1

RobinMoussa
Dr.KateRosenberg
English138T
April2,2015

MentalHealthServicesinPublicUniversities

IntheUnitedStatesofAmerica,thereiscurrentlyaseriousepidemicaffectinglargenumbersof
studentsinuniversitiesacrossthecountry.Thisepidemicisthewidespreadandgrowingproblem
ofstudentslivingwithuntreatedmentalillnesses.Becausemostuniversitiesdonotprovide
adequateresourcesforstudentswithmentalhealthproblems,millionsofstudentsareforcedto
dealwiththedevastatingeffectsofdisorderssuchasanxiety,depression,andpanicattacks.
Therearecurrentlynonationalorstatestandardsinplaceregardinguniversitiesandmental
healthservices,butthecurrenthealthcrisisindicatesthatneedstochange.Byestablishing
standardsforpublicuniversitiesthroughthestatelegislature,stategovernmentscanguarantee
thatuniversitiesprovidesufficientresourcesforstudents.Implementingthesestandardswillgo
towardscreatinghealthierandmoreproductivecampusenvironments.

MentalIllnessisaGrowingEpidemicforCollegeStudentsintheUnitedStates

IntheUnitedStates,mentalillnessisoneofthegreatestcrisesfacingyoungadultstudents
pursuinghighereducationatcollegesoruniversities.Notonlydoanalarmingnumberof
studentslivewithmentalillness,buttherateofmentalhealthproblemsseemstobesteadily
increasinginthisdemographic.

Approximatelyoneoutofeveryfouradultsbetweentheagesof18and24liveswithsomekind
1,2
ofmentalillness,themostcommonbeinganxietyanddepression.
Withtheinclusionof

psychiatricdisorderssuchasalcoholismanddrugaddiction,thatnumberrisestooneinevery
3
two.
Thisisconsistentwiththefindingthat50%ofstudentsratedtheirownmentalwellbeingas
4
belowaverageorworse.

Mentalhealthprofessionalsworkingatuniversitieshavealsonoticedanincreaseinthe
frequencyofthesedisorders.Onesurveyfoundthat70%ofcollegecounselingcenterdirectors
believetherehasbeenanincreaseinthenumberofstudentswithseverepsychologicalproblems
5
oncampusjustinthepastyear.
Additionally,manycounselingcentershavenotedstudentneeds
6
shiftingfromlessseriousproblemstomoresevereones.
In2012,39%ofstudentssought
7
counselingforpsychologicalproblemslabeledsevere,comparedtoonly16%in2000.
The

recentincreaseinfrequencyandseverityofmentalhealthproblemsdemonstratesboththeneed
forfurthermentalhealthresourcesandtheinadequacyofthoseinplace.

ThereisWidespreadInaccessibilitytoMentalHealth
ServicesforCollegeStudentsintheUnitedStates

Evenwithoutanincreaseinthedemandformentalhealthservices,themajorityofuniversities
donotcurrentlyprovideadequateresourcestotheirstudents.Only63%ofuniversitiesprovide
anyformofpsychiatryservicesoncampus,andofthose,fewerthanonepercentofcounseling
8
centersaredirectedbypsychiatrists.
Tomakemattersworse,theaverageamountofconsultation
9
timeperweekis17hoursforevery100,000students.

Thiscancreateashortageofhealthcare

servicesandforcestudentstosignupfor
waitlistswithhundredsofothernames.

Forschoolswithoutanypsychiatricservices,the
stateofaffairsisworsestill.Manycollegeage
studentsdonothavefulltimejobsorinsurance
policies,andrisingtuitioncostsmakepayingfor
10
privatetreatmentmoredifficult.
Ininstanceswhen

students
can
affordmentalhealthservices,thereare
oftennoneavailable.Waitlistsforoffcampus
resourcescanbelengthy,andtheavailabilityof
11
offcampusresourcesvariesbylocation.

TheInaccessibilityofMentalHealthResourcesHasDevastatingEffectsOnStudents

Whenuniversitiesdonotprovidestudentswithhealthcareservicesformentalillness,theyrisk
leavingstudentsvulnerabletoavarietyofphysical,emotional,andsocialharms.Themost
commonsymptomsofdepression,forexample,includedisturbedmood,problemssleepingor
12
eating,lowselfesteem,andtroublefocusingorrememberingthings.
Clearlythesesymptoms

canmakeeverydaylifemoredifficultandimpairastudentsacademicsuccess.Thisisfurther
supportedbythefactthatoneintwentycollegestudentsendstheirstudiesearlyasaresultof
13
psychiatricdisorders.

