zachw
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Posts: 3
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Post by zachw on Feb 11, 2017 10:59:02 GMT -4
This article brings to light a number of important issues, but I feel like it doesn't answer the root question: why has there been such an increase in student demand for mental health services in recent years? What is so different about the world now than it was only a few years ago? Why are students so ill-equipped to handle the stresses college undoubtedly brings? I feel like this issue is something can and should be addressed in the pre-college years. I agree that it seems most campuses are woefully understaffed when it comes to mental health issues, but why is the burden solely being placed on universities? In my experience, health insurance has been a requirement to attend college, so that opens the door for students to look to outside sources if the wait at their campus is too long.
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Post by tanishajerrick on Feb 11, 2017 15:31:13 GMT -4
Awaiting mental health care is surely a dangerous wait. Why aren't mental health conditions given the same weight as a physical injury or medical ailment? It is sad to know that students have been reaching out desperately for help but their cries go unanswered. Better systems definitely needs to be put in place. It's no longer about pride and discrimination; mental health issues have detrimental consequences and everyone is responsible, these include family, friends, school staff and even public citizens. You may not know how helpful you can be by just listening to someone. Reading the various resources from the students and how their concerns were disregarded or not fully accounted for says alot about the school's system and what they deem as important. Every school, college and teaching facility should have accessible on-campus staff that are fully equipped to counsel, treat and manage mental health related conditions. We need to act fast and smart at physicians and health care professionals.
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Post by Kayla Miller on Feb 12, 2017 10:52:42 GMT -4
Moving away for college can be the most stressful event that occurs for a young adult. This could possibly lead to a first psychotic break for these individuals. It is imperative that these young adults are set up for success in this transition from being surrounded by friends and family to being completely alone in a new city. Having counselors and psychiatrist is paramount to their success in this new life endeavor. It is a wonderful thing that colleges do provide psychiatric services, but it is a shame that these programs do not have enough resources to meet the demand. Many students have never felt stress/anxiety like this before, so how are they supposed to qualify their situation as an emergent situation, this leads to the student being scheduled a routine appointment versus an emergency appointment. Suicidality and homicidality cannot possibly wait two weeks; these students deserve and need a quicker appointment. If a student is seeking out psychiatric help, even if it is just for anxiety, they should be helped immediately as this may prevent a snowball effect into more severe mental illness. With mass shootings becoming more and more prevalent, this situation is even more serious. Hopefully, colleges can increase their staffing at their psychiatric centers before any more lives are lost.
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Nathaniel rodriguez
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Post by Nathaniel rodriguez on Feb 12, 2017 20:45:01 GMT -4
This article really brings to light the need for mental health professional on campuses. There are a few questions that need to be addressed after reading this, the first being why is there a spike in demand on campuses? I think the answer to that is we are not preparing our youth properly to succeed after high schooll. most kids I see now days have the smarts to succeed but don't have any idea how to cope with failure and this to me is the main reason for the spike in mental health issues. Another question is how can we meet the need for mental health professionals at college campuses? Obvious answer would be hire more mental health professionals, but if this isn't possible I believe primary care physician can help ease the load and at least stabilize the patient or decide whether or not it's a emergency. I believe this so of be the fastest way to relieve the load that mental health institutions are currently facing.
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Post by Amanda Smith on Feb 13, 2017 15:26:43 GMT -4
I found it interesting how the article skims over the cause of the increase in mental health crisis on college campuses. As physicians, we are always trying to treat symptoms at the cause when we can, and not run around frantically extinguishing symptoms as they arise. I realize this may be a tough job, but I think it is the only viable option these campuses have. There is a physician shortage, and psychiatry sees a large brunt of that shortage. With this in mind, just filling jobs in counseling centers on campuses is not the solution to the problem. The only viable reasoning I saw for this shortage was the immense education on mental health over the past ten years and teaching children the warning signs of depression. Several of the anecdotes of college students were that of grief over the death of a loved one. Perhaps we should educate our youth again on the importance of communication and what a big help family can be in times of need. Yes, there are those that struggle with legitimate mental health issues that require serious medication and follow-up, but maybe not the entire surge of need is so serious. If we can educate kids about bereavement and convince them to turn to family instead of social media and the like, maybe we can start chipping away at the current shortage.
