Mental health services – another way we’re removing barriers
Throughout the pandemic there have been numerous reports about the toll aspects of COVID have taken on mental health. We know isolation is tough on most people and for younger folks who are used to spending time with friends, it can be especially hard. Add in remote learning, illness, death and loss of jobs and you have a recipe for depression and anxiety unlike we’ve ever seen in our teens and young adults.
I have a 13-year-old and I’ve seen how the pandemic affected him and his friends. Sure, they enjoy their video games, but they also like seeing their friends at school and spending time together.
Remote learning is not for everyone and we’re now seeing the consequences of it because many high school grads are not prepared for college. In addition to that, we are seeing the negative impact of isolation as well.
People of all ages are stressed, and young people are struggling. A new Gallup survey of 5,200 college students showed 76 percent of bachelor’s degree students and 63 percent of associate degree students have considered dropping out because of emotional stress.
Additionally, a recent Hechinger Report article looked at the crucially important role mental health services play in college success. The piece says 40 percent of college students experience depression and one third suffer from anxiety. And even more concerning is that one in eight have suicidal thoughts.
Like many other higher education institutions, KCTCS began offering mental health services for students during the pandemic and we are continuing to make them available. TAO (Therapy Assistance Online) includes educational sessions covering a variety of topics related to mental health, wellness and substance abuse issues. There are interactive sessions and mindfulness exercises to help students stay on or get back on track.
For some time, our colleges also have had Behavioral Intervention Teams and a plan for helping students with mental health issues. These teams receive specific training to help them understand what our students need.
Most recently, our colleges entered into partnerships with Family Scholar House, which provides coaching and mentoring along with access and referrals to social services.
We offer these services and partnerships because we know it’s important to take care of the whole student. Even though we’re here to provide Kentuckians better lives through education, we know that can’t happen if life issues interfere.
Our students differ from university students. A large number of them are first-generation, low income, have jobs and dependents. This means their lives are already stressful. Add to that low self-confidence and anxiety about college classes and it’s easy to see how mental health issues can occur.
All of this is to say, I believe we still don’t know the entire picture of how the pandemic has affected our students. What we do know is that mental health and the ability to learn are closely related.
Community colleges were created to provide equal access to affordable higher education. We take that very seriously and want to be sure we’re removing as many barriers as possible for our students. Providing mental health services is one more way we do that.
