SIGN UP FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE TODAY.

MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE - INDEX

May 3, 2007

This update is specifically dedicated to issues of mental health services on college campuses.

Mental Health Services in Colleges

With all the media attention being paid nationwide to the Virginia Tech tragedy, there has been increased scrutiny about mental health services in college campuses. Unfortunately, as we have discussed in the last few updates, it has also been used to stigmatize individuals with mental illness as dangerous and violent.

We have been using this opportunity as a twofold strategy. First, we are using every forum possible to decry the stigma associated with this tragedy and instead talk about the one in five individuals in this country with a psychiatric disability that through their courage and resiliency are living productive lives in the community.

Secondly, we are using this as an opportunity to discuss the need for additional mental health services on college campuses through counseling centers. The legislature has asked us to provide information about this issue. The enclosed material is what we presented to them earlier this week. This will undoubtedly be a hot button issue for the rest of legislative session and we will keep you updated.

Introduction: Issues of Mental Health on College Campuses

Much of the focus of mental health services in colleges is with counseling centers. The role of counseling centers has changed dramatically in recent years. It has moved from a preventive model to one that is more crises oriented. According to the National Survey of Counseling Center Directors surveyed in 274 institutions---85% of counseling centers have reported an increase in demand but no increase in personnel for crisis centers.

There are several reasons why there has been an increase in recent years. A high percentage of individuals with schizophrenia develop this illness in their late teens and early 20’s when they are in college. Other major mental illnesses such as bi-polar disorder and clinical depression are often manifested at the same age. In addition, there are many more people now taking medication for mental illness who are in college than there were in the past. Also, there continues to be an increase in alcohol and drug abuse which also leads to increased mental heath service needs.

In addition in recent years, the issue of self injury in high schools and colleges has become increasingly prevalent. One recent study suggest that one in five college students perform some kind of physical self abuse

Also, depression and suicidal ideation are significant factors on college campuses. According to the National College Health Assessment study of 95,000 students on 117 campuses, 16% felt they were depressed at least five times during the course of a year and 9% seriously considered suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.

Recommendations:

There should be greater resources dedicated to counseling centers in college campuses. According to the International Association of Counseling, there should be one full time professional for every 1000 to 1500 students. This ratio is not met at most colleges.

Better links between counseling centers and mental health programs in the community. Counseling Centers should work with community mental health providers when additional services are needed for an individual.

Counseling services should have greater flexibility. There should be greater night and weekend hours. There should be warm lines and hot lines in place. There must be greater use of peer counselors.

Counseling programs should have mentoring programs with graduate interns

There should be greater awareness on college campuses of suicide intervention strategies.

There must be greater outreach from counseling centers to educate the administration, faculty and staff as to how to recognize and refer students to counseling centers

Greater outreach about mental health services resources to students during orientation and in classes. There should be web sites and other public awareness tools utilized on campus to highlight counseling services.

Support for the peer to peer program---Active Minds, which is the major peer program dedicated to the mental health of college students (Cazenovia College, Ithaca, Lehman, Niagara and CUNY Bronx all have sites on their campuses)

Greater diversity in hiring of counseling services to reflect demographic changes with the college population.

There should be work done on evaluating best practices in counseling centers in New York and resources should be dedicated to those with fidelity to best practices

Liability Issues have to be addressed. There have been several examples in colleges of students who have been forced to leave school because they have publicly addressed their mental illness.

In The News:

State, Colleges Seek Safer Campuses after Virginia Tech
Newsday, AP Writer, May 1, 2007
By Michael Gormley

ALBANY, N.Y. -- State University of New York campuses face an increasing number of students with mental illness, a need for more mental health providers to end a wait for care that can take five weeks, no uniform emergency communication to students and staff, and privacy laws that block some action on early warning signs, SUNY officials said Tuesday.

In New York City, only some City University of New York public safety radios receive the police band, and some 19th-century school buildings rely on public address systems that need to be revamped.

The findings were part of a hearing Tuesday by Senate Higher Education Committee Chairman Kenneth LaValle, prompted by April's Virginia Tech massacre that left 32 people dead.

"Virginia Tech has snapped college presidents, campus security, law enforcement and others into focusing on how to handle an 'active shooter' on their campus," LaValle said. "College officials are handcuffed by privacy laws which restrict administrators from notifying parents of their child's health issues. This places the student, student body and surrounding community in jeopardy."

Public and private campus leaders agreed.

"No single campus today can guarantee they can prevent situations like the one that occurred at Virginia Tech from ever occurring," said John Ryan, chancellor of the State University of New York. "There are three areas of immediate concern: Mental health resources, communication strategies, and emergency response and critical incident management."

A SUNY task force will report in two weeks on strategies to make campuses safer, including hiring more mental health professionals, making the services available to every campus 24 hours a day, creating "shelter-in-place" sites on campuses because lockdowns as in grade schools won't usually work at colleges, and providing effective emergency communications and campus police responses.

Ryan said about 9 percent of SUNY students seek mental health counseling on campus and many others seek private care.

"The number of students entering our colleges and universities with professionally treated mental health issues is increasing," Ryan said. "We are not sure why this is the case, but needless to say, we are concerned for the overall health of our students.

"In New York City, CUNY is accelerating its new text message system, now includes emergency information in student orientation packages, and will "reinvigorate" the relationship between colleges and precincts.

"When our faculty, staff or students notice someone who seems extraordinarily troubled, we have provided them with the tools to take action in a way that may save the campus from tragedy and still protect the privacy and dignity of an individual employee or student," said Allan H. Dobrin, executive vice chancellor of CUNY. He said those efforts are increasing now to make sure students get needed care discreetly.

"Although I am proud to share with you CUNY's ongoing efforts to minimize the potential of violent incidents, I will be the first to admit that I am not satisfied," Dobrin said. The concern is also shared by the association of New York's more than 100 private colleges and universities.

"In the wake of the tragic events at Virginia Tech, colleges and universities need state and federal policymakers to clarify the circumstances under which campuses can tell families when a student appears to be emotionally at risk, either to themselves or others," said Abraham M. Lackman, president of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. "Right now, reasonable minds can and do differ on the interpretation of existing law."

New York is addressing the Virginia Tech shooting by a mentally ill student as many states have, by focusing on students with mental illness and services available to them. That's good and bad, said Glenn Liebman of The Mental Health Association of New York State.

"The number is minimal. It's an incredibly rare circumstance," he said. "Unfortunately, when something like this happens, there is always this stigma attached to it. So people respond without thinking about the impact it will have for people on campus with mental illness."

Although Liebman said he understands the reaction, he cited a 1998 study, The MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study, which found that the chance of people discharged from hospitals committing violence was about the same as the general population.

He said, however, that tragedy could force funding for needed mental health services, as well as greater efforts to let students know the services are available.