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As summarized in last week’s report on Forbes.comthere are real challenges that university mental health is likely to face in 2025. However, the field is well positioned to meet these challenges. In fact, 2025 could accelerate the unique opportunities offered by mental health in universities, especially as it is a high priority for the post-pandemic generation of students, gaining greater recognition as a benefit to society, exempt from certain political conflicts and receive more investments. of university administrators.
Mental health as a priority for the post-pandemic generation
A 2024 report on Forbes.com explained how the Class of 2028 is the first student cohort to experience the global pandemic during the formative years of early adolescence. While it is too early to determine how different this cohort will be from previous generations of students, what is certain is that providing mental health care to the post-pandemic generation of students is a priority. A 2024 report on NewAmerica.organ online think tank on various policies in the United States, found that nearly eight in ten Americans currently believe that College students need mental health care services from their schools. The 2024 Gallup-Lumina report on the state of higher education indicated that emotional stress and personal mental health issues are the top two reasons why current students drop out of college, and that these reasons are valued more than twice as highly as financial costs.
This high priority opens the door for college mental health professionals to have conversations about expanding mental health care on campuses, experience less stigma from students about seeking counseling, and create opportunities to raise awareness of mental health care and at the same time recruit future students. Additionally, due to upcoming enrollment increases and the fact that there are fewer college-age students living on the planet today, there is great interest in support services that increase student retention. According to a 2024 study in the Journal of Student Mental Healthapproximately two-thirds of campus counseling center clients reported this counseling services helped them stay enrolled in school.
Greater recognition that university mental health care can benefit society
Another report from 2024 Forbes.com indicated that the value of mental health services at universities remains high, even as public trust in higher education shrinks. Traditionally, college mental health services were designed to provide limited/short-term counseling services. Similar to many on-campus health centers, most student counseling centers focused on providing supportive services for acute and developmental needs, and students requiring long-term/specialized services were referred to an off-campus provider. This structure is consistent with the traditional thinking that colleges and universities are institutions of higher education and not treatment communities.
However, it is increasingly recognized that campus counseling centers have unparalleled access to the vital demographic of individuals between the ages of 18 and 25. Additionally, most college campuses have turnkey facilities, modern technology, and infrastructure that is already in place in a way that no other healthcare organization can provide. healthcare system in America. Thus, it is recognized that college mental health care can play an important role in reducing the mental health epidemic in America. As described in a 2024 report on Forbes.commany schools are developing new models for campus counseling, including partnering with treatment providers to offer specialized programs on campus. These new models have the potential to treat more individuals at less cost than traditional models, which is important according to a 2024 report from American news and world report indicates that mental health illnesses are costing America approximately $282 billion per year.
Being exempt from certain political conflicts
A 2024 report from USA today showed that many Americans feel this way hopeless about the increasing polarization and division among politicians. One way political conflict is impacting higher education is the recent tendency of state lawmakers to pass Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bans. Unfortunately, many DEI bans contain confusing language, such as prohibiting a campus office from offering differential treatment to students. However, politicians’ intentions when using the term differential treatment differ greatly from the way medical providers use the term. In fact, the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (of which I serve as an executive board member) issued a press release about concerns that healthcare providers have about many DEI bans. This message seems to be resonating. States that have adopted a DEI ban in 2024 include Alabama, Iowa, and Utah, all of which include exemptions/special considerations for healthcare providers. Representatives in other states, such as Texas, plan to introduce such exemptions in upcoming legislative sessions.
Increased investments from university administrators
Last week’s report also discussed how campus counseling centers must compete with the lure of private practice, and that many staff therapists can make more money and control their own caseloads and schedules by leaving the field. Fortunately, it seems that university administrators are responding. The 2023 Director’s investigation from the AUCCCD indicated that 59.8% of responding directors reported that their staff received full or partial salary increases outside of cost-of-living adjustments.
College mental health care is one of the best health care systems in the world. Students are a crucial demographic, most other health care systems cannot match the access and infrastructure of higher education, the work that health care providers do at universities is respected by both political parties, and many universities are now finding ways to retain and develop talent recruit. Despite the challenges that await us in 2025, there are many reasons to be optimistic.