Spring Break
Mental health concerns colleges
By: Jenna Jones
Issue date: 11/20/03 Section: News
The anxiety of college life and its effects on students' mental health have been accentuated and scrutinized after a recent flare-up of suicides at New York University.
Three NYU students committed suicide during the first two months of the current semester. Michelle Glucagon's death on Oct. 18 was preceded by Stephen Bohler's Oct. 10 suicide and the death of John Skolnik in September. The recent string of suicides at NYU, in addition to other high-profile suicides at colleges throughout the country, has re-emphasized the need for students' mental health awareness to become a priority on college campuses.
Paul Knipscheer, an affiliate relations associate at The Nation's Voice on Mental Illness, said suicide now ranks as the third leading cause of death among college students, as more than 1,000 American students between the ages of 18 and 24 commit suicide each year.
Texas A&M's Student Counseling Helpline Coordinator Susan Vavra said issues dealing with relationships are the most common concerns counselors help students deal with.
"A combination of the fact that most students are living on their own for the first time, experiencing things as an adult away from their parents, and are in the stage when people are looking for a relationship can lead very easily to times of trouble," Vavra said.
A&M's Student Counseling Service offers three types of counseling services to students. The Learning Skills services and the Career Counseling teach students study skills and counsel them about careers and choosing a major. The personal counseling services deal with mental health and personal crises issues.
Knipscheer said incoming students must adjust to new surroundings, people, classes and other stresses.
"The pressures of college life added to the individual's biological or psychosocial predisposition have made mental illnesses on college campuses an increasingly prevalent issue," he said.
The college years are the time when an individual is most likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness, Knipscheer said. More than 27 percent of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable form of mental illness.
Three NYU students committed suicide during the first two months of the current semester. Michelle Glucagon's death on Oct. 18 was preceded by Stephen Bohler's Oct. 10 suicide and the death of John Skolnik in September. The recent string of suicides at NYU, in addition to other high-profile suicides at colleges throughout the country, has re-emphasized the need for students' mental health awareness to become a priority on college campuses.
Paul Knipscheer, an affiliate relations associate at The Nation's Voice on Mental Illness, said suicide now ranks as the third leading cause of death among college students, as more than 1,000 American students between the ages of 18 and 24 commit suicide each year.
Texas A&M's Student Counseling Helpline Coordinator Susan Vavra said issues dealing with relationships are the most common concerns counselors help students deal with.
"A combination of the fact that most students are living on their own for the first time, experiencing things as an adult away from their parents, and are in the stage when people are looking for a relationship can lead very easily to times of trouble," Vavra said.
A&M's Student Counseling Service offers three types of counseling services to students. The Learning Skills services and the Career Counseling teach students study skills and counsel them about careers and choosing a major. The personal counseling services deal with mental health and personal crises issues.
Knipscheer said incoming students must adjust to new surroundings, people, classes and other stresses.
"The pressures of college life added to the individual's biological or psychosocial predisposition have made mental illnesses on college campuses an increasingly prevalent issue," he said.
The college years are the time when an individual is most likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness, Knipscheer said. More than 27 percent of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable form of mental illness.
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