For students who are struggling with behaviors disorder, eating disorders, substance abuse problems, depression and related challenges, leaving home and heading to college can be a particularly daunting experience.

Over the past ten years, demand for student counseling services has increased dramatically at college campuses across the United States. A 2007 survey at Penn State found that 10 percent of its students were currently, or at one time had been, on some type of psychiatric medication.

"In response to demand, mental health professionals say theyve expanded their services and do extensive outreach on campus to reach more students," Pennsylvania newspaper The Evening Sun reported. "They also train faculty, staff and resident assistants to be on the lookout for students in crisis."

Campus mental health counselors are also beginning to specialize in topics such as depression and eating disorders. Counselors are available to talk not only to kids who need help, but also to those who are concerned that a student they know may be in trouble.

Labels: college_students, support, counseling

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George Washington University has started a new counseling program aimed at increasing awareness and treatment for eating disorders among college students.

Two key components of the push, which encourages students with eating disorders or body issues to seek help, are an improved treatment plan and increased outreach to at-risk groups, including women in sororities and athletes, said Dr. John Dages, the director of the UCC. (Source: The CW Hatchet)

Of the counseling center's 4,300 appointments from last year, about 10 percent were for eating disorder concerns -- though Dr. Dages believes the actual prevalence of eating disorder problems on campus is much higher. The program has implemented a new feature which enables students to set a counseling appointment within 24 hours of calling.

Labels: college_students, counseling

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A 2006 study conducted by the National Eating Disorders Association found that nearly one in five college students admitted to having suffered from an eating disorder. Despite this high number, though, few students ask for help.

Students' silence speaks to disordered thinking that characterizes the disease. "The nature of eating disorders ... is that there's a big period of denial," [Mary Commerford, director of Furman Counseling Center at Barnard] said. "Literally 'I'm doing this, it's normal, I don't have a problem.'" Source: Columbia (University) Spectator

Students who struggled with an eating disorder prior to college are especially at risk, because the added pressures of collegiate life make overcoming the disorders more difficult. Fear of their disorder becoming public also keeps many young disordered eaters from seeking help.

But getting help for an eating disorder can be as close as a confidential conversation with a counselor or an online discussion with an expert in the field. These simple steps can help a student get on the road to recovery and healthy living.

Labels: eating disorders, colleges, counseling, students

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