding “optimal” solutions and experience an inability to relax or even fall asleep. In the book, we offer a guide to untangling these overwhelming experiences and learning to relate to thoughts and emotions in effective ways.
Gilfillan: To build trust with engineering students, it is helpful to start the therapeutic process by sharing the logic of what we are doing. We need to address their skepticism for the therapy to be effective. We can lean into their skills for problem solving while also encouraging them, at times, to pause the logic in order to notice and experience emotions that are essential for the change process.
What are some of the other challenges that engineering students face?
Gilfillan: Another theme I see repeatedly is self-criticism, motivated by the belief that in order to succeed, students must be hard on themselves. They bully themselves because they believe that it is necessary in order to thrive academically.
Self-compassion research shows the opposite is true. It shows that excessive self criticism may help in the short term but over time, self-criticism leads to burnout and reduced motivation. Adopting a mindset of self-compassion creates space to pause, recover and regain strength after a setback.
West: While not unique to engineering students, I have seen many struggle with social isolation. Students are struggling to find meaningful connections, even when they are putting in effort to meet new people. Rigorous academic demands can make it logistically difficult to spend time with others. On top of that, self-comparison is a major challenge. Engineering is a competitive field which can make it difficult for students to be vulnerable with one another. It’s very easy for them to feel like they are the only ones struggling when that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Who should read this book?
West: Engineers have inspired us to rethink how we approach mental health—but the content itself offers value to many people, not just engineers. Anyone who sees the world through an analytical, logical lens can gain value from this book.
Gilfillan: The book is a valuable resource if you want to find more effective ways to respond to challenging thoughts and emotions. We also hope it’s a great resource for people who haven’t tried therapy but are curious to learn more about themselves.
The book wasn’t written to change the way engineers think. Its purpose is to provide them with additional tools to increase their self-agency and understanding so that they can live the life they want to live." - Alison West
What is the advantage of seeing an embedded therapist?
West: Engineering students can benefit from working with any Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) clinician. That said, if they’re looking to work with someone who has a deeper understanding of engineering culture and the unique challenges they face, we can offer that perspective. Whether it's graduate students navigating research and challenging advisor relationships or undergraduates adjusting to the rigor of their programs, we’ve seen it all.
Gilfillan: It’s often helpful for students that we bring an engineering lens to our work. Students often feel isolated in their struggles, and if a student asks, “Is this normal?” I can say, “Yes — in the context of engineering, this is a common part of the experience. You’re not alone.” That kind of reassurance can be powerful. Students recognize that we understand the specific challenges they face.
Is there anything we haven’t covered that you feel is important?
West: We love working with this population. We enjoy their curiosity, skepticism, thoughtful questioning, love of charts and graphs–all of it! They're such a motivated and bright group who face significant challenges. The book wasn’t written to change the way engineers think. Its purpose is to provide them with additional tools to increase their self-agency and understanding so that they can live the life they want to live.