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Taymar Phillips (MS3)
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Post by Taymar Phillips (MS3) on Feb 15, 2017 0:22:18 GMT -4
It is evident that there are not enough mental health providers in colleges for students. Looking at the ratios across the various universities given in the article such as Brown and Elon, there are thousands of undergraduate students and literally one provider. The thought of college, being away from home which is a person's normal comfort zone, to transfer themselves into an unfamiliar environment for any student is not something that should be overlooked. Many persons are unable to transition from their safety net and those that do often run into obstacles such as urgent deadlines, poor time management, stress, isolation, anxiety about tests and unpleasant situations. For a new undergraduate student that probably has no friends and is under a lot of stress and no one to talk to, they should be able to meet with a counselor the next day. It's great that they are aware of their problems and want to do something about it; however, there should be no delay of counseling because sometimes in that wait for the session to even commence, it would be too late.
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Post by Kennedy Uzoho (MS3) AISM on Feb 15, 2017 1:20:06 GMT -4
Having a profound knowledge about mental healthcare is very key for dealing with the mentally ill,if the mental healthcare professionals lack this key,the chances of misdiagnosing the sick and refusing treatments will persistently increase,and we also need more mental healthcare specialists to take better of the mentally ill because i believe the more mental healthcare specialists we have in the USA,the lower the percentages of suicide attempts and drug abuse get.I also believe that this plan will prevent the need for mental healthcare from spiking across the universities,colleges,high schools,etc.The Young Minds all need a healthy mind to function everyday and if any of them comes up with some sort of mental disorder and there are no available mental healthcare physicians,that will be a disaster.I strongly recommend that these young minds having these mental problems be taken care of and not given the opportunity to claim their lives because they are the future leaders of tomorrow.
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Post by victorayulo on Feb 15, 2017 11:17:06 GMT -4
This article highlights the lack of psychiatrist and mental health services in today's colleges and universities. The article argues that the majority of universities have too long of a waiting time between scheduling an appointment and seeing the physician. Also it argues that students in a crisis are often seen late or turned off by asking if the student is having an emergency. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem much that can be done in the short term. In the long term, we can try to fill in the shortage of phsychiatric care with funding. This will lead to more people seeking a career in mental health. But the article fails to mention that mental health professionals are in a shortage not only at universities, but all over the US. By neglecting that fact, it fails to provide a solution for the problem it highlights. Ultimately fixing the problem would only cause a shortage in other areas of mental health unless the supply of psychiatrist and mental health workers increases.
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Post by Manisha Sadanani on Feb 17, 2017 1:24:12 GMT -4
It is important that universities provide mental health options to their students as the university setting is most often the first time students are away from home and learning to deal with the stressors of taking care of themselves in addition to the increased stress of school. However, I don't think it is the primary role of a university to have enough mental health professions to be on staff to see every student that may have a problem. Universities are first and foremost educational institutions. They were not founded upon the philosophies of becoming Psychological treatment centers. Also, part of students leaving home and attending universities is to embrace a new sense of freedom but also a new found adult independence. Adults in the community are required to find mental health care professionals out in the community so why shouldn't university students be held to the same standards? They are in fact adults by the time they start their college education and should thus be encouraged to venture out into the surrounding community and learn how to be an adult. This being said, universities are extremely stressful environments and I do not think they should be completely free of the responsibility of providing necessary counseling services to their students. They should absolutely still have crisis hotlines for emergencies and should still have a psychological department where they staff trained health care personnel to help students with the stressors of school; universities just should not have to be required to see every single student who has a need for a counseling session.
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Post by Pranjali Dakwale on Feb 17, 2017 1:52:27 GMT -4
It is true that university campuses across the country now have an increased need for mental health facilities. Many young students who leave their home for the first time to attend a university struggle in coping with the day-to-day stress of college life. In addition to this, they have a new found independence and are not always willing to seek help when it is necessary. During this time, it would help them tremendously to have proper guidance and an outlet for their emotions before they resort to taking drastic actions. This stands true not just for young college students but anyone in society regardless of their age.
