Mental Health Programs in College: Awareness, Guidance, Prevention

Recognizing Mental Health Neglect and the Need for Change

Importance of Mental Health Programs The topic of mental health has risen in popularity in the last decade. With this emergence, many college campuses have developed specific departments and programs that specialize in tackling these issues for their students and faculty. The importance of the implantation of these has been a topic have become a source of an argument that seems to teeter both ways. I believe that they are a vital part of a student’s development and are extremely important. I will be analyzing this argument in order to justify my stance.

The importance of mental health is a problem that has been ignored for years. Due to ignorance, many people dismiss mental health problems as people being dramatic or overreacting. For many years mental health has been downplayed as something that is a simple fix when in fact, mental preservation takes effort and proper resources. Before the emergence of modern-day social media within the last decade, the rhetoric of mental health was not often discussed. “According to a Washington Post report, it is estimated there is only one psychiatrist per 1,807 children who need mental health services in this country.

More than half of the counties nationwide do not have a practicing psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker. These numbers are staggering and unacceptable” (Chamberlain). For many years serious mental health issues have been brushed past due to ignorance, and it is impacting students everywhere. When my classmates and I were growing up throughout middle school and high school, the topic of mental health was not a common one. As someone who has had anxiety for a while, I was never educated on the subject and grew up just believing that what I was experiencing was being shy.

With the change in social pressures from high school to when entering college and being exposed to new things, I had to adjust. “The ability to establish connections with others and a sense of belonging at the university is necessary for success. While making connections on campus can be helpful for students, it can also increase feelings of stress. Oddly enough, if the support a student receives on campus is not meeting the student’s needs, it can actually become a source of stress. Stress results when students feel pulled into different directions.

Navigating College Transitions and Mental Health Challenges

While trying to meet one’s need to fit in with others and form healthy connections with others, some students may feel major pressure to fit in.” (Suzanne, 33). Once one enters college, they start to see a growth in rhetoric on the subject. Facebook and Twitter are now scoured with messages of encouragement and resources. Many people come forward about their own experiences and how they deal with them. This has opened the door to the importance of building communities dedicated to its awareness.

Paired with that, colleges have programs in which students parade the campus, offering solutions and guidance to those who are experiencing hardships. This awareness that has emerged should continue if we want to see a continuous flow of improvement in mental health. The correlation between mental health issues and college stress is undeniable. College is a time when young minds fresh out of high school are molded. Many kids are inexperienced and experiencing many new things in their social life as well as academic careers.

It is also a time when students begin to experience feelings of alienation. Many decide to attend schools that are very far distances from close family and friends. Others have not experienced traveling away from their significant others for long periods of time. This causes them to be taken out of their comfort zone. “Emerging adulthood is a time when goals that focus largely on the exploration of identity and life course, including career, education, and relationships, unfold.

Arnett described this period of role hiatus in which burgeoning autonomy, coupled with a lack of persistent adult responsibilities, allows individuals to experiment and explore.” (Suzanne, 3) These types of experiences trigger mental health issues such as anxiety. In my experience, starting college was a completely new journey. It was a time of self-growth combined with a drastic change. The change in location, along with being away from my family, was a whole new experience. I had to learn to adjust to being an adult in all situations in life.

Challenges and Bridging Mental Health Education

In high school, most students are dependent upon their teachers and are not expected to be responsible for many things other than what is told or provided to them. The format in high school is a complete 180 from the colleges. In college, students are expected to manage their school work on their own, watch deadlines, submit assignments, and sometimes have employment. When anyone is trying something new, it is a period of experimentation as they will need to figure out what will work for them, when this period of exploration is met with difficulties where the line of mental health comes in.

“Considering the individual student’s characteristics and life experiences can inform responses to both identified and anticipated needs, as well as support development within each realm. We must remember that while the college experience brings together groups of students facing similar transitions and challenges, students will also face their own personal challenges that reflect their identities and personal path.” (Suzanne, 4) Many students are not educated on how to balance academics with mental health, as it is not often discussed. The implementation of these programs does just that. Often these programs are offered for free only in school environments.

Most jobs don’t offer mental health services that can assist their employees in their personal life. If a person is going through a mental struggle, they are expected to go out and get a therapist, which can be a very expensive venture. When resources are made available to the students from they are in school, they can learn the skills that will assist them in managing their own mental health personally. Therefore, when they graduate and don’t have these avenues, they can be better prepared to handle them on their own.

Not only do they offer education that will last beyond the student’s years in college, but they also offer resources for the students to deal with any mental health struggles they are battling at the moment. The need for mental health programs in high-stress environments is shown to be more important now than ever before with the countless gun violence situations that have occurred. Many school shootings that occur on college campuses are said to be done by people with mental illnesses. It only takes an instance for that person to go over the edge and harm many other students.

Ensuring Continuous Mental Health Support for Prevention and Awareness

There is hope that this attention and recognition of mental health issues will continue. Without the general public being educated and demanding these programs, it could be easy for a university to decide it is not worth the budget anymore and pull funding. “It’s estimated that 1 in 5 adults suffer from a mental illness, and nearly 60 percent of these people haven’t received treatment in the past year. In a high school, many teens could be struggling with unaddressed mental health issues, since 1 in 5 young people ages 13-18 have a mental health condition.” (Chamberlain).

Many tragic events could have been prevented had many people been evaluated and guided mentally from being younger in middle, high school, and also college. Prevention is often an easier task than mitigation. Mental health programs serve as a preventive tool for many students who are close to experiencing rock bottom. There is hope that this attention and recognition of mental health issues will continue. With the many benefits that these programs provide, their importance is evident. Mental Health programs are extremely important for schools because they raise awareness, offer guidance and prevent damaging situations.

References:

1. A Developmental Approach, edited by Suzanne, PhD, LMHC, LPC, NCC Degges-White, and Christine, PhD, LPC Borzumato–Gainey, Springer Publishing Company, 2013. ProQuest E-book Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/fau/detail.action?docID=1394869.
2. Chamberlain, Sarah. “Florida Shooting Shows the Need for More Mental Health Programs.” Fox News, FOX News Network, www.foxnews.com/opinion/florida- shooting-shows-the-need-for-more-mental-health-programs.