<p>"Stress from the economic downturn, trouble coping with the transition to college, and general depression and anxiety appear to be hitting college students at rates never seen before.</p>
<p>College counseling centers are also seeing many more students with complex mental-health diseases, such as clinical depression and bipolar disorder.</p>
<p>"I think there's absolutely no question that we're getting more and more of the severe kinds of mental-health issues and just an increase in demand for services," said Jane Morgan Bost, associate director of the University of Texas at Austin Counseling and Mental Health Center...."</p>
<p>This report accords with what our campus counseling center is telling us at my place of employment. Our department had a pre-semester workshop on dealing with troubled students in part because of an upswing in the number of kids exhibiting serious behavior and mood issues. We are trained as academics and not as counselors or therapists, and it’s alarming to see so many students with problems we’re not equipped to address. Among other things, the counselor running the workshop pointed to the phenomenon of “pseudo-relationships,” fast-developing, emotionally intense, yet superficial romances and friendships conducted via electronic communities, as one new problem kids face.</p>
<p>I’m wondering whether the increasing numbers of students with major mental health problems are making colleges even more wary about accepting students whose applications disclose histories of mental illness.</p>
<p>I’ve wondered about these statistics, also. I wonder if it’s also partially the inclusiveness and mainstreaming in K-12 that has occured in the now college bound age group coupled with the sheer volume of kids that do go into colleges compared to decades ago leading to the higher volume of emotionally distrubed kids in residential colleges. Colleges aren’t organized or staffed in a manner to diagnose, treat or support these types of issues. The big schools with attached medical probably have far greater resources, but that is only a portion of the spectrum of colleges and universities. I don’t know how I feel, my gut says they shouldn’t have to be in that caretaker position. I’m sure it’s a tough issue both for the colleges/unis and the families of troubled kids.</p>
<p>Momof3boys, my guess is that not all (or even many) of these kids are in inclusion or mainstreamed categories. One estimate at our local highschool is over 25% of the 2500+ student body is on psych meds. Most of those are not IEP candidates.</p>
<p>For those with mental health issues, I suspect that the HS are much more acccommodating than in the past - a kid who might have dropped out/flunked out/or gone to alternate schools is graduating with fairly decent grades. I know some kids with incredible accommodations - extra time to hand in assigments (like up until the last day of school), missed assignments overlooked, waiver of class requirements (like gym) – it’s amazing what a B average can hide. Accommodations for mental disorders are (eventually) going to become as controversial as affirmative action - it is definitely not a level playing field.</p>
<p>I think it’s great that kids can get the help they need to graduate from high school, but I know some parents and kids who play the system. ALso it’s frustrating when a B for one kid does not reflect the same requirments as a B for another kid - even in the same class. Eventually, I think HS and college degrees should reflect these special accommodations.</p>
<p>The other interesting thing I noted while my S2 was doing applications. On several, and I can’t remember the common app schools, the question was asked regarding gaps in K-12 schooling which I don’t remember as a question when S1 was doing apps and I wondered if the colleges were trying to discern if there were issues during that candidate’s school years. I understand the need for K-12 to be as accomodating and inclusive as possible since availability of a K-12 education is a right for all as opposed to a priviledge. This is not true of colleges so how they decide to handle these young people (or not handle these young people) will certainly come to bear in the coming years if the trend continues. As a parent I can’t think of worse place I’d want a disturbed child than a residential college dorm/campus etc. as colleges/unis barely staff the necessary personnel for colds, coughs and the flu and generally just make referrals let alone dealing with mental or emotional illnesses and with HIPPA the parents are alittle out of the loop. That doesn’t even touch the issue of impacting the kids who perhaps live in close proximity in the dorm. Where do the personal rights of the college and the individual students at the college collide with the disturbed student? Tough issues indeed.</p>
<p>There is another factor in having higher numbers of mentally ill students at colleges. Early adulthood is a time for the emergence of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and often bipolar disorder. In years past, students who developed those illnesses dropped out and never returned. But now, we have much better meds and many young people are well enough on their meds to resume studies. One problem is that they don’t always continue the meds- they feel ok, so they stop and become symptomatic again.</p>
<p>My husband works at a college in law enforcement. He see many mentally ill students and the reasons vary. For a few, it was a new thing, but for many it wasn’t.
Some parents, worried about abuse or forgetting to take medication, take them off before they go…just great with all the other changes going on! One family was in PA and he had to call and tell them their son was in the hospital. They explained their worries, but you have to have that discussed fully before they go with their doctor. Other students drink and don’t want to take their medicine and then they slowly get depressed and have other issues. Some sell their drugs when they realize there is a market for it. One parent made him angry when they said, “She’s your problem now”. My friends nephew was on meds for depression and ADD. His mother insisted he go to one year of state school 10 minutes away and when she saw he was mature enough to take care of his meds, he transfered to a college an hour away. Maybe that was wrong, but for his mom, she knew her son and it was her dime.
