Moderate and severe depressive symptoms among college have declined, and the share of students showing signs of positive mental health has increased for two consecutive years. That’s according to the newest study from The Healthy Minds Network, an interdisciplinary team of scholars associated with the University of Michigan and Boston University who surveyed over 100,000 students at nearly 200 colleges last academic year. This may be welcome news for college campuses plagued with declining student mental health leading up to the pandemic and its fallout.
Despite new findings, college counselors attending a webinar organized last week by TimelyCare, a teletherapy service, noted an uptick in students arriving at their counseling centers experiencing acute mental health issues. Their rationale for why student cases are increasing in light of recently optimistic trends suggests a new paradigm for how higher ed leaders and their students approach mental health on campus.
Universities, once struggling to keep up with the surge in demand for counseling during the pandemic, have since scaled up their support services thanks to an outpouring of financial help from various nonprofits, donors, state legislatures and the federal government. Moreover, the counselors noted decreased stigma surrounding accessing mental health services.
“We do a lot of training, marketing and programming,” said Vanessa Jenkins, executive director of health and wellness at Norfolk State University in Virginia. “Students are beginning to feel more comfortable, particularly at HBCUs, [to attend counseling] because they’re more trusting. They’re seeking more people to help them through this thing called life.”
“Young people have a lot more language to describe [what they’re going through],” added Makini Austin, director of Agnes Scott College’s wellness center. “It’s part of the wider conversation in a different way.”
The Healthy Minds Study found that 76% of students at least somewhat agreed that they know where to find school resources if they need to seek professional help with their mental or emotional health, and 61% are using mental health therapy or counseling.
How higher ed—and students—approach counseling today
Higher education and its students have adopted a proactive lens when viewing mental health. As a result, students have become more comfortable in visiting counseling centers whether they’re experiencing a diagnosable mental health issue or just stress from classes and being away from home.
“Before the pandemic, there was more of a feeling like you had to have something wrong with you to get therapy, which is just not true,” Dr. Helen Marlo, dean of Notre Dame de Namur University’s clinical psychology department, says in a University Business interview. “But a lot of things that start as stressors for students without a psychiatric diagnosis can lead to a more serious mental health condition if there’s no support and treatment.”
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The rise of credentialed teletherapy services has also helped colleges and universities increase access to students around the clock from the comfort of their dorm rooms. UWill and TimelyCare have become standard auxiliary services; the Alabama Community College System most recently partnered with the former to extend mental health resources across its 24 community and technical colleges.
Furthermore, some institutions are more consistently promoting wellness techniques beyond psychotherapy. The University of California, Irvine’s health institute—established in 2022—aims to address the root causes of disease through lifestyle modification by providing exercise equipment, nutrition classes and even Tai Chi lessons. UC Irvine is part of the BraveNet Collaborative, a practice-based research network encompassing 25 institutions worldwide including Duke University, Indiana University and Vanderbilt University.
Student affairs leaders have also recommitted to engagement, involvement and sense of belonging as core strategic initiatives. For example, student well-being and support make up one key pillar of DePauw University’s most recent strategic plan.
“One of the ways to manage [being overwhelmed] is by staying engaged,” Austin said. “Connection is so important. When students get overwhelmed, they tend to isolate.”
Tune back in next week to read why Dr. Marlo believes heightened awareness surrounding mental health services has become “both a blessing and a curse.”
