Counseling utilization on the rise
Counseling services have seen such a dramatic increase in demand that wait lists have begun to form. Health Services have been forced to adapt to meet demand.
CSB/SJU counseling services have seen a 10% increase in demand compared to last year. Improved social awareness of mental health, the continuing pandemic and the reduction in the stigma surrounding mental health seem to have driven this increase.
In the last 19 years, counseling services at CSB/SJU have seen utilization rise by nearly 2000 appointments.
Students have noticed this increase. Tiana Mick is one of leaders of the Active Minds, a mental health awareness club focused on changing the conversation surrounding mental health.
“I know it can sometimes be challenging with scheduling, especially with the increase in need,” Mick said.
The counseling service is an important resource for students and can be seen by its high utilization rate. Around 20% of CSB/SJU students utilize its services each year.
Executive Director of Counseling Mike Ewing has been helping CSB/SJU students since 1989. To keep up with demand, the department has been forced to adapt.
“We saw in September we were at a higher rate of students seeking counseling, we had to move people to every other week instead of continuing to meet with them weekly” Ewing said.
Waitlists are a reality scheduling must face. Not being able to see students as frequently is not what counseling services would like, but with the high demand compromises needed to be made.
“We want to provide effective care, but we have a responsibility to maintain access through the semester,” Ewing said.
To combat the waitlists, counseling services offer triage appointments which are short initial appointments that allow students to get in quickly, so no one goes straight to the waitlist.
After the initial short appointment, students will be put on a waitlist for full-length appointments.
Students started to be put on the waiting list within the first five weeks of the semester this year. This was an indicator of the larger back log that was to come.
“There are people on the waitlist who are coming up on five weeks,“ Ewing said. “That’s not how I want to serve students but that’s where we are.”
The counseling service currently employs five permanent counselors and three practicum counselors. Some concerns over the staff numbers have been raised by students.
“Making sure counseling services have enough counselors to adequately serve the students and their needs is important,” Mick said.
This surge of demand did not come out of thin air. The dramatic increase is a result of many complicated factors.
An obvious one is the ongoing global pandemic. The last 24 months since the pandemic began has put stress on students.
“We hear from science and media both talking about how during COVID mental health is being challenged for people,” Ewing said.
Reducing the stigma around mental health is another factor. Clubs like Active Minds and community events like Mental Health Awareness week have been helping CSB/SJU’s community take steps toward reducing the stigma.
To Mick, expanding the conversation and dialogue surrounding mental health is an important step that clubs like Active Minds can help the community take.
“So many people struggle themselves or know someone who has or is struggling so it has been so important to decrease that stigma by simply talking about it more and more,” Mick said.
