Student Mental Health
College students face a variety of stress-inducing issues as they settle into life on campus—being away from home, dealing with roommates, managing finances. But recent reports paint a more complicated picture of student mental health, with anxiety and depression topping the list.
“The most common issue we’ve seen for the last several years is anxiety,” says Dr. Sue Stock, Associate Director of Clinical Services at the Counseling Center. “Generalized anxiety and social anxiety are at the top, with a close second being depression. This has been noted in counseling centers across the country, not just here.”
Faculty are also aware that students seem anxious in the classroom. Some students have trouble talking to teachers or working with peers. Others just seem unprepared for in-class engagement. Stock can relate. “For many students, the pandemic occurred when they were at an important stage of interpersonal development, and they missed out on opportunities to learn and practice more effective social skills,” she explains. “Social issues related to COVID and overuse of cellphones are not helping students function interpersonally very well.”
With so much about mental health in the news, some of us may be tempted to diagnose or label student behaviors, but Stock cautions against this. “Saying something like ‘I think he's depressed,’ is not really your role, even if you mean well. Instructors should refrain from casting themselves as diagnosticians or trying to analyze a student.”
What all of us should be doing is noting changes in a student’s behavior such as the student who is always on time but suddenly starts missing class or coming in late, or who stops submitting assignments on time, or starts falling asleep in the class. “Faculty have a baseline for seeing a student day to day, so they’re in the best position to notice important changes in their behavior,” says Stock. “Observing change is the first step in supporting your students.”
The second is to reach out and ask students how they are. Some of us may hesitate to ask because we don’t feel equipped to address a student’s needs or worry that a student may not like us or the class. But Stock is clear that asking is the right thing to do.
“Speaking directly to students not only shows them that you care, but can also help address our own insecurities,” she explains. “Sometimes a student’s behavior has nothing to do with us or may be perfectly understandable. I had a student who suddenly started being absent, and I first interpreted that as being about my class. However, it turned out that he and his wife had a baby two weeks earlier.’”
It’s important to remember that you don’t have to be a mental health professional to offer support to your students. “Just pulling someone aside and telling him that you are seeing behavior changes, and that you’re concerned, can make a huge difference to a student who is struggling,” says Stock. “Never underestimate the power of showing that you care.”
Sometimes offering make-up sessions or assignment extensions to students who are experiencing course related problems may be all that is needed to get a student back on track. But there are other issues that faculty should not try to solve. Instead, the best we can do is to direct students to the Counseling Center or the Connie Frank CARE Center. Both offer a wide range of services, including urgent care, and make sure students know that they can walk in and receive assistance right away. Giving students these resources can point them in the right direction and lead them to counselors who can give them the help they need. Stock also suggests including these resources in the course syllabus.
And for the student who isn’t responsive to inquiry? “We don't want to overstep,” says Stock. “It’s important to leave it to the student to decide if they want to have more resources. They might say no, I'm fine. And a faculty member could say, ‘Absolutely. I respect that. Could I check in with you in another week?’ And then make sure you do.”
Faculty can’t fix or change things for every student, and they shouldn’t expect to, but:
- Being observant
- Reaching out to students
- Steering them toward campus resources are the best and most responsible things they can do to support student mental health