Many students suffer from mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and so on. However, over the years it has been common that many students struggle with these issues alone. 

Most of these issues start at home, or as a child and developed into bigger problems throughout adulthood. Statistics have shown that the amount of students seeking professional help, and nationwide public awareness for mental health has skyrocketed over the past years. Mental health awareness has now become much more significant to students, and is now being taken more seriously. 

Mental health has caused some students to drop out of school. Some find it too hard to manage while balancing everything else in their life. 

DePaul University has a counseling service that strictly offers help to students battling with mental health issues. There are 10 full-time psychologist and one psychiatrists between both the Loop and Lincoln Park campuses. Although these resources are available to students, there has still been concerns.

Many students have expressed concerns regarding the amount of resources available on campus, stating they believe DePaul’s University Counseling Services (UCS) is understaffed. “I was once told that I needed to wait 6-8 weeks to make an appointment with the UCS,” said Miyah, a DePaul student. “I had expected to be able to be seen sooner.”

The students interviewed for this story asked for their last names to be omitted for anonymity due to the sensitivity of this story.

These complaints have gotten back to the UCS, and some changes have already been implemented. Jeffrey Lanfear, director of university counseling services stated “the counseling center is doing more training of staff members, including resident advisors, academic success coaches, orientation leaders and other student leaders to help identify and refer distressed students.” He also mentions that their goal is to connect students to resources so they can succeed academically and personally. 

“The number of clients and total number of sessions increased by 16 percent from fall quarter 2018 to fall quarter 2019,” Lanfear said. 

Last year, the UCS began offering a workshop called “Feel Better Fast” twice a week. Students do not have to wait to access this workshop. It is meant for students to learn different skills and tools on how to cope with heavy thoughts, feelings, personal and outside relationships. This gives students some recommendations within a short time frame, while they may be waiting for other services. 

Although one-on-one counseling is much preferred in most cases, the UCS also offers group counseling. Group counseling has been very well received, as it permits students to receive support from their peers. This also allows students the ability to learn from others, limit the sense of isolation and provide them with reassurance that these are common issues. 

“I thought group counseling was going to make me feel uncomfortable, but it was more satisfying than I thought. I felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one going through what I was going through,” said DePaul junior Christian. 

It is DePaul’s goal to build a stronger community and sense of care on campus, providing students with resources such as counseling services, student affairs and other social support groups. “Research indicates that fostering engagement and social support results in better academic and personal outcomes”. 

It is important that students utilize all the resources offered on campus and continue to spread the word. College students are one of the main groups of people that suffer from mental health issues. Alongside getting professional help, here are a few things students can do in the meantime to keep yourself balanced. 

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the university staffs about six psychologists and psychiatrists. The university employs 10 full-time psychologists and one psychiatrist.