College Student Counseling
This is a challenging time to be a student in America. Government funding, which has enabled many students to complete their education, is uncertain. Campuses have become politicized, pitting students who are living in community against each other. College costs continue to rise amid questions about the necessity and benefits of higher education. Graduate students are faced with mounting debt and, after years of study, are met with a highly competitive job market that may not always seem to reward their efforts.
Education today also looks fundamentally different than it did even a decade ago. Overnight during the pandemic, online education became standard fare. This has probably made courses more accessible to some students. But many more are isolated on campus than in the past. The technological distractions like smart phones, social media, virtual reality and gaming are numerous and mounting, making it more difficult to focus on the task at hand: a learning experience that prepares the student for world of work as a mature adult.
The First Days
Maybe you have just arrived on campus and are feeling a bit lonely or overwhelmed. Or possibly you thought it would be a great idea to go to school far away from home, but now that you are here, you are not so sure. You miss home. You miss your family. You miss your dog.
Homesickness is a common reason that students seek support through therapy. It can be hard to admit to family and friends who have invested in you with their time and money that you are having doubts that you are in a place that’s right for you. It may feel next to impossibly to admit to them that you are so desperately unhappy, when they have made such a substantial financial investment. You may feel like you would be letting everyone down, or that there’s something wrong with you that you are feeling this way.
Here's the good news: this often can get better quickly. It starts with acknowledging that this is what is going on with you and staying in this difficulty moment. Then doing the hard things - one by one - to create connections and line up support in your new campus home.
Mental Health Issues Are More Prevalent
Even in better times, a number of college students came to campus with a history of mental health challenges or experienced some brush with these types of issues over the course of the degree program. These included depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders and self-harm. Sexual assault programming and awareness is also a staple of college life on pretty much every campus.
Today’s students came along during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we all know, during the pandemic societies around the globe were forced to adapt to a seemingly never-ending stream of challenges that disrupted everyday life as we had known it.
It has been documented that much of what plagues today’s students from a mental health perspective can be traced directly to the pandemic. Just two years into the pandemic, over 95 % of college students met criteria for moderate to severe mood disorders. (Kesong, H. et al., 2022). These findings persisted a year later, even as pandemic precautions were hardly observable in everyday life. In March 20203, the National Education Association reported that the majority of college students were presenting on campus meeting diagnostic criteria for at least one mental health disorder. (Flannery, M.E., 2023). Many of today’s students have gaps in their educational or social development as a result of the COVID 19 precautions and closures.
College Students Still Face Typical Challenges
As the years pass, finding the root cause of students’ difficulties and addressing them is becoming more of an individual pursuit. We are getting further and further away from a place where we are looking for signs of impact from the pandemic - but that does not mean all is well.
All of the challenges created by the pandemic are a layer on top of the usual array of difficulties that many students typically encounter as part of their college experience. These include things like learning to live with people who are different from themselves in a communal environment, making sure to eat regular nutritious meals, staying on top of laundry, getting an adequate amount of sleep, managing a challenging academic workload abd balancing part-time work with classes.
It’s All About Connecting
While it is possible to complete a higher education degree and never make any significant connections, to do so would be to miss out on some of the most important aspects your education. The relationships that you create with roommates, classmates, professors, administrators and people in the local community are part of experience. Building and nurturing connections with other people is an essential skill for a successful and happy adult life.
Sometimes these relationships will be solid and working well. Other times these relationships with be rocky and needing help. You will learn the most from the relationships that have difficulty, even if in the process you experience emotional pain. You will be forced to grow, change and develop new skills to navigate these tough moments. Sometimes you will know how to get to this place of growth and change. Other times you might benefit from having some input from others.
Finding a Counselor Can Be Difficult
If you are current student , perhaps may be starting to think that it might be really helpful to have someone to talk to who’s not a friend or a family member, someone who can provide support and guidance as you navigate the challenges you are facing in your daily life on campus.
Unfortunately, college counseling centers are not equipped to meet the increased needs for mental health services in higher education. Even if a student is able to meet with an on-campus counselor a few sessions, the probability is that it will still be necessary to locate a provider in the community who can continue the treatment or who is able to accept the applicable insurance plan.
The other difficulty is that your therapist must be licensed in the state where you are located at the time the services are provided. This means that you may make a great therapeutic connection over the summer and then need to find a new therapist during the school year if you attend an out-of-state college or university.
Questions?
How Will I Attend Sessions?
I am currently providing all of my services online through a client portal specifically designed for mental health professionals. It will be possible for you to meet with me using your laptop, iPhone or iPad. Appointments for sessions may be made by email using the Contact Me button below.
How Will I Pay for Sessions?
I am a participating provider with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Cigna, Harvard Pilgrim, Optum, Mass General Brigham and United insurance companies. I will submit claims on your behalf as your provider. Payment for any portion of my services not covered by insurance occurs through the client portal, using Stripe.
Flannery, M.E. 2023. The mental health crisis on college campuses: Rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation have never been higher (2023). https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/mental-health-crisis-college-campuses.
Kesong, H. et al. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students in the USA: Two years later. Psychiatry Res. (2022, June 15).
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