As summarized in last week’s report on Forbes.com, there are real challenges that the field of college mental health will likely face in 2025. However, the field is well-positioned to face these challenges. In fact, 2025 could accelerate the unique opportunities that college mental health provides, especially regarding being a high priority for the post-pandemic generation of students, receiving greater recognition as a benefit to society, being exempt from certain political conflicts, and receiving increased investments from university administrators.
Mental Health As A Priority For The Post-Pandemic Generation
A 2024 report on Forbes.com explained how the Class of 2028 is the first college cohort that experienced the global pandemic during the formative years of early adolescence. Though it’s too early to determine how different this cohort will be from previous generations of college students, it’s established that providing mental health support to the post-pandemic generation of students is a priority. A 2024 report on NewAmerica.org, an online think tank about various policies in the United States, found that nearly eight in ten Americans currently believe that colleges students need mental health support services from their schools. The 2024 Gallup-Lumina State of Higher Education Report indicated that emotional stress and personal mental health concerns are the top two reasons why current students discontinue their college enrollment, and that these reasons are ranked more than twice the percentage as financial costs.
This high priority opens the door for college mental health professionals to have conversations about expanding mental health services on campuses, experience less stigma from students about seeking counseling, and generate opportunities to showcase mental health services while recruiting future students. Furthermore, because of the upcoming enrollment cliff, and fewer college-age youth currently living on the planet, there’s high interest in support services that increase student retention. According to a 2024 study in the Journal of College Student Mental Health, about two-thirds of campus counseling centers’ clients reported that counseling services helped them stay enrolled in school.
Greater Recognition That College Mental Health Can Benefit Society
Another 2024 report on Forbes.com indicated that the value of college mental health remains high even though the public confidence in higher education is shrinking. Traditionally, college mental health was designed to offer limited/short-term counseling services. Similarly to many campus health centers, most student counseling centers focused on providing supportive services for acute and developmental needs, and students needing longer-term/specialized services were referred to an off-campus provider. This structure is consistent with the traditional mindset that colleges and universities are institutions of higher education and not treatment communities.
However, there’s growing recognition that campus counseling centers have unparallel access to the vital demographic of individuals between the ages of 18 and 25. Furthermore, most college campuses have ready-made facilities, modern technology, and an infrastructure already in place that no other health care system in America has. Thus, there’s acknowledgment that college mental health can have an important role in reducing the mental health epidemic in America. As described in a 2024 report on Forbes.com, many schools are developing new models of campus counseling, which includes collaborating with treatment providers to offer specialized programs on campus. These new models have the potential to treat more individuals with less cost than traditional models, which is significant as a 2024 report by U.S. News and World Report indicates that mental health illnesses cost America approximately $282 billion per year.
Being Exempt from Certain Political Conflicts
A 2024 report by USA Today showed that many Americans feel hopeless about the increasing polarization and divide among politicians. One way in which political contention affects higher education is the recent tendency of state legislators to pass Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bans. Unfortunately, many DEI bans include confusing language, such as prohibiting any campus office from offering differential treatment to students. However, the intention of politicians in using the term differential treatment is vastly different from how medical providers use the term. In fact, the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (which I serve as an executive board member) released a press release regarding concerns that health care providers have about many DEI bans. This message seems to resonate. States that passed DEI bans in 2024 include Alabama, Iowa, and Utah, all of which included exemptions/special considerations for health care providers. Representatives in other states, such as Texas, plan to introduce such exemptions in upcoming legislative sessions.
Increased Investments From University Administrators
Last week’s report also discussed how campus counseling centers must compete with the lures of private practice, and that many staff therapists can make more money, and control their own caseload and schedules, by leaving the field. Fortunately, it seems like university administrators are taking heed of this. The 2023 Director’s Survey from the AUCCCD indicated that 59.8% of directors who responded reported that either all or some of their staff received salary raises outside the cost-of-living adjustments.
College mental health is a premiere health care system in the world. College students are a vital demographic, most other health care systems cannot match the access and infrastructure of higher education, the work that college health providers do is respected by both political parties, and many universities are now finding ways to retain and recruit talent. Despite the challenges that are coming in 2025, there are many reasons to be optimistic.