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Post by Andrew Johar on Feb 17, 2017 2:29:07 GMT -4
The demand for mental health treatment in the country is too much for many people to handle, especially those that are in need. Students on campuses everywhere are petitioning to receive expanded services and make sure that they are being treated properly. There are many students that died due to lack of care and that is something that as professionals we cannot, in good conscious, tolerate. We need to make healthcare available to everyone. No person in the US should be left to fend for themselves, access to care should one of the unalienable rights that are provided to any and all peoples that are living in the US. The responsibility of the mental health illnesses in this country is something that all healthcare providers must be aware about and focus on treating whenever we come across it.
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Post by Stefan Gordon on Feb 20, 2017 8:53:21 GMT -4
I think the reason why mental health care lags so far behind physical health care is because there were several hurdles that had to be cleared before society got to the actual treatment of individuals suffering from mental illnesses. The first hurdle was awareness. We had to educate and spread awareness to individuals about the signs and symptoms of depression and other mental illnesses. The article clearly illustrates the great progress that has been made over the decades in terms of education and awareness as most individuals on college campuses are not only aware but are able to identify symptoms of depression and other mental illnesses. The second major hurdle was to overcome the stigma of mental illness which is still an ongoing battle. The article also demonstrates this lingering stigma, as one of the girls despite coming out and seeking help after her suicide attempt, as the article states “ her suicide attempt cost her both her job and her off-campus apartment. The medication she was put on cost her a pilot’s license.” So it seems society punishes individuals in some way when they realize they have a mental issue. Right now among my peers no one wants to be diagnosed with any mental issues because of the fear that this will affect their future career due to the stigma that society still holds and unfortunately many times they are right to avoid these labels as people still do get penalized for being attached to them. So all of this finally brings us the final hurdle, which is therapy, and the lack of available treatment. It is no wonder why mental help lags behind when even today we struggle to get past the first two hurdles. Therapy, the final hurdle, also presents its challenges as well, as treatment for mental health is more complex and not always as clear cut as treating a broken leg or a scrape. The under-staffing of mental health care facilities on college campuses may also have to do with the nature of treatment of mental illness, which compared to many physical ailments take more time to treat, this gives college administrators the illusion that they have more time to treat the patient or student. The danger in that thinking as the article points out is that the mental state of an individual can change very suddenly and very significantly over a short period of time, which is something that must be emphasized to the owners and heads of these institutions. The traditional approach to physical treatment which is taking immediate action only in an emergency does not work for mental illnesses.
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Post by kaylazodle on Feb 24, 2017 5:21:42 GMT -4
The most disturbing part of this article was the astonishing ratio of therapist to students. It is absolutely impossible to meet the needs of the students without sufficient resources. More emphasis needs to be placed on the importance of mental health, especially in institutions where suicide risks are high. Having to wait 3 weeks for an appointment is also very disconcerting. Mental health support should be made easily accessible at all times to students living away from home. I was pleased to learn that at least there is an emergency hotline, but more needs to be done to decrease the incidence of suicide.
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Post by Sharmaine Brar on Mar 4, 2017 16:42:28 GMT -4
When we first go to college, we are thrown into small groups with people that we have absolutely nothing in common with just so the school can say that they did their part in having an orientation. Maybe if the college focused on explaining to us what it’s going to be like to live without your family or all the different stressors we were going to be facing, students wouldn’t have so much anxiety. Mental health is an issue that absolutely no one acknowledges or talks about. A student could be walking down campus and pass 10 people, 8 of which may be dealing with the same problems. These talks could begin in high school when the majority of students start experiencing stress. We’re told to study, get good grades and be a well-rounded individual but no one explains that hitting walls is just a part of life and stress can be managed if done in the right way. No individual is dealing with something that someone else hasn’t already dealt with; so if mental health talks were implemented into a school setting before students had to venture out on their own, several mental health issues could be prevented. If a high school or college’s purpose is to educate, then why don’t they educate students on mental health and ways to manage it?
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