Inadditiontohavinganegativeeffectondaytodaylife,mentalillnesscanleadtoharmona
largerscale.Recently,astherateofdepressionisthoughttohavedoubled,therateofsuicidein
14
collegestudentshastripled,andthenumberofsexualassaultcaseshasquadrupled.
Suicide,in
15
fact,isthesecondleadingcauseofdeathforcollegeageadults.
Furthermore,thementalhealth

epidemichasbeenlinkedtohighprofileviolentincidentssuchasthe2007massacreatVirginia
16
Techandotherinstancesofmassviolenceinschools.

TheAreCurrentlyNoStandardsConcerningMentalHealthCareatPublicUniversities

Asdemonstratedbytheincreasedfrequencyandseverityofmentalillnessinuniversitystudents
andbythemanydestructiveeffectsthatmentalhealthproblemscanhave,mentalhealthcare
servicesarelackingatAmericanuniversities.Partoftheproblemisthecompletelackof
standardsconcerningmentalhealthcareatpublicuniversities.Atnolevelofgovernmentisthere
alegalmandatethatrequiresschoolstoprovideanymentalhealthcareservices,muchless
17
servicesthatadequatelymeetstudentneeds.

Standardsofhealthcareservicesvarywidelyfromuniversitytouniversity.Thisvariance
includesdifferencesintheavailabilityofcounselingservices,thetypesofservicesprovided,and
theamountofservicesofferedoncampusversusinthecommunity.Thefrequencyandseverity
ofmentalillness,typeofuniversity,fundingavailable,andtheuniversitysphilosophyregarding
18
mentalhealthareallfactorsthatdeterminethelevelandtypeofcareavailabletostudents.

Partofthelackofstandardsinuniversitymentalhealthcarecanbeattributedtoarelatively
recentculturalshifttowardscommunitycare.Startinginthemid1900s,federalpolicy
encouragedadecreaseingovernmentfundedpsychiatrichospitalsandanincreaseinprivate
19
nursinghomes,privatementalhealthhospitals,andcommunitymentalhealthcenters.

However,communitieswereslowtointegratethelatterhalfofthisplan,leavingthenational
20
mentalhealthsystemdisjointedanddysfunctional.
Today,federalpolicyisshiftingtowardsa

moreintegratedmentalhealthcaresystem,butthecountryisstillfeelingtheeffectsofits
21
previouslycompromisedsystem.

StateLegislaturesShouldEstablishMandatoryStandards
forMentalHealthCareProgramsinPublicUniversities

Tofillinthegapoflackingmentalhealthcareservices,atleastforcollegeagestudents,state
legislaturesshouldestablishmandatorystandardminimumsformentalhealthcareprograms.

Thereareafewbasicrequirementsthatshouldbestandardforallpublicuniversitiestoensure
thesafetyandwellbeingoftheirstudents.First,forastandardappointmentwithacounseloror
psychiatrist,themaximumwaittimeshouldbenolongerthantwoweeks.Universitiesshould
staffandfundpsychiatryservicestoadequatelyaccommodateforthisstandard.Thismeasure
couldlowertheratesofsuicidesorotherviolentincidents,asstudentscanreceivesupportwithin
arelativelyshortperiodoftime,withoutthehelplessnessthatcomeswithbeingputonawaitlist
indefinitely.Additionally,emergencyservicesshouldbeprovidedatalltimesforstudentswho
requirethem.Studentsshouldhaveasafeplacetogoiftheyreallyneedone.Finally,universities
shouldimplementbasicoutreachprogramstohelpeducatecommunitymembersandmake
studentsawareoftheresourcesavailabletothemthroughtheuniversity.

RequiringUniversitiestoProvidetheseResourcesistheMost
EffectiveMethodforCombattingtheMentalIllnessEpidemic

Requiringuniversitiestofollowbasicstandardsformentalhealthservicesisthebestpossible
waytocombatthementalillnessepidemicinstudentsforavarietyofreasons.First,decreasing
thelengthoftimebetweenschedulinganappointmentandmeetingwithaprofessionaliskeyto
improvingmentalhealthservices,oneofthemostimportantmeasuresthatuniversitiescantake
22
topreventcrises.
However,counselingavailabilityisnotentirelyeffectivewithoutthesupport

ofoutreachprograms.Notonlydotheseprogramshelpstudentslearnwhatresourcesare
availabletothemtheyalsoeducateotherstudentsandstaffaboutmentalillness,decreasing
socialstigmaandmakingcommunitymembersmoreequippedtorecognizementalillnessin
23
others.
Inthisway,teachersandotherstaffcantrytointerveneiftheynoticeaseriousproblem
24
inastudent,whichcanreducethenumberofstudentsuicidesandotherharmfulincidents.

