Recommended Staff Development Resources on Mental Health: Print, slides, and video by Gary Ratcliff, Assistant Vice Chancellor-Student Affairs

College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do About It

In 2007, the mass shooting at Virginia Tech put the subject of student mental health squarely on the national landscape. On campuses, however, the topic emerged as a significant concern well before then. One book that sounded the alarm is College of the Overwhelmed. Published in 2004 and authored by Richard Kadison, the chief of mental health services at Harvard University, and Theresa Foy Digeronimo, the book presents in clear language the conditions that gave rise to the mental health crisis on campuses and what colleges, parents, and students can do about it.

Operating from the outlook that everyone on campus is responsible for students' well-being, the authors identify the stressors and developmental issues facing students in language that non-psychologists can understand. These stressors include academic pressures, competition, parental expectations, financial worries, and social fears. Unhealthy coping responses to overwhelming stress and pressures include depression, sleep disorders, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and even suicide.

UCSD students are not immune to the challenges and stresses of adjusting to college. A 2007 UCSD study of freshmen found:

• 45.9% frequently felt overwhelmed by all they had to do,
• 67.9% frequently or occasionally felt lonely or homesick,
• 66.5% frequently or occasionally felt isolated from campus life,
• 15.4% frequently felt depressed.

A 2006 UC study found that one in four incoming students arrive to campus already on anti-depressants or other psychoactive drugs. This is a significant increase over the past twenty years. While the use of medications has enabled students to attend college who previously may not have been able to do so, these students arrive to campus with different needs, service expectations, and risk factors. They come to campus with more serious mental health disorders and require a more complex array of mental health services than provided before.

Undergraduates are not the only student population in need of assistance. Graduate students are often at higher risk of mental health issues. A recent study of graduate students at UC Berkeley found that 45 percent of the respondents experienced emotional or stress related problems that significantly affected their well-being and academic performance.

College of the Overwhelmed puts forward a number of suggestions to assist students in distress. Chief among them is increasing the staffing of college counseling centers, which the UC campuses have taken steps to address. In addition, the authors emphasize the need for greater coordination of care and providing student education to promote prevention. This includes educating students about campus resources, offering wellness programs, encouraging students to stay connected with friends, and teaching faculty, staff, and parents to detect the warning signs of students in distress.

Many of these suggestions are reflected in a UC report issued in 2005 by the Student Mental Health Committee charged by the UC Office of the President. The suggestions were organized in a three-tier model for meeting the mental health needs of students. At the top of the tier is increased funding and staffing of critical mental services, followed by targeted interventions for vulnerable student populations, and providing programs and services to creating a healthy learning environment. The report can be accessed at the Office of the President website.

Since the publication of College of the Overwhelmed, Dr. Kadison has presented at many campuses and conferences. One of his keynote presentations is available on YouTube.

Dr. Kadison has also made the Powerpoint slides of his presentations available on-line. For a copy of a recent presentation, visit studentlife.ucsd.edu/overwhelmed.