Many students though do fine, it all depends on how they react to the changes and how much they understand about the dangers of not taking their meds.</p>
<p>How much of a problem do you think this is? I had many college friends with serious mental illnesses (especially bipolar disorder). I lived with several on my hall in my dorm. I never felt that my rights were at odds with theirs in any way. They included some fantastic students and some great contributors to the community. Any school would have been lucky to have them.</p>
<p>Mental illness, like physical illness, is a part of life. I think it’s great that so many students are able to go to college, who wouldn’t have been able to in the past for want of treatment. And that the stigma associated with mental illness has lightened a little (I wonder how much of the increased load that campus mental health services are seeing, is students being more willing to admit that they have problems and seek help?).</p>
<p>jessiehl–the collision probably happens when the mentally-ill student is someone’s roommate. And stops taking their meds and begins to act out in a way that makes the room situation very difficult or untenable for the other person. Big difference between having a person with very difficult behavior on your hall and sharing a room with them.</p>
<p>There was a thread a while ago about a girl whose roommate IIRC remained in the room virtually ALL the time when not in class, in the dark, with the blinds drawn, on her computer, vocalizing loudly, generally unresponsive to IRL people.</p>
<p>Yes, of course students who have not been diagnosed with serious conditions can also be difficult roommates. And I agree about people being more willing to seek help.</p>
<p>The rates for serious mental health are at least 3% so you have people with issues that are your neighbors, coworkers, and people that you run into everyday. In that sense, what makes this any different from real life?</p>
<p>You don’t have to live in one room with them.</p>
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<p>I don’t get your point. I’m not suggesting that the mentally ill person should not go to school, or that their illness–or that of anyone, for that matter–should not be treated with compassion.</p>
<p>I was simply answering the question “Where do the personal rights of the college and the individual students at the college collide with the disturbed student?”</p>
<p>“I think it’s great that kids can get the help they need to graduate from high school, but I know some parents and kids who play the system. ALso it’s frustrating when a B for one kid does not reflect the same requirments as a B for another kid - even in the same class. Eventually, I think HS and college degrees should reflect these special accommodations.”</p>
<p>Don’t they? I don’t think my High school did but the ACT does and I think my college does as well.</p>
<p>Forced intimacy. Let’s say that your brother, sister, parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent or cousin lives with you and has mental health problems. You’re going to run into the same issues. Except that you may have more options as a college student.</p>
<p>That´s a good question in and of itself, but you certainly can´t equate the responsibilities of a roomate who has randomly found themselves in this situation and who may have many of their own stressful issues to deal with, with that of a family member or close friend.</p>
<p>It is very difficult to know just what the right level of concern/ responsibility is for an individual when a mentally disturbed person is in need. Look at the parent who basically told the cop that their child was no longer their problem (post #8). Must a college-age sibling put their own future at risk to stop everything and help when their brother/sister gets out of control? </p>
<p>Now if there were a decent health-care/safety net system in place in the U.S. everybody would be insuring themselves against such hard choices.</p>
<p>BCEagle I’m not sure I understand your question either. My question relates primarily to a young person who becomes disfunctional in the college residential setting. College residential settings with the exception of unis with med schools/hospitals are not typically staffed to deal with anything others than the sniffles and historically have never been equiped for much more. I’m certain that indeed I work with people who have issues and are somehow treated and functional in the setting they are in. I’m sure those kids exist on college campuses (students are entirely functional). Most likely mental illness in the family of a college student would either not impact that student because someone else in the family would step in as the caregiver or the student would take a leave or withdraw and go home and deal with it, but I’m not sure how you’re making the connection to what happens on the campus? Like consolation I’m not at any level saying people with issues who are functioning fine should not be in college, that’s a gigantic leap. I’m asking if in fact the percentage of kids in the college residential situation who are not functioning is increasing or if it’s relatively stable but the numbers are up because the volume is up and I’m asking where the obligation to the other students and the college exists with regard to students who become disfunctional for whatever reason. I’m saying as a parent if that were to happen to one of my children I would not want them in a campus residential environment with relatively no support but with HIPPA do the parents even know and do the parents remove the kids or do they assume that it is the college’s responsibility to keep them in the campus environment because of the inclusiveness of the current K-12 system. Finally, if the disturbed kids stay how do the colleges ensure that other kids who are living and learning in the same environment are not negatively impacted. I don’t know the answers but if it’s an increasing phenomenon, then yes, that concerns me.</p>
<p>I didn’t say anything about the responsibilities of the other student.
My point is that you deal with people all the time with these problems
and sometimes it’s very close.</p>
<p>The issue of roommate responsibility is a fuzzy one in general. Do we
take a roommate to the hospital when they are very sick? Do we help
them out when they are recovering from drinking? Do we tell them about
their body odor?</p>
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<p>That does happen. I’ve seen that situation on this board before. We
have a current question about a father with cancer with the student
asking if they should take a semester off to help with their father.
