College Mental Health

College students are in the midst of a mental health crisis. Rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal behaviors have been steadily increasing over the last decade, but have skyrocketed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. College campuses are struggling to keep up with the increased demand for mental health services; simultaneously, students are underutilizing available treatment. This chapter highlights the unique developmental needs and challenges of college students including leaving and living away from home, academic pressures, social demands, and increased access to alcohol and drugs. In this context, the chapter discusses system-level barriers to mental health treatment at the collegiate level, including ethical and legal considerations around consent, personal and public stigma, and unique challenges endured by historically underrepresented minority students. Finally, this chapter presents epidemiological trends in psychiatric symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment among college students, and how flexible-care models and telepsychiatry are changing the way colleges provide mental health care to their students.