Schools see rise in student mental health issues

Students at Thunder Bay's college and university dealing with a rise in mental health issues including anxiety and depression, counsellors say.

"I’ve definitely seen a trend, an increase in students using our services," said Linda Gluck, from the Student Success Centre at Confederation College.

Problems can range from unusual sleeping habits or lack of appetite to depression and, sometimes, thoughts of suicide. The pressure to do well in school is a common cause for some mental health issues, Gluck said.

Statistics from the college also show that more students are taking anti-depressant medication, she said.

A similar increase in the incidence of mental health problems has been noted at Thunder Bay's Lakehead University.

"We know the numbers are up," said Karen Chan, manager of the school's health and counselling centre.

People more open about issues

Part of the increase seems to be attributed to a greater acceptance of seeking professional help, Gluck said, as the social stigma around mental health issues has changed over time.

"More and more people are just not as fearful of speaking about it," she said. "I think people are becoming more comfortable in having the conversations."

Gluck also said post-secondary students are vulnerable to mental health issues because they often strike people between the age of 15 and 24.

"Unfortunately this is the timeframe when people are diagnosed with mental health issues so we are actually catching them at these early stages," she said.

Mental health first aid

Although the numbers of those seeking help is up, both schools try to reach out to all students so they are aware of what services are available.

"Here on the college level we provide them any type of support that they will need professionally," said Gluck, adding that services can range from creating coping strategies to referrals to the local clinic for medication.

Lakehead University also trains faculty and staff in what it calls "mental health first aid," to recognize when students appear to be struggling, Chan said.

"It’s a course that hopes to make participants more aware" and to direct students to the appropriate centres and services, she said.

The school plans to offer similar training to students next year.

"We always worry about the ones that we aren’t seeing, the ones that are missing information about our services," Chan said.