Sometimes you have to drop out of college to take a job to help your
family with expenses.</p>
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<p>I think that mental health problems are difficult for all nations
regardless of how they provide health services.</p>
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<p>My simple point is that mental health happens in real life and college
is a sample of real life.</p>
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<p>I think that some level of research would be needed but it would be
difficult to do as it would be difficult to get data over a long
period of time.</p>
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<p>The question of obligation is quite difficult. In my opinion, the
average person doesn’t know how to deal with mental health problems in
others in terms of care. In families, it can create incredible levels
of stress in terms of time and resources that can be exhausting. I
think that families should be primarily responsible but they may not
have the resources to deal with the problems.</p>
<p>I would guess that the typical college student has no training or
experience with these problems and I would only expect them to report
the odd behaviors to their RA or the parents of the student if the
student has such access.</p>
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<p>There are a variety of scenarios.</p>
<ul>
<li>The parent knows about the problem and it is treated with medication
and therapy.</li>
<li>The problem develops in college due to high stress levels and is temporary</li>
<li>The problem develops in college and it’s permanent</li>
<li>The problem is severe and requires hospitalization</li>
<li>The problem can be treated with counseling</li>
<li>The student is a suicide risk</li>
<li>The student is a risk to others</li>
</ul>
<p>Some situations would warrent hospitalization or immediate removal.
With others, it is a judgement call. In general, I think that most
players aren’t in the best of positions to make that judgement call.
I don’t know what kind of experts universities have as we’ve never had
to deal with that sort of thing but I hope that they have experienced
and qualified people.</p>
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<p>What do you do if you are a studious person and other students
routinely come back into the dorms at 3 AM in the morning making a lot
of noise on the weekends? My niece said that she had this problem at
her university. There are a wide variety of negative impacts that
students have on each other with varying levels of annoyance. There
are lots of positive impacts too.</p>
<p>If the impact is severe, then I would expect the university to do
something about that to provide a reasonable environment. The meaning
of reasonable, of course, is highly variable.</p>
<p>At a minimum, I would think that a single room and regular care from the college health services would be indicated for students who are coping with potentially significant conditions that would be likely to negatively impact a roommate. </p>
<p>[edit: cross posted with BCEagle and now understand better what s/he was driving at.}</p>
<p>A friend’s child experienced the severe onset of bipolar disorder while in college. After an initial phase, in which the college health services attempted to diagnose and meet the student’s needs, the student became unable to function and withdrew. Had the student attained a reasonable level of functionality with medication and therapy, the student would have been able to return. Unfortunately, the story had a tragic ending. (Partially as a result of the inability of a parent to require an adult child to remain in a hospital setting against their will.)</p>
<p>I have, as a matter of fact, worked with several people who suffered from schizophrenia and experienced full-fledged psychotic episodes in the office. One was a temp who came to work one morning hearing voices and [seriously] threatening to strangle several of us, then rushed out. I tried to get someone, anyone, to follow up with her. My firm wasn’t interested. The temp agency wasn’t interested either, although they claimed to have called her and spoken to her after several days of my harrassment. I think we even talked to some mental health agency and the police–it’s been a long time and I don’t recall all of the details. The other was also hearing voices and experiencing paranoid delusions. After a couple days of his sitting in his cubicle next door to mine obsessively writing on his blackboard and ranting that his neighbors were singing the Horst Wessel song in the evenings and that random trucks on the highway were dropping objects to try to kill him, I sought out his work friends, who knew and contacted his family, who stepped in. I’ve worked with a couple of people who were so depressed that they eventually committed suicide. Just to cite a few examples.</p>
<p>So I would expect the student to notify someone who had the medical/legal authority to help the individual in crisis, and be kind in the meantime.</p>
<p>My guess is that they are considering autism in with the other disorders. Autism is considered a mental health disorder. The social issues that autistics have to deal with come under the services field of mental health. If the parents pay for services (which is the case most of the time, nothing is ever free for us), what business is it of anyone’s if they attend college or not? </p>
<p>My 17 yo son has Asperger’s/Autism. He is in regular classes, has a 3.6 average and does not get adapted anything. And, he plans on applying to regular 4 year colleges. He could not talk until he was about 6. His IEP is an inch thick, but he’s in the top quarter of his class, which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of lazy “normal” children (whatever that is) with no learning issues, and no excuse for crappy grades or SAT scores. </p>
<p>Is there a problem with making autistic people, or people with anxiety/ODD/Bipolar/etc. productive members of society? It is not a level playing field for them to begin with. Don’t gripe about what a B “hides” - it is not your business. Homework and testing that takes a regular kid a half hour to do takes my son 2 hours, because it takes his brain longer to process. Doesn’t mean he won’t come up with the same answer. His B is worth 4 times what the other kid’s B is worth and then some. </p>
<p>And please keep in mind that the ratio of autistics to “normal” kids is greater than 1-100 kids, so your odds of having an autistic relative (i.e. grandchild) are a lot higher than they were a few years ago. You might want to think about that before you open your mouths.</p>
<p>Cut these people a break. Wonder what would have happened to Bill Gates if he’d come up against paranoid people like you? (Not all of you, obviously, but many of the ignorant parents who have posted here…)</p>
<p>I came here looking for help, to see if people actually understood college admissions people in re: students who aren’t on the same damn playing level, and maybe find some help in finding the right school for him. And all I find are snooty parents who wouldn’t want their kids to be in the same school with my kid. If you don’t want your kids to live with someone different than they are, buy them a private room in a fancy school, and stop your complaining. Be glad you and yours are healthy and have it so easy.</p>