{"id":9681,"date":"2019-02-22T12:24:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T19:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/?p=9681"},"modified":"2019-06-14T08:50:25","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T14:50:25","slug":"mental-health-resources-for-college-students-on-campus-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/mental-health-resources-for-college-students-on-campus-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health Resources for College Students On-Campus and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mental health on college campuses is an issue that has gained more awareness as an increasing amount of college students struggle with mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. But, according to <\/span>Higher Education Today<\/span><\/a>, only about 10 to 15 percent of these students utilize campus mental health resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Shane Owens<\/span><\/a> is a behavioral and cognitive psychologist who specializes in college students. Dr. Owens works in an on-campus counseling center as well as in his own private practice, and is a member of the <\/span>Anxiety and Depression Association of America<\/span><\/a>. With 20+ years of experience working with college students, he shared what the issues tend to be in terms of their mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy far the most common diagnoses are anxiety and depression. There are also a fair number of what we call adjustment disorders. People who are having difficulty adjusting to either the freedom of college, or to living in a dormitory or a residence hall, or the amount of work that they have, or balancing work and school,\u201d said Owens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to these issues, on and off-campus resources\u2013and making these resources known to students\u2013are important in getting students the help they need so they can be successful in their college endeavors. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that we know from research is that peer to peer resources are a very good start. Students are much more likely to talk to a friend or an RA about the problems that they\u2019re having rather than an administrator or someone who appears to be an administrator working at a counseling center,\u201d said Owens.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, he emphasized that this is a good first step, but shouldn\u2019t always be the last step when students are experiencing ongoing mental health issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will just talk to their peers and don\u2019t seek the professional help. So, college staff working with peer to peer groups is really the gold standard in getting people to help,\u201d said Owens.<\/span><\/p>\n

These groups are a great place for students to engage in peer to peer relations. This way, students can lead each other to the available resources on campus and in their communities. On-campus groups are typically required to have a university faculty member serve as an advisor to the group. These staff and faculty members can further educate the groups on what resources are available to students, as well as encourage students to join these groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

McKenzie Thurman, Physician Assistant at the Linfield College Health, Wellness, and Counseling Center, explained her role as an advisor for student groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the opportunity to be advisors for certain medical groups on campus. There\u2019s the Wildcat Fit program on campus that I\u2019m the advisor for. So, certain students who we think would really benefit from that, we can encourage them into those routes,\u201d said Thurman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Groups that students can connect to, be that through cultural similarities, shared interests, or shared struggles, can help students engage in these peer to peer resources, as well as get connected to other resources they may need.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most colleges have some sort of health and counseling center that coordinates on-campus mental health resources, which is often the best place to start. Schools often offer free or reduced price counseling services to students, and are located on or near campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Linfield College’s<\/span><\/a> Health, Wellness, and Counseling Center integrates mental and physical health services for its students. Thurman explained that in addition to one-on-one talk therapy, Linfield provides many group activities that promote healthy coping habits.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our counselors does a yoga class, another counselor offers a mindfulness class,\u201d said Thurman. \u201cWe\u2019ve had success with yoga and mindfulness as far as participation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, campus health centers like Linfield\u2019s are aware that there are other adjustment difficulties and times of the year where students can be reminded of how to take care of themselves and stay mentally healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAssociated with our center we have a wellness coordinator who will send out things about healthy studying habits or sleeping habits,\u201d said Thurman, which includes a podcast on the health center\u2019s website that can help with insomnia. \u201cSo our wellness coordinator will also coordinate different groups or events, [for example] we put on a run every year and bring in therapy animals. We\u2019ve done therapy llamas, therapy cats, and therapy dogs. Especially around finals week or certain harder times of the year, we\u2019ll bring in those groups to campus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thurman explained that the center is also working on forming group counseling for specific issues students face, such as the loss of a family member or smoking cessation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Health and counseling centers like Linfield\u2019s also may partner with community members to broaden the scope of resources for students. For example, Thurman said that Linfield partners with a local mental health organization that specializes in early onset psychosis and works with the college to help these students understand their diagnosis, get the resources they need, and keep them safe. <\/span><\/p>\n

Colleges may also partner with a local hospital or more general medical center that gives students access to certain professionals, such as a psychiatrist, that a school may not be able to provide.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, college can\u2019t provide many resources to students, or a student does not want to utilize on-campus resources. There are plenty of local and national resources that college students can utilize to fit their needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

National groups, such as the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the group Dr. Owens is part of, provide extensive resources on their websites and can talk to students or refer them to local therapists, groups, and medical help. See the below screenshot from the association\u2019s website for the various types of available resources:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Screenshot from ADAA.org.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other national groups that provide mental health resources and support:<\/span><\/p>\n