Mental health problems are a widespread concern in today's stressful society. However, at UW-Madison, officials work hard to minimize occurrences of more serious mental health-related incidents. Prescription drugs, counseling and administrative actions are the three primary methods the university uses to actively engage students who are experiencing one or more of a myriad of challenges to mental health.
Assistant Dean of Students Suzanne Jones explained several reasons why universities must pay closer attention to the mental health of students. More students with depression, anxiety or related concerns are seeking treatment due to increased awareness and an erosion of traditional inhibitions against looking for treatments such as counseling and medications, she said.
\I think that there are two things going on: Students are more likely to reveal that they have a mental illness or emotional problems,"" Jones said. ""I also think that medications are making it possible for these students to be successful in school.""
National trends are showing increasing numbers of students seeking assistance and a concurrent rise in the levels of service offered by universities, said Dr. William Flanagan, dean of students at Beloit College.
""I'm not sure if it's a crisis yet, but it's bordering on that nationally, in terms of how campuses address mental health issues of students,"" Flanagan said.
Larry Davis, UW-Madison assistant director of residence life, explained many resources are directed toward students' mental health while they live on campus.
House fellows who work in the dorms go through two weeks of intense training before students move in. Davis said much of that training is focused on teaching house fellows to identify a wide variety of disorders, most commonly depression and eating disorders. The house fellows can refer students to two University Health Services counselors with offices in the dorms.
If students' mental health problems are disrupting the lives of others they may be asked to sign a ""behavioral contract"" in which they agree to dismissal from housing, but not the university, if their disruptive behavior continues, said Davis.
""As long as they're getting the care they need and their behavior isn't impacting others, then they can live with us,"" Davis said.
Bob McGrath, director of counseling and consultation for UHS, said the quality of treatment students can receive is top notch.
""If we're not the best supported counseling center in the country, then we're close to it"" McGrath said.
According to McGrath, UW-Madison has been proactive in meeting the rising demands of students with mental health concerns.
""I think the university has done real well by us and has really responded well over the 15 years I've been here. When I started here there [were] eight counselors, now we have 28,"" McGrath said.
McGrath said there is no limit on the amount of treatment UHS could potentially offer students.
""No matter how large you get, there could always be more,"" he said. ""We could probably triple our size and still [not meet every student's need].""
Obstacles students face in dealing with mental health issues range from financial resources to substance abuse. Some students discontinue their treatment upon arrival at college, Jones said.
""The counseling center has short-term therapy, where they limit how many sessions,"" Jones said. ""They will try to find a private practitioner if their insurance company allows it, or if they have the resources to do so.""
McGrath stressed the counseling service has no set limit on the number of counseling sessions a student may receive.
""When someone doesn't have [financial] resources, that's when we stretch it as far as we can,"" McGrath said. ""If they've got an HMO from home, they're not going to cover it.""
McGrath described the problem as being worse for graduate students.
""Grad students are likely to sign up for group health because it's so much less expensive but group health's mental health model is very, very tight.""
Editor's note: This is the final article in a series on mental health. View all five at www.dailycardinal.com.
