Can Colleges Keep Up With Students' Mental Health Needs?

Record numbers of college students are seeking help for such mental health conditions as anxiety and depression and schools are struggling to offer adequate help, according to a recent article on Time.com. 

In fact, an American College Health Association (ACHA) survey of 63,0000 students at 92 schools found that 40 percent of students felt so depressed the prior year that it was “difficult for them to function” and 61 percent said they felt “overwhelming anxiety.” 

What’s more, visits to on-campus counseling centers have increased by roughly 30 percent, between 2009 and 2015, according to a report by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH). 

The average university has one professional counselor for every 1,737 students — that’s less than one therapist for every 1,000 to 1,500 students, according to Time.com. And while colleges across the country are stepping up to meet these growing demands, many college counselors remain overwhelmed and students continue to endure long waits for mental health treatment, notes Time.com.

So what’s the solution? Here’s a look at what a few universities are doing: 

• UCLA began offering free mental health screenings to all incoming freshman.
• Virginia Tech University opened several satellite counseling clinics.
• Ohio State University launched a counseling mobile app, which allows students to make an appointment, access breathing exercises and contact the clinic in case of an emergency. 
• Pennsylvania State University allocated roughly $700,000 in additional funding for counseling and psychological services in 2017.

Still, on average, universities haven’t been able to provide long-term treatment services like recurring appointments and specialized counseling, noted the ACHA survey. “That means that students will be able to get that first appointment when they’re in high distress, but they may not be able to get ongoing treatment after the fact,” Ben Locke, Penn State’s counseling director and head of the CCMH, told Time.com. “And that is a problem.”

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

When young adults are dealing with a coexisting mental health issue, the rehabilitation process requires specialized dual-diagnosis expertise. Our peer-based program provides the safety and support you need to succeed in school and at sobriety. To learn more about our sobriety college, call today: 866-930-4673.

Study: Parental Approval Leads to More Drinking in College

"Parents who accept drinking as just a normal part of college may be encouraging their kids to drink more, according to a study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.  

The researchers surveyed 687 Penn State students about their drinking habits and how much they believed their parents would approve of them drinking. The data was gathered at regular checkpoints across four years, from the last year of high school through the third year of college. 

To learn more about these patterns, the researchers arranged students into four groups, including students with parents who…

• Consistently didn't approve of drinking
• Consistently approved of high levels of drinking
• Began approving of higher levels of drinking around age 21 parents
• Began approving of higher levels of drinking when the students started college

The results: the more students believed their parents approved of them drinking, the more alcohol they tended to drink. Many parents didn't approve of drinking in high school, but when they went to college or got closer to turning 21, “the parents' attitudes relaxed and students' drinking increased,” said Brian Calhoun, graduate student in human development and family studies and first author of the paper.

The findings show that parents can still play a role in providing positive feedback and encouraging their children to make healthy lifestyle choices, especially during the college years when drug and alcohol use often peaks. "One part of this can be supporting safe choices about drinking alcohol,” said Jennifer Maggs, professor of human development and family studies, “and not reinforcing or making jokes about college being a crazy time when everyone takes risks without consequences." 

Conversation Goals During College
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, it's important for parents to keep the lines of communication open through all four (or more) years of college. This regular communication will also make it easier to spot any sign of alcohol abuse, including: 

• Binge drinking
• Declining grades
• Changes in appearance
• Decrease in extracurricular college activities
• Shifts in sleeping patterns
• Mood swings
• Reckless behavior
• Changes in social circles or hanging out with others who abuse alcohol or drugs

Sobriety College at Hope Academy

If you are or someone you love is a college student struggling with a mental illness and a substance use disorder, Hope Academy may be the ideal rehab program for you. Our peer-based program provides the safety and support you need to succeed in school and at sobriety. To learn more about our sobriety college, call today: 866-930-4673.