Inadditiontohelpingstudentswithshorttermproblems,counselingservicesandoutreach
initiativesalsohaveindirectlongtermbenefits.Onebenefitfortheuniversityitselfcomesinthe
formoffinancialgaincounselingprogramsmaypayforthemselves.Foreverytwostudents

whoareabletostayinschoolbecausetheyreceiveadequatesupport,theuniversitycanaffordto
hireonecounselor,andstudentswhoreceivecounselinghavea14%higherretentionratethan
25,26
theirpeers.
Anotherlongtermbenefitisanincreaseinnationalwellbeingconcerningmental

illness.Byprovidingadequateservicestomillionsofyoungadultstudents,universityprograms
27
canaddressoneofthegreatestproblemsfacingthedemographic.

AccesstoMentalHealthCareServicesCreatesaBetterCampusEnvironment

Overall,providingmorehighqualitymentalhealthcareprogramsinuniversitiescreatesabetter
campusenvironmentforallstudents,whetherornottheyutilizecounselingorotherservices.
Studentslivingoncampuseswithcomprehensivehealthcaresystemscanfeelsecureknowing
theyhaveresourcesavailabletothem,andthepresenceofoutreachprogramspromotesacampus
28
culturewithahealthyattitudetowardmentalillness.
Destigmatizingmentalillnessmakes

studentsmorecomfortablewithacceptingandseekingtreatmentforanyproblemstheymayhave
andopenslinesofcommunicationamongstudents,teachers,andfaculty.

Asdiscussedearlier,campuseswithbettermentalhealthcareservicesalsoencouragebetter
academicsuccessforstudents.Whengivenaccesstotheappropriateresources,studentshave
29
betterattitudes,strongerconcentration,andmoreenergy.
Onestudyconductedatthe

UniversityofIdahofoundthat90%ofstudentswhousedtheuniversityscounselingservices
30
agreedthatitreducedtheirstresslevelsandhelpedthemmeettheiracademicgoals.

Finally,universitiesthatgivestudentsaccesstoadequateresourcesreducethedisruptiveeffects
ofemotionalandbehavioralproblemsbothforthestudentsthatlivewiththemandforthose
31
aroundthem.
Lesseningtheseeffectscreatesahappierandmoreproductiveenvironmentall

around.

InConclusion

Thecurrentmentalhealthepidemic
inAmericanuniversitiesisnot
goingtodisappearonitsown.In
fact,accordingtoselfreported
evidenceandsurveysfrommedical
healthcareprofessionals,the
problemonlyseemstobegrowing.
Tocombatthisepidemicandlook
outforthewellbeingofstudents
acrossthecountry,universities
mustbegintoprovidebasicmental
healthcareservicesfortheir
students.Mostuniversitiesdonot
provideadequateresourcesoncampus,andtheseresourcesareoftenunavailabletostudents
otherwise.Asaresult,millionsofstudentslivewithmentalillnessesandpsychiatricdisorders
andreceivenotreatment,forcedtocopewiththedamagingeffectsontheirown.Thereare
currentlynostandardsatanylevelofgovernmentrequiringuniversitiestoprovidementalhealth
services,andthisneedstochangeforthesakeofstudentshealth.Creatingandimplementing
basicstandardsforpublicuniversitiesthroughstatelegislature,includingaminimumtwoweek
waitperiodforanappointment,emergencyservices,andbasicoutreachprograms,willensure
thatuniversitiestakeactiontohelptheirstudents.Asaresult,campusenvironmentswillbe
healthierandmoreproductiveforallstudents,universitieswillseefinancialpayoffs,andthe
nationalhealthepidemicofmentalillnessinuniversitieswillbegreatlyreduced.

Endnotes

1.

Alters,Kimberly."WhataSuccessfulUniversityMentalHealthProgramLooksLike."
TheWeek.October15,2015.AccessedApril02,2016.
http://theweek.com/articles/580547/whatsuccessfuluniversitymentalhealthprogramlo
okslike
.

2.

