On December 19, 2010, Trip Gabriel reported in the The New York Times that:

Stony Brook is typical of American colleges and universities these days, where national surveys show that nearly half of the students who visit counseling centers are coping with serious mental illness, more than double the rate a decade ago. More students take psychiatric medication, and there are more emergencies requiring immediate action.

Experts say the trend is partly linked to effective psychotropic drugs (Wellbutrin for depression, Adderall for attention disorder, Abilify for bipolar disorder) that have allowed students to attend college who otherwise might not have functioned in a campus setting.

A recent survey by the American College Counseling Association found that a majority of students seek help for normal post-adolescent trouble like romantic heartbreak and identity crises. But 44 percent in counseling have severe psychological disorders, up from 16 percent in 2000, and 24 percent are on psychiatric medication, up from 17 percent a decade ago.

Stony Brook has seen a sharp increase in demand for counseling — 1,311 students began treatment during the past academic year, a rise of 21 percent from a year earlier. At the same time, budget pressures from New York State have forced a 15 percent cut in mental health services over three years.

The article then tells a good day-in-the-life story of the college counselor. The triage they do to make sure the serious cases get dealt with the right way. Many colleges have systems where the campus psych services give a few sessions to the students, but they are designed to refer the students out to a private practioner, just so that there will be enough hours left to deal with all the demand.

On recent day … two dozen volunteers in black T-shirts reading “Chill” stopped passers-by in the Student Activities Center during lunch hour.

“Would you like to take a depression screening?” they asked, offering a clipboard with a one-page form to all who unplugged their ear buds. Students checked boxes if they had difficulty sleeping, felt hopeless or “had feelings of worthlessness.” They were offered a chance to speak privately with a psychologist in a nearby office. Sixteen said yes.

The depression screenings are part of a program to enlist students to monitor the mental health of peers, which is run by the four-year-old Center for Outreach and Prevention.

Students monitoring the mental health of peers. This sounds similar to the Mental Health First Aid program that we’re starting with HOP.

“I don’t have motivation for things anymore,” the student said. “This place just depresses me the whole time.” [The student] had been unaware that students could walk in unannounced to the counseling center. “I thought you had to make an appointment,” she said. “Yes,” she said, “I’ll do that.”

We hear things like this all the time. Help is available. But people, like this student, are unaware just how easy it is to ask for help–if they are willing to ask. We recommend the NJmentalhealthcares helpline for that first call for help. It is staffed by professionals. They assess, and connect, the callers to the right services. And they offer a follow-up call in a week to make sure the connection is made. That is just the surface description of the job, but they become very personally engaged, like the counselors at Stony Brook who are discussed in this article, in making sure the callers get the help they need.