Campus Tragedy Prompts Closer Look at Mental Health of College Students

Abstract

THE PATTERN HAS BECOME AS CONsistent as the perennial rhythm of mortarboards and commencement speakers. As spring arrives, so do the phone calls. Richard Kadison, MD, chief of mental health services at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass, fields about 20 to 30 calls every spring and summer from parents of incoming students concerned that a son or daughter will need help from the university to maintain psychotherapy sessions or obtain refills of psychiatric medications. “I’m delighted when I get called in the spring,” Kadison says. “I congratulate [parents] for calling and encourage them, whatever is working [for their child], to continue that and to make contact with us early in the fall when they arrive.” If the family lives nearby, he suggests they visit Harvard’s campus and make arrangements for care before school starts. “We’ll talk to them and get things in place,” he says. “It’s really reassuring.” As the current school year comes to an end, the need for reassurance is in the spotlight on college campuses. In the initial weeks following the tragic shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg, many schools immediately focused on reviewing their safety policies and crisis response procedures. But the episode also raises broader questions about how students’ mental health care is being monitored and whether schools are adequately equipped to oversee their students’ mental well-being as well as their education. EVERYDAY STRUGGLES Every fall, thousands of students who come to campus are already taking a psychiatric medication or involved in regular psychotherapy sessions. While extreme violence to others by individuals with mental health disorders is rare—suicide is far more frequent than homicide at colleges—campus health