Universities and colleges are struggling to provide the right amount of support for its students' mental health. This can have a negative impact not only on the students' academic performance but it may have permanent effects on their being.
According to Stat News, universities and colleges in the United States are struggling to keep up with the rise in demand for mental health care. This has led to a lot of students being stuck on waiting lists and not receiving the help they asked for.
The publication surveyed several higher education institutions on their mental health services. It was found that students would often need to wait for weeks in order to take an initial exam to review their symptoms. Waiting to see a psychiatrist for prescription or adjustment of medication is longer.
Last month, students from several universities created a petition to demand expanding mental health care services in their campuses. The petition was addressed to Columbia University, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, UPenn, University of Chicago, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University and CalTech, among others.
The petition urges universities to do something about the lack of proper mental health services in U.S. campuses. It was noted that students do not receive the treatment they need which leads to multiple suicide attempts and deaths that are usually ignored.
The American Psychological Association reported that more and more students are seeking counseling services. In a 2010 survey of students by the American College Health Association, 45.6 percent of student respondents admitted having the feeling of hopelessness. 30.7 percent confessed that they felt so depressed to the point of finding it difficult to function.
BestColleges.com noted that the top mental health problems that college students face include depression, anxiety, eating disorders and addiction. These usually lead to thoughts and attempts of suicide. The publication also included resources that students can read to know more about mental illnesses and to know about the symptoms that accompany them.
