More Iowa college students seek help for mental illness

IOWA CITY - Around a conference room table Thursday night, 11 University of Iowa students shared why they were attending a meeting of the UI chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

About half of the students were psychology majors. The others said they have family members dealing with mental illness or they struggle with mental illness themselves.

A growing number of college students nationally and in Iowa seek mental health services or counseling on their campuses, and they are dealing with more severe mental health issues than students in the past.

“One of the things NAMI stresses is that diagnosis is pretty traumatic,” UI junior Brett Brinkmeyer, 31, said. “So being with a support group is helpful. Just not feeling alone.”

Brinkmeyer, who transferred to the UI from Des Moines Area Community College this year, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2004. He immediately joined the Story County chapter of NAMI and found it helpful to talk to people who understood.

He takes medication for his illness and sees a UI psychiatrist every few weeks. He also sees a counselor outside the university. The English major believes it's good that more college students are seeking help and support.

“I feel like the awareness has been raised over the last several years,” he said. “It's seems like there's less stigma, it's more open and people know more about it.”

Several UI students are working to relaunch the campus chapter of NAMI. Their first meeting this semester drew 35 students, and organizers were expecting about half that.

National surveys show more college students are seeking mental health services and more students are on medications to treat mental illnesses - 24 percent were on psychiatric medication in 2009, compared with 17 percent in 2000 and 9 percent in 1994.

A recent study by the American College Counseling Association found that 44 percent of students in counseling have severe psychological disorders, up from 16 percent in 2000.

Serious mental health problems include depression with suicidal thoughts, anxiety with panic, bipolar disorder and other illnesses that require ongoing treatment, said Brian Van Brunt, association president. Lesser problems include struggling with relationships or difficulties balancing college stress, he said.

Counselors at several Iowa colleges and universities confirm they are serving growing numbers of students.

“If we look at the culture as a whole, there are more people feeling higher degrees of stress and anxiety,” said Pam Torresdal, director of counseling at Luther College in Decorah. “College students also are experiencing what our culture as a whole is experiencing.”

Counselors agree with Brinkmeyer that there is more awareness about mental illness and the stigma has lessened. That means students often are familiar with the benefits of counseling or medication before they come to college.

At some campuses, including Luther and the University of Northern Iowa, almost half the students who seek mental health services have had counseling before.

“Students and their parents today are much more savvy about identifying and securing resources for supporting them,” said Sam Cochran, director of the UI's University Counseling Service.

The UI's Counseling Service in 2009-10 served 1,603 students for 2,599 visits, an 11 percent increase in visits from the previous year.

Advancements in medication also mean some students who wouldn't have enrolled in college a decade or two ago are now able to attend college and succeed.

“Some of the medications make it a little easier for people to continue to function on a daily basis and in a much more successful manner, and that plays a role in who we see,” said David Towle, director of UNI's Counseling Center.

UNI counselors saw 688 students in 2009-10 for 4,419 appointments. He said 25 percent of students have a history of some kind of self-injurious behavior, such as cutting or burning themselves.

In the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona, where the suspect's behavior raised red flags at his former community college, some wondered if schools have the best processes in place to identify and treat such students.

Students with such violent tendencies often do not seek treatment at a campus counseling center, experts said, so their peers or teachers might see warning signs before counselors do.

Among students who do seek treatment, counselors are more likely to find students in danger of harming themselves than harming others, counselors said.

"It's on the radar screen, and it's something we really pay attention to,” Torresdal said.

There is a concern for some campus counselors about resources keeping up with demand.

“Demand for services has grown so much more than the resources,” said Terry Mason, director of Iowa State University's Counseling Service.

ISU's center completed 10,153 appointments last year. In the current year, demand for crisis appointments has increased 118 percent from last year, he said.