Pitt, fellow universities strengthen mental health services

April 24--Cash-strapped universities across the country are digging deeply to bolster mental health services for millennials.

The University of Pittsburgh, which will add six counselors to its Oakland campus this summer, is among the universities responding to what they say is a growing demand for mental health counseling on campuses.

Carnegie Mellon University President Subra Suresh issued a statement saying the university will expand hours and access at its student counseling center and is reviewing campus culture in the aftermath of two student suicides last month.

Counseling center directors on the front lines at universities large and small say many factors contributed to the need for more counselors, including who attends college and the baggage they bring, as well as changing attitudes toward counseling.

It's an expanding demand nationwide that recently led Ohio State University to add 15 counseling positions and the University of California to add 85 across its 15-campus network.

New issues

"We're seeing more complicated students. There are better pharmaceutical supports today, and as a result, we're seeing students coming in with a behavioral health history," said Terri Bassi-Clark, director of counseling, disability and health services at Seton Hill University in Greensburg.

Micky Sharma, president of the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors and director of counseling services at Ohio State, echoed Bassi-Clark's comments.

"As higher education has become an option for more people in our society, there are people who would not have considered college an option in the past. We see students with (autism) spectrum disorders, Asperger's. It's not that these things didn't exist in the 1980s. They did exist, but not on college campuses," Sharma said.

Many millennials, battered by rising tuition, increasing student debt and a changing economy that offers few career guarantees for the future, are feeling the effects of those concerns.

Recent studies have shown depression, once the most common complaint among students, has taken a back seat to anxiety, Sharma said.

Most colleges and universities fund their clinics through student fees, so cash is not a barrier to seeking help.

Ed Michaels, director of Pitt's counseling center, said data drove the decision to increase staffing by 41 percent at his school. After reviewing national benchmarks, Pitt officials found they were handling nearly twice as many counseling sessions as centers at similar-sized institutions.

Michaels, who took over at Pitt last summer, said both the number of students seeking help and the nature of their problems are factors.

"There is a greater number of students who report at one time having considered suicide," Michaels said.

Reaching students before a crisis is critical at universities seeking to maintain or notch up student retention and graduation rates -- two important factors in national rankings.

At Pitt and CMU, part of the effort has translated into stress-free zones and "Mindfulness Rooms" on campus where students can stop for a respite in soothing settings designed for relaxation.

It also involves engaging students in mental health services and letting them know help is available.

At Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where a pair of videos featuring students is posted on the counseling center website, a student organization called "Active Minds" works to de-stigmatize mental health counseling, said counseling center Director David Myers.

"They're trying to move things in a good direction, to get students to seek help," Myers said.

Messaging about 'getting a mental health shot'

Sharma said Ohio State's Greek Life organization sponsored a mental health initiative this spring, featuring information tables throughout the campus.

"You hear the messaging about getting a flu shot. Well, this is messaging about getting a mental health shot," Sharma said.

Every October, hundreds of Pitt students don green T-shirts stamped with the logo "Talk About It," to spur conversations about mental health.

Salina Smialek, a 22-year-old Pitt senior resident assistant and nursing major, has firsthand experience with Pitt's counseling center.

"College is portrayed as the best years of your life. It's supposed to be a time when you make a lot of friends and have a great time, but the reality is students come to college, and it's hard, and they are facing a lot of different barriers," Smialek said.

"As RAs, we're on the front lines. We become their friends, and they'll come to us with problems, but I don't have a counseling degree, and I'm not always the best person to deal with their problems."

Smialek said she has walked students to the counseling center twice and they were seen immediately.

Often the wait for an individual appointment can be a week or more, but Michaels said a student will always receive an initial evaluation and immediate help, if necessary.

Students who opt for individual counseling can schedule five to eight sessions with a counselor. Far more students end up in group counseling.

Pitt runs from 25 to 30 groups a year dealing with a broad spectrum of issues ranging from gender-related struggles to anxiety stemming from academic work.

"Students find it powerfully helpful to talk with other students," Michaels said.

Debra Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. She can be reached at 412-320-7996 or derdley@tribweb.com.

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