26 April, 2007: It has been noticed that more college students in Western North Carolina are seeking mental health services as their problems are becoming more severe and complex.

While the exact reasons for the rise in the number of those seeking psychological help remain unclear, local college counseling centers say this could be a part of the larger trend among colleges across the United States.

The immediate provocation could be the recent campus killings at Virginia Tech University.

As in the case of other colleges around the United States, officials at counseling centers at UNCA, Western Carolina University, Appalachian State University, and Warren Wilson College say that there is obviously an increase in the number of students seeking mental health services as well as an increase in the severity and complexity of students’ problems.

At UNCA, about 1,600 appointments were made at the counseling centre in 2007 – a 21% increase from the previous year. Most of the emergency calls came from students contemplating suicide or needing immediate help.

At ASU, 10% of students visit the counseling centre at least once during the school year. And, 40% of students contact the counseling centre some time during their four years at the school.

According to John Ritchie, head of counseling at WCU, the school has had a consistent annual increase in the number of students seeking counseling services over the past 20 years. There has been a rise of 53% in the number of students seeking counseling and a 100% increase in emergencies during the past five years.

When he first started working at WCU over 20 years ago, John Ritchie said, many students were seeking help for depression. Now, along with depression, students are struggling with anxiety issues, self-destructive behaviors and bipolar disorder, as well as substance abuse and issues related to sexual assault.

Art Shuster, director of counselling at Warren Wilson College, says that, 10 years ago, college counselling was mainly concerned with problems of living away from home or relationship problems.

Even as colleges try to deal with the large numbers of students with complex problems, the exact reasons for this rise is hard to locate.

As the number of college suicides started rising a decade ago, many schools responded by increasing their counselling services, with the result that more students now have access to these services when they come to school.

Cody Grasty, president of WCU student body, believes that students of his generation are more comfortable seeking mental health services. He recalls that his generation grew up in a situation there was little or no counseling available.

As mental health services and better medications are now available, more college students who were previously unable to attend college are now enrolled in higher education, says Dan Jones, director of counseling at ASU. According to him, 13% of the freshman class at ASU had taken medication for depression or other mental health problems in the past two years.

Substance abuse among students is on the rise. Counsellors say that the use of e-mail and instant messaging has led to lesser inter-personal contact, causing the students to withdraw when stressed.