1/10/2023 0 Comments Keep it up![]() ‘I needed something the university wasn’t offering’Īt the start of every school year, Anne Marie Albano, director of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD), says she’s inundated with texts and phone calls from students who struggle with the transition to college life. But especially in rural areas, where options for off-campus care are limited, universities are feeling pressure to do more. Many private-sector treatment programs are stepping in to fill that gap, at least for families who can afford steep fees that may rise above $10,000 and may not be covered by health insurance. Even if students ask for and receive help, not all cases can be treated on campus. “It’s a very different job than it was 10 years ago,” says Lisa Adams Somerlot, president of the American College Counseling Association and director of counseling at the University of West Georgia.Īs colleges try to meet the growing demand, some students are slipping through the cracks due to long waits for treatment and a lasting stigma associated with mental health issues. ![]() Some counselors say they are experiencing “battle fatigue” and are overwhelmed by the increase in students asking for help. The average university has one professional counselor for every 1,737 students - fewer than the minimum of one therapist for every 1,000 to 1,500 students recommended by the International Association of Counseling Services. And student government leaders at several schools have enacted new student fees that direct more funding to counseling centers.īut most counseling centers are working with limited resources. Pennsylvania State University allocated roughly $700,000 in additional funding for counseling and psychological services in 2017, citing a “dramatic increase” in the demand for care over the past 10 years. Ohio State University added a dozen mental health clinicians during the 2016-17 academic year and has also launched a counseling mobile app that allows students to make an appointment, access breathing exercises, listen to a playlist designed to cheer them up, and contact the clinic in case of an emergency. Virginia Tech University has opened several satellite counseling clinics to reach students where they already spend time, stationing one above a local Starbucks and embedding others in the athletic department and graduate student center. More than 2,700 students have opted in, and counselors have followed up with more than 250 who were identified as being at risk for severe depression, exhibiting manic behavior or having suicidal thoughts. For the first time last fall, UCLA offered all incoming students a free online screening for depression. To prevent students from burning out and dropping out, colleges across the country - where health centers might once have left meaningful care to outside providers - are experimenting with new measures. “It was probably the loneliest experience.”Īs midterms begin in March, students’ workload intensifies, the wait time for treatment at counseling centers grows longer, and students who are still struggling to adjust to college consider not returning after the spring or summer breaks. “When you’re going through that and you’re looking around on campus, it doesn’t seem like anyone else is going through what you’re going through,” she says. In October of her sophomore year, she withdrew from school on medical leave, feeling defeated. The soccer team wouldn’t allow her to play after she missed too many practices, so she left the team. In the spring of her freshman year, she saw a psychiatrist on campus, who diagnosed her with bipolar disorder, and her symptoms worsened. She started skipping classes and meals, avoiding friends and professors, and holing up in her dorm. ![]() At times, she found herself crying uncontrollably, unable to leave her room, only to feel normal again in 30 minutes. But she began to experience intense mood swings. “No one wanted to be seen going up to that office,” she says. At first, Spigner hesitated to seek help at the university’s counseling center, which was conspicuously located in the psychology building, separate from the health center. ![]()
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