Laxmikant Shetgaonkar  | Offcial Website

A national survey by two academic research groups, The Hope Lab and Healthy Minds, found nearly half of community college students reported at least one mental health condition. From small liberal arts colleges like Skidmore to big public universities like Ohio State, students say they need mental health care. At the University of Richmond, for example, enrollment at the school has remained flat during the past 15 years, but the number of students seeking campus counseling services in that time has doubled. Across the country, colleges and universities are facing a huge increase in the number of students who need mental health care, and many schools aren’t prepared to handle the growing demand. Colleges are struggling to meet the surging demand for mental health services on campus, and some schools are wrestling with how much care they owe students. Launched in 2013, JED Campus is a technical assistance program designed to help improve the emotional well-being and mental health of students across the campus community.

Unmet Mental Health Treatment Need and Attitudes Toward Online Mental Health Services Among Community College Students

University policies to address and eliminate racial discrimination on campus and in healthcare settings can also reduce the mental health risk factors that many students of color experience. They can also be a time when some students have to navigate their own physical and mental health for the first time without parental support. The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on many college students, but researchers did not find a huge spike in reported mental health problems during the semesters of the pandemic. It obviously doesn’t help that anxious and depressed students at many colleges now have longer wait times for help. In the years leading up to the pandemic, college students were already showing inordinate stress. Presidents of two-year and public four-year colleges were more likely than their private-school counterparts to voice strong concerns about the psychological and emotional wellbeing of students.

JED Campus Launches Program Enhancements for College Student Mental Health Support Nationwide

ULifeline was a project of The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading non-profit organization working to protect the emotional health of America’s college students. It follows that cultivating students’ strengths through peer support could improve mental health by focusing on individuals’ strengths as resources to overcome challenges and build resilience. They found that students were reluctant to engage with counseling services with a stranger and much preferred peer support groups, as they were free of stigma and helped them overcome loneliness by promoting a sense of belonging. For the purposes of this article, a peer offering support to other students refers to a student who has lived experience of mental health challenges and/or has used clinical services in the past (John et al., 2018). Gen Z college students seem to be experiencing poorer mental health than previous generations (Auerbach et al., 2018). Most colleges in India and many parts of the world, do not currently have the infrastructure to address mental health problems among its students14,16,17.

• During the semesters of the COVID-19 pandemic, American Indian/Alaskan Native students and Asian/Pacific Islander/Desi American (APIDA) students reported the most significant increases in mental health concerns, according to the data.
• Engaging students in the development and implementation of these programs can enhance their relevance and effectiveness (Baik et al., 2019).
• Students from minoritized groups are more likely to face harassment, prejudice and exclusion on campus than are others10.
• Choose personalized plans, meditations, and exercises to ease your mind and manage your mental health.
• Enhancements to better support graduate and professional schools
• It highlights the importance of fostering supportive relationships to enhance psychological health, manage stress, improve quality of life, and promote healthier behaviours.

Student support networks, peer-support models and layered counselling service models have been implemented in such colleges26,27. Face-to-face services are available only during working hours with information being provided on the nearest mental health facility or out-of-hours telephonic support for emergencies. In this scenario, the UGC proposal of 2018, to constitute a ‘Students Counselling System’ with teachers as counsellors may prove inadequate to address the increased numbers and complex mental health needs of students25. Only about 15 per cent of students with mental health disorders were noted to have received any form of mental health intervention in the preceding year21. As social and academic vulnerabilities also contribute to distress, counsellors can facilitate scholarships, additional academic support, and provide links to support groups for further help9,19.

In several studies, social support contributed to building students’ resilience and enhancing their well-being. In other words, emotionally intelligent students may be more adept at forming supportive relationships and utilizing them to cope with academic or personal stress. However, Xin cautioned that social support can sometimes become stressful if it is forced or feels overwhelming, suggesting that support needs to be thoughtfully balanced.

This form of support enables individuals to manage daily responsibilities effectively and alleviates stress, thereby contributing to improved life satisfaction and mental health outcomes 54,82,85. The distinct contributions of various types of social support—emotional, informational, instrumental, and appraisal support—to enhance well-being across different dimensions. Daily social support positively correlates with daily well-being among emerging adults, suggesting that Resources for student parents and pregnant students consistent, everyday interactions with supportive individuals contribute significantly to overall happiness and life satisfaction . Social support helps individuals cope with adverse life events by providing emotional comfort, practical assistance, and informational resources, which can be crucial in navigating challenges and uncertainties 67,81. There is substantial evidence that social support markedly benefits emotional and psychological well-being.

Do you have a wellness tip that might help others encourage student success? The initiative started in 2016 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and expanded to other campuses, including Boston College, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maryland, College Park. Counselors are trained in traditional support offerings but also understand the unique demands of research, teaching and other circumstances of those attending a graduate program.