Mental Health on College Campuses
As todays demand in getting a college degree rises so does todays college student's mental health rates. A 2013 study by The Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors Annual Survey discovered that 41.6% of college students suffer from anxiety, trailed by depression at 36.4%. Along with this it is said that over 19% of directors report that they lack the adequate resources to deal with the rising number of mental health cases. College campus administrators should regulate and provide mental illness policies for college students; due to the number of mental health issues that are arising with today's generation. With the growing numbers of mental illness college faculty hold the right to provide mental health screenings, integrate policies, and understand and recognize the signs of mental illness. With today's laws and the proper resources this could lead to the decrease of mental health cases throughout college campuses.
According to David Kraft, Princeton University developed the first mental health service in 1910, due to a large percentage of students leaving school for emotional and social issues (478). This proves the need of mental health policies for over 100 years. Soon after Princeton developed their program, a number of other universities also developed one as well, University of Wisconsin was next in 1914, followed by Washburn College in 1920, US Military Academy at West Point in 1921, and Yale University in 1925 (478). In 1937 survey of 479 schools 93% indicated the importance of mental hygiene services (National Services 479). By this time most schools were using some sort of "multidisciplinary staff, holding trained physiatrists, physiologists, and social workers" (Kraft 77-78). Over the next several decades the mental hygiene services were showing an improvement and in Dr. Arnsteins reviewed the programed and found it still prevalent and necessary (480).
Figure 1. Explains mental health resources on college campuses (Tulp).
In the 2016 Collegiate Mental Health Annual Report 66% of Student Affair Administrators conclude that Mental health is their "number one priority on campus" (Simon). Figure 1 (above) claims that just over 30% of college campuses still do not provide psychiatric services(Tulp). This correlates with what David Kraft's findings almost 100 years ago. Mental health is has always been important on college campuses, and still is today, 108 years later. With the need for more mental health programs growing from 1910 to 2018 there is still a very high need for even more policies and programs to help aid the burdens. From 2009 a year before Kraft's survey ended and a couple of years ago in 2015 the need of services has grown by 5.6% claims a report by Center of Colligate Mental Health. In a generated data set from the Center of Colligate Mental Health (CCMH) that recorded mental health trends over the last 6 years, 2010-2016, where they asked a series of questions relating back to mental health, ex. "Have you self-harmed, attended counseling for mental health, or Seriously considered suicide?" and their data showed that on all of their questions the responses rates of "yes" answers have only increased since 2010 (Ben Locke 4).
With the rising numbers of mental health cases in most of college campuses, the best way to stop them are to help prevent, and deal with them. Providing policies and standards to help ease the stigma of mental health in general is the next step. Being one of the first schools to implement mental health protocols, Oberlin University has implemented "trigger warning" to help students with past traumatic experiences (Isabella Kwai). Ben Locke executive director of the CCMH claims that "When students are in treatment, they are far less likely to be at risk." Locke said. "In the last decade, we have been telling students, parents, roommates, friends, if you see somebody who is struggling, refer them to service." (Locke) Referring students and having everyone hold each other accountable is what's going to make the biggest difference in helping students with mental health problems. With the rates of suicide and depression only rising the best thing that everyone can do is work together to overcome the stigmas and the ups and downs that having a mental illness brings with it.
The more open campus counselors there are the more inclined students are going to go use them. John Park, who graduated from Duke University, first used his on-campus counseling center his senior year. He said, "I hated going through the spiraling of anxiety attacks" (Park). Missing assignments, staying in bed all day, not meeting up with his friends, are just some of the things that anxiety and depression made John do, simply just wasn't himself anymore. Once getting into the counseling center things started getting back on track, and he started to feel better about himself. Today's college students "seek on-campus counseling more than any other generation in modern history" illustrates Isabella Kwai, writer for The Atlantic. The rise in needed counseling services has only risen in the last couple of years and will continue so without the proper polices in place. Making sure that all counseling treatments are kept private and with a no-tell zone, will help close the stigma for receiving help for mental illnesses.
Over the past couple of years there has been a number of laws that have been set in place to protect and to prevent, suicide and other symptoms that come along with mental health. With the government behind the movement of erasing stigma and creating policies this is producing the greatest change. In 2004 The Garrett Lee Memorial Act was set into place:
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award a grant to an additional research, training, and technical assistance center to provide information, training, and technical assistance to various entities including for: (1) developing or continuing statewide or tribal suicide early intervention and prevention strategies. … (4) promoting the sharing of data regarding youth suicide; and (5) evaluating and disseminating outcomes and best practices of mental and behavioral health services at institutions of higher education. (Garrett)
Having laws and regulations set up to protect and produce change is the first step to help fight mental illness. This Act ensures that states that have the highest mental illness rates to be in preference and the states that are receiving the funding are actually using the funding for the intended uses. Additionally, the schools who show the highest change in awareness in mental health crisis, can receive "matching grants" to enhance their services even deeper. This act was a stepping stone for other acts and laws to be made and created a voice of change in the government.
College student's mental health has not particularly gotten better over the past several decades. The average counseling time for college students over the past 10 years has gone up by 28% confirms the Center of Colligate Mental Health (1). Although the line where to cross boarders to help stop mental health is hazy, there are things being done to help correct the problem. The willingness of college campus administrators has to knowing that they have a problem at hand and knowing that they are trying to do anything in their power to help correct the situation is empowering for today's generation. Administrators and Faculty are taking everything into consideration and taking a look at the data that is in front of them to help make college students lives easier, with less stigmas, and attitudes towards mental illnesses. With the continuing the advances in learning the signs of depression, anxiety, and suicide hopefully in the next coming years the data will start falling again, making for a happier healthier generation of well-educated students.