Mental Health College Guide
Mental Health College Guide

We’re Here For You!

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or feel at risk of suicide:

Call 988 to speak with someone now

Go to your nearest emergency room

Get a list of mental health and suicide prevention resources HERE

For any other emergency, please dial 911

Understanding Students’ Approach To Their Mental Health

Generation Z tend to prioritize their mental health and wellbeing because they have a big-picture point of view on their life. They value their personal lives and work to keep a balance between personal wellbeing and their degrees and careers. This, however, doesn’t mean they’re not hard workers or don’t value work ethic. It’s a reprioritization of values based on the way they experience the world.

Further, students have matured in a time when there has been a general increased awareness and de-stigmatization of mental health issues, which leads to increased visibility and sensitivity to the importance of mental health. They are also the first generation that has grown up with the internet as a part of their daily lives, which informs so much of their worldview and access to information.

In summary, a typical Gen Zer is a self-driver who deeply cares about others, strives for a diverse community, is highly collaborative and social, values flexibility, relevance, authenticity and non-hierarchical leadership, and, while dismayed about inherited issues like climate change, has a pragmatic attitude about the work that has to be done to address those issues.

Senior Research Scholar, Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences

[…] equipping teenagers with smartphones that offer instant virtual access to their friends has reduced the incentives to spend time with friends in person. As a result, we find that Gen Z adults spent far less time during their teenage years simply hanging out with friends face-to-face than did any previous generation.

How Gen Z’s Formative Experiences Shape Its Politics, Priorities, and Future, Survey Center on American Life

More than one in four (27 percent) Generation Z adults—including nearly one-third (31 percent) of Gen Z women—report that they spent at least some of their teen years talking to a therapist. Twenty percent of millennials also report that they talked to a therapist at some point during their teen years. For Generation X and baby boomers, therapy was a fairly rare experience. Only 10 percent of Generation X Americans and 4 percent of baby boomers spent any time in therapy as teenagers.

How Gen Z’s Formative Experiences Shape Its Politics, Priorities, and Future, Survey Center on American Life

Social Media’s Influence

Social media exposes young people to current events in a way older generations did not experience, giving them a different perspective on the world. For example, they have access to first-person accounts of war, poverty, and racism that provide them an unfiltered look at the ‘real world’. This has been one factor leading to what has been called ‘collective generational trauma’.

What Are Students Looking For

With regard to mental health, students are typically looking for balance in school and life as well as a school culture that supports and proactively addresses mental health by promoting well-being, social connectedness, and accessible resources.

One national organization that accredits counseling centers at many colleges and universities recommends one therapist for every 250 students, a standard many schools fail to meet.

What Educators Can Do To Support Mental Health

Educators can support student mental health in several ways. Fundamentally, it’s important to talk about mental health so students feel that they can also discuss any difficulties they are having. Making students aware of all the resources available on campus (perhaps consider putting them into your syllabus) will also give students an idea of what to do if they are feeling overwhelmed or stressed. These simple actions help students feel that their college cares about them as people.