The Boston Globe (10/29, Fernandes) reports that the rise in suicides among college-aged people “has left many campuses across the country grappling with how best to help the growing number of students who are suffering from depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental health issues.” Some colleges are increasing “counseling services or deploying mobile apps that allow students to routinely check in on their emotional health,” while others “are training academic advisers to spot the signs of depression and embedding counselors in campus cultural groups to help students of color, who may be less likely to seek traditional therapy.” While exact numbers for suicides among college students are difficult to ascertain, a recent review by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting “found that from 2007 to 2016, at least 18 students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and 8 students each at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University killed themselves.”
Related Links:
— “Colleges struggle to help growing number of students with mental health trouble, ” Deirdre Fernandes, The Boston Globe, October 29, 2019