Cash 4 Counselors?
Many college campuses across the nation are ill-equipped to deal with the surge of students seeking help for mental health issues.
According to the California Faculty Association, the ratio of students to counselor should be about 1,000:1. But of the 23 California State University campuses, only three meet this recommendation, with most campuses having more than 2,500 students to one counselor.
“Every place could always use more staff, and we have a desire to support people as best we can,” said Dr. Steve Silver, from CSUN’s University Counseling Services. Silver said CSUN counselors are readily available to students who are in crisis. Still, the average student may have to wait two weeks to book a first appointment.
Depression, anxiety and social anxiety were three of the most common issues reported by college students. They face many of the same problems as their predecessors: exams, new environments, peer pressures. They also face some new issues: uncertainty about the future, job opportunities, and financial burdens on a larger scale, in the wake of the Great Recession and with the increase in student debt nationwide.
Between 2009-2015, the number of college students seeking on-campus counseling rose by 30 percent. Many colleges and universities are struggling to keep up with the demand, meaning many students have to go elsewhere for help.
But those students who do seek treatment off campus often find that the lack of counseling services is not just a college problem. “It can definitely get to a point where it feels there aren’t enough of us,” Associate Marriage and Family Therapist Amani Williams said. “It can definitely get hard [for us] to see everyone at the same time, and try to be effective still.”
Once students find treatment off campus, they still have to pay for it. Therapy sessions can cost upwards of $150, and many students find they just don’t have the funds necessary to pay for them.
“Money should never be a barrier to getting help, or to getting any mental health treatment,” Clinical Director of ACT Health and Wellness Dr. Megan McDonald said. “There are so many resources for those people who don’t have insurance, or those who don’t have a lot of money.” Many practices don’t charge a co-pay, and others offer patients the opportunity to pay on a sliding scale, where the cost is dictated by the patient’s ability to pay. McDonald said there are resources out there, if students know where to look.
One silver-lining, as more students flock to campus counseling services, is the de-stigmatization of therapy. “I think people are seeing therapy more for what it is, which is the ability to get support from a caring individual who is trained to help support people,” Silver said. “People are experiencing therapy as a more grounded thing, instead of a mysterious thing that happens behind closed doors.”
This is a growing trend not just among college students, but in the larger population as well, as more Americans feel comfortable talking about their mental health with family, friends and on social media.
CSUN students may have to wait a little longer for the situation to improve in the CSU. But if they are in need of help, they can find resources for group therapy sessions, workshops and individual services at Bayramian Hall.
Moderator: Manny Luissi
Producer: Manny Luissi
Anchor: Liliana Ramirez
Social Media Editor: Lilibeth Mireles
Reporters: Bea Barros, Manny Luissi, Lilibeth Mireles, Preston Mitchell, Liliana Ramirez and Candice Romero