Literature review
Depression is widely acknowledged as one of the most pressing mental illnesses in our society today. It is especially prevalent in the college student population, and about 1/3 of a general college population is affected by depression (Zivin, 2009). In an NCHA (National College Health Assessment) report from 2009, 43% of students reported feeling at least once that they felt so depressed that it was difficult to function, and 62% said that they felt hopeless. And this has only increased in recent years (Buchanan, 2012).
Depression is also linked to various other health and academic concerns, such as decreased GPA scores, increased levels of smoking, increased alcohol consumption, anxiety, self-injurious behavior, decreased productivity, suicidal ideation, and suicide (Buchanan, 2012). Suicide, in fact, is now the third leading cause of death in 18-24 year olds (Kisch, 2005). The persistence of mental health problems on college campuses has also been widely researched, especially as to why students in college do not actively seek treatment. One of these concerns is the adequacy and availability/access to treatment that students have.
Adequacy of depression care is known to be a major problem among the general adult population in the United States, but this issue hasn't been investigated in the college population. College students tend to be younger and often mobile, which makes likelihood of seeking treatment minimal (Eisenberg, 2012). The stigma that exists on college campuses surrounding mental illness also makes it hard for students to feel obligated to visit their school's counseling center, as having depression is viewed as weak and as something that someone can simply "get over" and move on. Depression is often a chronic, relapsing disorder and many clinics on campus are only able to provide a limited number of mental health sessions and refer students to mental health specialty services off-campus for longer-term care (Eisenberg, 2012). However, it is often hard for students to seek out this type of treatment if it is not local, and often financial barriers impede students from being able to seek this help. On-campus mental health services often have little to no co-payment fees, and if referred to the outside community, students may have limited capability or flexibility financially to seek this out.
When looking at policy changes at various counseling centers at a number of institutions, one of the arguments for increased support is that students have a "therapeutic entitlement". This means that students with serious mental health problems should have the right to demand mental health care from the counseling center at their institution (Mowbray, 2006). However, this is said to not be the mission of college counseling centers in that they have more of a holistic approach to mental illness, providing a wide range of services. However, there is still argued to be a lack of resources to meet pressing student needs, even with this said wide range of services. Some researchers argue that student health services and campus counseling centers often have not kept pace with the increased need for treatment (Voelker, 2003).
My goal of this website and of this research project is to do exactly what these researchers have done: look into the adequacy of treatment for depression at Emory. Based on my own experience with the counseling center and the experiences of my friends, I think that the counseling center is underserving its student population by not offering students the option of long-term counseling on campus. While the counseling center does use a referral process once a semester of sessions has bene used, these options are often inconvenient for students and are still no longer free, even if they are low-cost. I want to investigate whether students on Emory's campus feel supported by the counseling center and if there is a barrier preventing them from seeking treatment.
Depression is also linked to various other health and academic concerns, such as decreased GPA scores, increased levels of smoking, increased alcohol consumption, anxiety, self-injurious behavior, decreased productivity, suicidal ideation, and suicide (Buchanan, 2012). Suicide, in fact, is now the third leading cause of death in 18-24 year olds (Kisch, 2005). The persistence of mental health problems on college campuses has also been widely researched, especially as to why students in college do not actively seek treatment. One of these concerns is the adequacy and availability/access to treatment that students have.
Adequacy of depression care is known to be a major problem among the general adult population in the United States, but this issue hasn't been investigated in the college population. College students tend to be younger and often mobile, which makes likelihood of seeking treatment minimal (Eisenberg, 2012). The stigma that exists on college campuses surrounding mental illness also makes it hard for students to feel obligated to visit their school's counseling center, as having depression is viewed as weak and as something that someone can simply "get over" and move on. Depression is often a chronic, relapsing disorder and many clinics on campus are only able to provide a limited number of mental health sessions and refer students to mental health specialty services off-campus for longer-term care (Eisenberg, 2012). However, it is often hard for students to seek out this type of treatment if it is not local, and often financial barriers impede students from being able to seek this help. On-campus mental health services often have little to no co-payment fees, and if referred to the outside community, students may have limited capability or flexibility financially to seek this out.
When looking at policy changes at various counseling centers at a number of institutions, one of the arguments for increased support is that students have a "therapeutic entitlement". This means that students with serious mental health problems should have the right to demand mental health care from the counseling center at their institution (Mowbray, 2006). However, this is said to not be the mission of college counseling centers in that they have more of a holistic approach to mental illness, providing a wide range of services. However, there is still argued to be a lack of resources to meet pressing student needs, even with this said wide range of services. Some researchers argue that student health services and campus counseling centers often have not kept pace with the increased need for treatment (Voelker, 2003).
My goal of this website and of this research project is to do exactly what these researchers have done: look into the adequacy of treatment for depression at Emory. Based on my own experience with the counseling center and the experiences of my friends, I think that the counseling center is underserving its student population by not offering students the option of long-term counseling on campus. While the counseling center does use a referral process once a semester of sessions has bene used, these options are often inconvenient for students and are still no longer free, even if they are low-cost. I want to investigate whether students on Emory's campus feel supported by the counseling center and if there is a barrier preventing them from seeking treatment.