While mental health needs in college are on the rise, the funding given to counseling centers remain stagnant, a recent study found.

The Center for Collegiate Mental Health recently released its 2016 report, compiling data from more than 400 university and college counseling centers. The report focused on students who sought treatment or other support in the 2015-16 academic year.

The report found that anxiety and depression continued to be among the highest mental health concerns for college students, while academic distress, eating concerns and family distress cases are decreasing. Rates for prior mental health treatment, the report also indicated, remain steady for the sixth consecutive year. On average, counseling centers are providing 28 percent more “rapid-access” service hours per client and 7.6 percent fewer “routine” service hours per client over the last six years, per the study.

Cory Wallack, Syracuse University’s director of Counseling Services, said in an email the Counseling Center has seen growth in the number of visits since the 2010-11 academic year, jumping from 1,685 to 2,101 during the 2015-16 academic year.

Counseling Services has increased the number of group therapy sessions, something Wallack said is one of the most effective forms of counseling for college students. SU also offers emergency service for patients who are suicidal, facing potential academic failure or having psychotic thoughts.

Wallack said the center has been focused on the prevention and education aspects of mental wellness. With help from SU Counseling Services, Office of Health Promotion, Student Association and the student organization Active Minds at Syracuse University, the university launched Mental Health Awareness Week this past October.

Delaney Arias, communications chair of the SU chapter of Active Minds which works to increase mental health issue awareness, took a year and a half off from SU for inpatient treatment and therapy. The junior newspaper and online journalism major, who is on her second leave of absence, first sought treatment on campus in 2012.

Arias said she thinks that many students choose not to seek counseling services because of factors such as a lack of time, the desire to put academics over personal health and the stigma that is attached to seeking mental health support.

“Also, there’s this weird culture in college where people brag about how many hours of sleep they didn’t get or how hard they work themselves so they’re not taking care of themselves,” Arias said. “It’s to say practicing self-care makes it look like you’re not working as hard as other students.”

She added that students should let their professors know what they are going through, especially if they need to go to an appointment instead of taking an examination.

Ashley Stauffer, project manager for Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Pennsylvania State University, said she has found that some professors will understand students’ mental health needs and will offer alternative options for assignments.

Although she said she “can’t make (students) do anything” as the director, she added that normalizing mental health issues is important in making students feel comfortable seeking help.

“Clinicians at counseling centers don’t really have a lot of time to do any research, so this project really helps counseling centers do some research with minimal work on their part,” Stauffer said. “So I’m pretty excited to be able to do that, and also having an impact on college counseling centers and helping students.”

Published on January 30, 2017 at 10:32 pm

Contact Kenneth: kmintz@syr.edu