ShallyJensen,Michael,ed."CampusLifeandMentalHealth."
MentalHealthCare
IssuesinAmerica:AnEncyclopedia
.Vol.1.ABCCLIO,2013.AccessedApril02,2016.
http://go.galegroup.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/ps/retrieve.do?sort=RELEVANCE&in
PS=true&prodId=GVRL&userGroupName=psucic&tabID=T003&searchId=R1&resultLi
stType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchFormtPosition=1
9&contentSet=GALE|CX2728300021&&docId=GALE|CX2728300021&docType=GAL
E
.

3.

Blanco,Carlos,MayumiOkuda,CrystalWright,DeborahS.Hasin,BridgetF.Grant,
ShangMinLiu,andMarkOlfson."MentalHealthofCollegeStudentsandTheir
NonCollegeAttendingPeers."
ArchGenPsychiatryArchivesofGeneralPsychiatry
65,
no.12(2008):1429437.AccessedApril02,2016.
http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=482915
.

4.

Henriques,Gregg."TheCollegeStudentMentalHealthCrisis."PsychologyToday.
February15,2014.AccessedApril02,2016.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theoryknowledge/201402/thecollegestudentm
entalhealthcrisis
.

5.

Ibid

6.

Kitzrow,MarthaAnne."TheMentalHealthNeedsofToday'sCollegeStudents:
ChallengesandRecommendations."
NASPAJournal
41,no.1(December02,2003):
16775.AccessedApril02,2016.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2202/19496605.1310#aHR0cDovL3d3dy50YW
5kZm9ubGluZS5jb20vZG9pL3BkZi8xMC4yMjAyLzE5NDktNjYwNS4xMzEwQEBA
MA==
.

7.

Baker,KatieJ.M."HowCollegesFlunkMentalHealth."Newsweek.February11,2014.
AccessedApril02,2016.
http://www.newsweek.com/2014/02/14/howcollegesflunkmentalhealth245492.html
.

8.

Schwartz,Victor,andJeraldKay."TheCrisisinCollegeandUniversityMentalHealth."
PsychiatricTimes.October10,2009.AccessedApril02,2016.
http://www.psychiatricxtimes.com/articles/crisiscollegeanduniversitymentalhealth
.

9.

Ibid

10.

Alters"WhataSuccessfulUniversityMentalHealthProgramLooksLike."

11.

Ibid

12.

Kitzrow,"TheMentalHealthNeedsofToday'sCollegeStudents:
ChallengesandRecommendations,"167175.

13.

Ibid

14.

ShallyJensen,"CampusLifeandMentalHealth."

15.

Ibid

16.

Ibid

17.

Alters,"WhataSuccessfulUniversityMentalHealthProgramLooksLike."

18.

ShallyJensen,"CampusLifeandMentalHealth."

19.

Mantel,Barbara."MentalHealthPolicy."CQResearcher.May10,2013.AccessedApril
02,2016.
http://library.cqpress.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqre
srre2013051000
.

20.

Ibid

21.

Ibid

22.

Scharff,Constance."MoreCollegeandUniversityStudentsFacingMentalHealth
Challenges."HuffpostCollege.June16,2015.AccessedApril02,2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/constancescharffphd/morecollegeanduniversi_b_758
3476.html
.

23.

Kitzrow,"TheMentalHealthNeedsofToday'sCollegeStudents:
ChallengesandRecommendations,"167175.

10

24.

Morell,Ricki."CollegesLooktoaWiderNetworktoAddressStudentMental
Health."Newsweek.January6,2011.AccessedApril02,2016.
http://ic.galegroup.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/ic/ovic/MagazinesDetailsPage/Magazi
nesDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&cont
entModules=&displayquery=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Magazines&limiter=&
u=psucic&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&s
earch_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&document
Id=GALE%7CA246259243

25.

Alters,"WhataSuccessfulUniversityMentalHealthProgramLooksLike."

26.

Kitzrow,"TheMentalHealthNeedsofToday'sCollegeStudents:
ChallengesandRecommendations,"16775.

27.

Hunt,Justin,andDanielEisenberg."MentalHealthProblemsandHelpSeekingBehavior
AmongCollegeStudents."
JournalofAdolescentHealth
46,no.1(January2010):310.
AccessedApril02,2016.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X09003401
.

28.

Alters,"WhataSuccessfulUniversityMentalHealthProgramLooksLike."

29.

Ibid

30.

Kitzrow,"TheMentalHealthNeedsofToday'sCollegeStudents:
ChallengesandRecommendations,"16775.

31.

Ibid