Research shows increase in mental illness

By Nicole Schladt

Mental illness among college students is on the rise.

The number of students with serious mental illness who are seeking help at college health centers has doubled in the past decade, according to a recent article published in the New York Times.

This statistic, compounded with the psychological issues involved in the Tucson shooting two weeks ago, has individuals taking a closer look at university mental health centers across the nation.

“We certainly have more students (at UK) who are seeking out our services, and more students are coming in with severe psychological issues,” Dr. Federico Aldarondo, licensed psychologist and associate director of the UK Counseling Center, said.

According to UK Counseling Center records, there were more than 600 crisis calls, walk-ins or consultations on campus during the 2009-2010 school year alone. This number has been increasing over the past 3 years.

“In general, we are seeing more students who are in crisis,” Aldarondo said in an e-mail to the Kernel.

These students cite stress, anxiety and depression as their Top 3 reasons for seeking counseling, but UK’s mental health facilities continue to see students for many other concerns, including eating disorders, alcohol problems and identity issues, Aldarondo said.

“The demand for our services has really seemed to increase, but UK has done a pretty good job keeping up with the demand,” said Dr. Laurie Arndorfer, University Health Services chief of Behavioral Health.

In order to keep with the demand, UK’s mental health centers have increased their outreach to students through programs that promote awareness of mental health on campus.

“(We have) been involved in a larger effort to train more students, faculty, staff and community members on suicide prevention through a national training program called QPR,” Aldarondo said. “We also offer a number of workshops and groups at the UK Counseling Center to better meet the changing needs of students.”

In addition, UK has set up a Students of Concern Committee, housed out of the Dean of Students Office, which operates as a behavioral intervention team for students who pose a threat to themselves or others on campus.

Plans are also in place to develop an online database so that students, faculty and staff are able to report high risk students directly to the committee, Arndorfer said.

“Events like (the shooting in Tucson) bring the public’s awareness up and increase our efforts to prevent these types of situations, as far as they are preventable,” Arndorfer said.