Kara Tao: Mental Health Policies in College Campuses
Mental health issues have always been present in college life, as students go through many complex transitions. From leaving the comforts of home and adjusting to dorm life, to finding new support systems, these transitions are unquestionably overwhelming. However, the larger question is, how often students speak up about these struggles? Many students are often afraid to communicate their struggles due to academic consequences, social pressures, and many other factors. At Yale, one of the greatest unspoken rules is the idea of trying to “fit in” to a culture of academic excellence and the standard of a “perfect Yale student” that everyone should strive toward. There are internships, clubs, and fellowships to apply for, grades to maintain, and future careers to plan for. These aspirations come with heavy sacrifices such as friendships, sleep, and more dangerously, efforts to hide one’s own internal struggles. Tyler Brown says to the Yale Daily News, “The bar is so high…You have to perform and you have to be healthy in order to meet this vision of a Yale student. People will keep moving on and say, ‘Okay, you know, everyone around me seems to be doing fine. They’re not struggling. I should be fine, too” (Hodgman, 2021). It’s a culture that feeds itself and keeps on growing and will continue until students and institutions recognize and become aware of the pressure, anxiety, and frustration that tug at every student.
Lipson et al. (2022) conducted a survey collecting data from 373 campuses across the United States, finding that over 60% of college students “met the criteria for at least one mental health problem.” The finding from the American College Health Association that almost three quarters of students are struggling under moderate to severe psychological stress raises serious concerns (Abrams, 2022). Despite the staggering numbers, colleges seem to have turned their heads to these grim undercurrents. In the past, students at Yale who were struggling with mental health were pushed by faculty to withdraw, and in doing so, had a 72-hour time limit to leave campus and were prohibited to come back to campus without the permission of the dean. In addition, withdrawn students were required to go through an application process for reinstatement that included letters of recommendation and evidence of being “constructively occupied” during the withdrawal period. Yale students who were interviewed by the Washington Post have stated that they lost access to therapy, medication, and healthcare that was originally provided by Yale. A withdrawal process which comes along with a number of academic and health consequences only feeds into the pressure of “staying afloat” in college, treating mental health struggles as something to be punished (Wan, 2023).
These strict policies aren’t just limited to Yale University, but exist in many other peer institutions. A 2018 study from the Ruderman Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization advocating for mental health awareness, revealed poor practices in their established mental health policies. The study graded each university on the mental health climate in their campuses, with the highest grade being only a D+. They found that half of the Ivy League schools do not regard mental health as a sufficient justification for a leave of absence. This is in violation of federal law according to the Gambini vs. Total Renal Care case, stating that discrimination of disability-related conduct should be treated the same as discrimination based on disability. Half of the schools also prohibited students from visiting campus during their leave of absence, adding to the social isolation students experience. Lastly, half of the schools do not mention the possibility of accommodations as a potential alternative for leave of absence. The Americans with Disabilities Act states that students with disabilities are entitled to receive accommodations so that they can get support on campus without having to resort to leave of absence. Students are often unaware of these rights due to lack of transparency (Heyman, 2018).
Thus, it came as a shock on Wednesday, January 18, that the Dean of Yale College, Pericles Lewis, announced various changes in policies related to mental health and withdrawal. Most notably, students who need to spend time away from university are considered to be on “a medical leave of absence” rather than withdrawn. Along with this change, students will be able to transition to Yale Health Undergraduate Affiliate Coverage, thus maintaining financial support throughout medical leave. Regarding the reinstatement process, letters of recommendation and requirement of being “constructively occupied” have been eliminated. These changes have been great and uplifting news, and are especially rewarding considering the lasting efforts of mental health advocacy and student petitions (Wan, 2023).
Nonetheless, as a growing number of students continue to seek therapy, the policy changes announced by Yale are only the first steps to equitably address the growing mental health crisis in universities. Other institutions must follow the same steps and continue to recognize and respond to mental health challenges faced by students, especially considering the concerning findings from the Ruderman Family Foundation. Interestingly, a study by Kirsch et al. (2014) found that peer-based mental health initiatives have led to increases in student consultations and improvement in students’ well-being. They cite the high frequency in which students seek mental health support from friends, emphasizing the importance of peer-based resources to empower students to be supportive when friends are experiencing mental health struggles. A case study of the Student Support Network (SSN) Training developed in the Worcester Polytechnic Institute recruits student leaders in a 6-week training program so they can be better equipped to help their peers. There were over 400 students trained on campus, leading to a 500% increase in counseling center consultations. Peer support has been linked to “positive effects of hope, recovery and empowerment at and beyond the end of intervention” (Lloyd-Evans, 2014).Thus, there is evidence that certain mental health resources not only increase the amount of students who seek out support, but also lead to benefits in health and well-being.
It was empowering to hear the news that leave of absence policies have been revised, and these changes can serve as an example to many other institutions that still maintain strict and inflexible standards regarding mental health support and accommodation. Importantly, there should be efforts to increase transparency about student rights protected under federal law and Americans with Disabilities Act, which can be communicated via student organizations or institutions themselves.
Kara Tao is a first year at Yale University in Morse College
Citations
Abrams, Z. (2022). Student Mental Health is in Crisis. Campuses are Rethinking Their Approach. American Psychological Association, 53(7), 60–60.
Heyman, M. (2018). The Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health in the Ivy League. Ruderman Family Foundation.
Hodgman, L. (2021, November 4). “Not What This System Was Designed to Handle”: Searching for Mental Health Care at Yale. Yale Daily News.
Kirsch, D., Pinder-Amaker, S., Morse, C., Ellison, M., Doerfler, L., & Riba, M. (2014). Population-Based Initiatives in College Mental Health: Students Helping Students to Overcome Obstacles. Curr. Psychiatry Rep.
Lipson, S., Zhou, S., Abelson, S., Heinze, J., Jirsa, M., Morigney, J., Patterson, A., Singh, M., & Eisenberg, D. (2022). Trends in College Student Mental Health and Help-Seeking by Race/Ethnicity: Findings From the National Healthy Minds Study, 2013–2021. Journal of Affective Disorders, 306, 138–147.
Lloyd-Evans, B., Mayo-Wilson, E., Harrison, B., Istead, H., Brown, E., Pilling, S., Johnson, S., Kendall, T. (2014). A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials of Peer Support for People With Severe Mental Illness. BMC Psychiatry.
Wan, W. (2023, January 19). Yale Changes Mental Health Policies for Students in Crisis. The Washington Post.
