Overwhelmed

The Real Campus Mental-Health Crisis and New Models for Well-Being: Manage demand for counseling and stem students’ rising rates of distress by focusing on prevention. The prevalence of anxiety and depression is rising across the country, particularly among young people. College students of all ages are more distressed than ever before, and increasing shares are enrolling with mental-health histories, in terms of diagnoses, treatment, and medication. But that is not the real campus mental-health crisis. The crisis is that the traditional model of providing services is broken. More and more overwhelmed students are seeking help, overwhelming their colleges. Even with growing staffs, counseling centers cannot keep up. Meanwhile, troubled students are left with unmet needs. This Chronicle report explores how to handle the surging demand for mental-health services, fulfill legal obligations, and make well-being a campus-wide priority. The work of identifying problems and offering help can’