Mental Health Needs Rise With Pandemic – Inside Higher Ed
A mountain of troubling data about rising mental health problems has health advocates and providers worried about the need for additional support for struggling students and the ability of colleges to provide it.
While the country continues to battle the coronavirus, college health professionals are also monitoring a growing crisis among young adults struggling with mental health problems, including suicidal ideation, anxiety and depression related to the pandemic.
Several recent surveys of students suggest their mental well-being has been devastated by the pandemic’s social and economic consequences, as well as the continued uncertainty about their college education and postcollege careers. Still reeling from the emergency closures of campuses across the country during the spring semester and the sudden shifts to online instruction, students are now worried about the fall semester and whether campuses that reopened for in-person instruction can remain open as COVID-19 infections spread among students and panicked college administrators quickly shift gears and send students who’d recently arrived back home.
Kelly Davis, director of peer advocacy supports and services for Mental Health America, or MHA, said she anticipates an influx of students who have not previously sought mental health support from their colleges will be requesting resources this fall. She’s worried many counseling centers are unprepared.