College students demand access to more mental health counselors. Even before the pandemic, students struggled with a variety of mental health issues. Covid has exacerbated this mental health crisis, and colleges – in response – are devoting their limited and often shrinking budgets to hiring more counselors.
On the one hand, counselors can save lives, and students deserve access to mental health counseling. On the other hand, there are times when hiring additional consultants seems to be offered as a panacea, and this creates its own problems.
First, the demand for more consultants often ignores issues of quality. Not all counselors are created equal, and not all schools can attract and retain good counselors.
I worry that students will be disappointed when they realize that even though they had more advisors, things didn’t improve. That’s because there aren’t enough high-quality counselors to meet the demand, and because — in many ways — turning to a counseling center for all of our mental health problems makes it too easy for colleges to give up.
When a student enters a four-year boarding college, they often encounter an unhealthy culture. For example, there is too much drinking on residential college campuses. Colleges are also a haven toxic connection cultures which all too often lead to sexual abuse.
While a counselor may be able to help an individual student better cope with substance use or social media, it does very little to change the culture and climate that negatively impacts student mental health.
Colleges know this, and they’re not doing enough in response. If the normal college experience in America is defined by unhealthy behaviors, then I think we’re seeing that hiring more counselors — while necessary — is far from enough to make the deep changes that lead to a healthier student culture.
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Here are some steps colleges can take in addition to hiring additional counselors to create a holistic response to the mental health crisis that affects so many students and families.
First, we need to change the narrative of what it means to have a college experience. Too many students put too much pressure on themselves to do everything at once, even if it means engaging in unhealthy behaviors that negatively impact their mental health and well-being.
High schools and colleges can be more focused on preparing students for a successful transition to college. Students need permission from people they respect to fully engage and be present in the few things that give them purpose, even if it means doing less—in terms of numbers or status—than other students. Having this focus will help students more easily say no to aspects of college culture that they know are unhealthy, but struggle to resist the lack of this focus.
There are times when hiring additional consultants seems to be offered as a panacea, and this creates its own problems.
Second, because mental health issues are often caused by campus culture, students should be encouraged to work together to change these cultures. While counselors can help individuals manage how they respond to the environment they find themselves in, groups of students can work together to change the culture that drives so many students to seek counseling.
Colleges can offer more exploratory courses where students explore their campus and suggest ways to make it better. Colleges can also encourage the creation of clubs that create a healthier culture on campus and encourage faculty to teach courses tailored to the mental health issues students face.
Third, professors are not counselors, but good teaching can offer purpose and hope. We are uniquely positioned to create learning experiences that engage all students and inspire them to learn and grow as individuals.
While this type of training is certainly not a substitute for counseling, I believe that if more students were more engaged in their studies and found purpose in their coursework, the overall climate for mental health would improve.
Finally, while in-person counseling may be the best counseling available, students need to reconsider their opposition to Zoom and telecounseling. While telecounseling may not be the ideal solution, it may be the best option they have.
And students learning to appreciate the good, even if it’s less than ideal, is another way to build resilience and resourcefulness that will contribute to their individual and collective mental health and well-being.
Mental health is real. Mental health counselors are important. But it is also important to expand our ways of thinking about how best to respond to a crisis that affects so many young people.
I admire the students who are fighting to create a better mental health climate on college campuses. Hiring additional consultants is not the only or even the main way to achieve this. We all need to think more holistically about how best to address this pressing issue.
Jeff Frank is an associate professor in the Department of Education at St. Lawrence University in New York.
This story is about mental health of college students was produced The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Subscribe to Hechinger Newsletter.
