Add one more item to your college student’s freshman to-do list this fall: Make sure they know where the campus counseling center is located, the scope of its services, and how to make an appointment. Don’t wait until a mental health crisis comes up. Do it now. The stakes are much too high.
According to the Healthy Minds Study Student Survey, an annual national survey of college students, found that more than 60% of college students now meet the criteria for at least one mental health condition, representing a nearly 50% increase since 2013. The survey found that 36% of college students had an anxiety disorder and 41% experienced depression during the 2022-2023 academic year. Additionally, 29% reported self-injuring, and 14% had contemplated suicide in the past year.
Updated Sept. 1, 2024
Expect An Adjustment Period
Like every major life change, the transition from high school to college requires a period of adjustment.
“Students will experience positive and negative stress,” explained Carrie Haubner, Psy.D., staff psychologist, student counseling services at Illinois State University in Normal.
“Emotions come and go and are part of the transition. Just because they are emotional and tearful one day, it might not mean they need an appointment at the counseling center. It’s across time. Is there a similar theme? Are there more phone calls that involve tears, sounds of unease, anxiety, unrest, tension or sadness, that don’t necessarily shift as students are in school for a longer amount of time, where social connections take shape? A change in routine can become more routine across time.”
While freshmen adjust to college life, students like Angelica Yi, post MSW clinical fellow at UC Berkeley, counsel students approaching graduation and wonder, where do I go from here? How do I find a job? Do I move back home? Then there are first-generation students. They don’t have a roadmap because their families don’t share the experience.
When To Ask For Extra Support
Regardless of their life stage, Yi said students ponder what they want to do for a career and where they find purpose and meaning in life. The fallout from all this stress is many students presenting with anxiety and depression, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome, Yi said. She also sees students with ADHD and ADD struggling with eating disorders.
Give your freshman four to eight weeks to adapt to school, Haubner advised. If they haven’t adjusted by then, it’s time to speak with the campus counselor. Also, be observant. If you notice changes in behavior, mood, sleep, appetite, and functioning, indications of hopelessness or suicidal ideation, it’s urgent they seek assistance. If you’re unsure how to approach the subject with your teen, call the counseling center for advice on how to have the conversation.
A Mental Health Crisis
Haubner said university counseling centers have experienced an increase in demand over the last 10 years, driven mainly by violence in communities and schools, overparenting, pressure to perform academically, and social media, which has made teens more digitally connected and interpersonally isolated. Increased feelings of loneliness are a common thread among students, Haubner said.
Treatment Works
Counseling at UC Berkeley and most universities is free. Campus counselors assess and treat a broad range of social, behavioral, and emotional concerns and connect students to other resources. For example, during an initial meeting, a counselor will determine whether they can assist the student or need to connect them with a mental health provider in the community for long-term counseling—individual counseling at universities is typically short-term—still, 99% of students at ISU complete treatment in 12 sessions. But most students prefer group therapy because healing happens in the community, Haubner said.
“Group becomes like a laboratory…” she explained. “It’s an opportunity to try out new behaviors, make mistakes, talk about it, and refine learning in a way that might not necessarily have the same stakes associated with it outside of therapy. Group therapy helps develop supportive relationships and skills within relationships, all in one place.”
Pre-pandemic, anxiety, and depression were the two most common issues students presented in the group, Haubner said. Post-pandemic, she has seen a jump in academic concerns—motivation, procrastination, concentration, and isolation.
How Parents Can Help!
“Parents can help take away the pressure from students by giving them a healthy perspective, letting them know that the primary reason they’re in college is to learn,” said David Antonides, M.A., faculty chair of student development and counseling services at Harper College in Palatine. “If you don’t take away any material from a class, you’re still learning from it, even if it’s learning how to deal with a difficult professor or how to learn from failure and pick yourself up.”
As a parent, Antonides said your role is to temper expectations. “Goals are good, but unrealistic goals are set up for failure, he said. “Talk to your student about realistic goals and what they hope to accomplish.” Also, be an observer and ask them how things are going. Don’t be afraid to say, “I’m not a professional. Have you ever thought about talking to a counselor?”
Yi advised supporting your student if they say, “Now is not the time for therapy.” Be aware of the programs available and suggest they join a club or academic group to gain support. Less-clinical sources of connection can still provide significant benefits.
What Makes Counseling a Game-Changer?
Yi explained students all struggle similarly, but think they’re the only ones who feel that way. Counselors can let them know they are not alone.
Haubner said that when students say, “I feel better. I feel connected. I don’t feel so alone,” it’s a sign of healing. Another indicator is improvement in daily functioning.
Unfortunately stigmas still exist that make students hesitant to seek counseling. Often the campus counseling center is their first encounter with mental health services, Yi explained, and they come in undecided, wondering if therapy would be a good fit. The benefit is, they can ask questions and find out. It’s a low-pressure way to get started.
If you are suicidal or suspect someone else is, call the 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
How To Help
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI focuses on everything from providing workshops and programs for patients and families to collaborating with local, state, and national government officials to research and draft mental health policy. Your donation to NAMI will help the organization continue these important programs and launch additional local and national resources.