College Students Learn to Use Narcan

More than a year ago, students at the University of Texas at Austin began learning to use naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, which is used to rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. The goal: to save a friend or peer showing symptoms of an overdose. 

Program supporters compare Narcan availability to fire extinguishers or automated external defibrillators – both mainstays on college campuses. “The majority of the doses are likely going to go unused — that’s a good thing,” Lucas Hill, a UT-Austin pharmacy professor who directs a program called Operation Naloxone that UH students plan to expand into Houston this semester, told the Houston Chronicle. “Most fire extinguishers get tossed out without being used. This is similar.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2,588 people overdosed from drugs in Texas in 2015 and the figure rose to 2,831 in 2016. What’s more, four percent of Texas college students misused opioids in 2017, noted the Houston Chronicle. Still, noted Hill, it’s difficult to know how widespread the issue is on Texas campuses, as families often keep overdoses private.

Despite these rising figures, many Texas public universities lack written policies on naloxone distribution. “We felt as a medical organization that it was best for us to ensure that everyone who might encounter this within our facility be trained,” Martha Dannenbaum, who directs A&M’s student health services, told the Houston Chronicle. “Drug use, misuse and abuse exists everywhere. It’s not just the homeless population or the poor, it’s everyone from the highest administrative areas to young people that are functional.”

Do You Know the Signs of an Opioid Overdose?

Recognizing the symptoms of an opioid overdose and taking prompt action is critical to potentially saving a life. Although all of these signs might not be present, it’s best to seek medical assistance right away if you notice any of them: 

• Unable to wake up or respond to your voice or touch
• Very slow, irregular or stopped breathing
• Center part of their eye is very small, often called “pinpoint pupils”
• Fingernails and lips turning blue or purple
• Slow heartbeat and/or low blood pressure

Opioid Addiction Treatment for Young Adults
Young adults (age 18 to 25) are the biggest abusers of prescription opioid pain relievers, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And early intervention is the most successful treatment. If you or someone you love is struggling with opioid addiction, don’t wait to get help. Call today: 866-930-4673.

Gambling Disorders Among College Students

Fact: Seventy-five percent of college students gambled during the past year (legally or illegally) and about 18 percent gambling weekly or more frequently. 

Gambling is rampant on many college campuses and it can have a negative impact on student health. Lotteries, card games, pools (including raffles charitable small stakes gambling), sports betting and games of skill (e.g., bowling, basketball, pool, golf, backgammon, darts) are the most frequently chosen gambling activities by college students, according to the National Center for Responsible Gambling (NCRG). 

With “March Madness” or “April Suicide” around the corner, we thought it was a good time to take a look at some facts about gambling and gambling disorders to help you or someone you love make healthier decisions when it comes to betting. (Suicide rates and the use of suicide prevention hotlines rise in April and June over other months, at the conclusion of March Madness.)

Here are a few need-to-know facts from the NCRG:

• Six percent of college students in the U.S. have a serious gambling problem that can result in psychological difficulties, unmanageable debt and failing grades.
• Teenagers and college-aged adolescents are most vulnerable to gambling disorders because they are more impulsive. 
• Male college students are more likely to have gambled in the past year; gambled with more money; and reported having gambling problems than female college students.
• Students without gambling problems are more likely to use tobacco, drink heavily or binge drink, smoke marijuana or use other illegal drugs, drive under the influence and have a low GPA.

Addiction Help is Available
Not sure if betting for fun has turned into problem gambling? The National Council on Problem Gambling suggests being on the lookout for the following warning signs:

• Preoccupation with betting
• Lying about how much money has been bet
• Feeling anxious or sleepless due to betting activity
• Borrowing money to continue betting or to cover losses
• Keeping it secret from family or friends

It’s important to seek help before any type of addictive behavior takes over your personal life, relational connections, and financial well-being. Contact us today so we can help or someone you love you on the road to recovery from a dual diagnosis. Call: 866-930-4673.