Mental and Behavioral Health
American University came under fire this week for a campus-wide email that detailed the rate of students’ “unkept mental health appointments” at the campus’s counseling and student-health centers. According to the Chronicle, an administrator sent the notice after students expressed concerns over access to mental-health services. The email caused frustration among students who said it implied they were to blame for the long wait times.
The Sophie Fund, a mental health advocacy group, presented 22 recommendations to Cornell University’s Mental Health Review Committee this month, continuing its efforts to implore the University to take more aggressive steps in addressing mental health issues on campus. Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund, said, “We have concluded that much more needs to be done by institutions of higher education – including Cornell – to address those challenges.” The presentation included a comprehensive suicide prevention policy calling for better intervention policies for Cornell Health, and data collection and suicide prevention training for resident advisors, deans and faculty. A 2018 Cornell University initiative called for an expansion of mental health staff and services for existing Cornell Health programs, which resulted in the addition of three therapists to Cornell’s Counseling and Psychological Services, three new positions to Student Disability Services and a broad review of existing mental health efforts. Despite the University’s efforts, MacLeod and Sophie Fund co-founder Susan Hack called Cornell’s plans to reform their mental health system “disappointing,” citing an initial lack of information about the proposed comprehensive review. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the health office increased the number of free appointments and upped counselor availability.
WWMT, a news station in Michigan, highlighted approaches to addressing student mental health at colleges and universities in the state. According to WWMT, Western Michigan University rolled out a stepped care model of mental health care in fall 2020. The stepped care model is a system where the most effective and least intensive treatment is delivered to match the specific needs of the student, only stepping up to intensive or specialist services when necessary. To decrease wait times, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University have implemented an embedded model of mental health care, which places specialized staffers in individual schools and colleges within the university to enhance access to services.
Two classes at the University of California Los Angeles aim to teach students wellness skills that they can use in their everyday lives. Every session of Community Health 179: “Life Skills for College Students,” begins with a 10-minute meditation period. After leading the meditation, professor D’Artagnan Scorza lectures for roughly half the class period, then begins an activity such as relationship-building exercises among students in the class or a discussion of stressors in the students’ lives. Stress is inevitable, Scorza said, and these activities and assignments are designed to equip students with skills to manage it. Alex Korb, an adjunct assistant professor in the department of psychiatry, created Psychiatry 79: “Applied Positive Neuroscience: Skills for Improving Productivity and Wellbeing”, which integrates the life skills material of Community Health 179 with the neuroscience behind wellness.
Boston University’s Wellbeing Project, an initiative to promote health and wellness among students, announced a partnership with Headspace, a meditation and mindfulness app. The app, which will now be free for BU students, can help with stress management, relaxation and sleep, according to the Daily Free Press.
Rob Roznowsk, the head of acting and directing in Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre created a central resource for faculty to help their students access mental health resources during his tenure as an Academic Advancement Network Leadership Fellow.
University of Chicago students called on University administrators to improve mental health services at the Wellness Center Forum organized by Fair Budget UChicago (FBU). The group had four main demands: reduced wait times at Student Counseling Service (SCS), improved SCS accessibility through online scheduling, more identity-based support groups, and increased student oversight of the new Wellness Center.
At the University of Colorado Boulder’s annual Health and Wellness Summit, Dr. Roselinde H. Kaiser, the director of the Research on Affective Disorders and Development (RADD) Lab and an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, spoke about the science behind stress and anxiety and offered ways to approach mental health challenges. “(In high school) how many of us knew how to balance our finances, juggle a schedule, set boundaries in a romantic relationship or do our own laundry?” Kaiser asked the audience. “But we expect college students to know how to do all of these things and more from the moment they step foot on campus.” These new experiences present challenges, said Kaiser, especially since many students’ brains are still developing when they first start college.
According to an op-ed in the Depaulia, Depaul students have expressed concern about the mental health resources available on campus. “I was once told that I needed to wait 6-8 weeks to make an appointment with the UCS,” said Miyah, a DePaul student. “I had expected to be able to be seen sooner.” Also, according to the op-ed, some changes have been implemented. Jeffrey Lanfear, director of university counseling services stated “the counseling center is doing more training of staff members, including resident advisors, academic success coaches, orientation leaders and other student leaders to help identify and refer distressed students.” The University Counseling Service began offering a workshop called “Feel Better Fast,” which teaches skills and tools for coping with thoughts, feelings, and relationships.
The University of Texas San Antonio announced the President’s Initiative on Enriching Campus Wellbeing, which seeks to foster a culture of physical, emotional and social well-being at UTSA. According to the announcement, the university recognizes the daily pressures students face and the impact that well-being has on student retention, graduation, and sense of purpose. The initiative will seek to connect existing programs to coordinate a more comprehensive and holistic network of services. Though the initiative will focus on mental health at the outset, it will address overall dimensions of well-being, with a focus on prevention and early intervention. It will extend beyond the student health services and student affairs to consider how every aspect of the university-from policies and procedures to matters both in and out of the classroom-can impact overall well-being.
In an op-ed in the Indiana Daily Student, Jaclyn Ferguson argues that more mental health resources should be provided for black teens and college students. Ferguson cites Economic Policy Institute data that showed that black children and teens are more likely to experience poverty and toxic stress associated with being financially unstable. Ferguson writes that this trauma physically, mentally and emotionally harms these children as they grow into teenagers and young adults.