Italian International student Leenda Maraldi has struggled with mental health since she was 8 years old, and has had chronic depression since before starting school at Castleton.

 She believes that young adults, especially college students have too much on their plate. Between keeping good grades, finding a job, maintaining relationships and financial struggles, she believes that sacrificing ones mental health becomes almost natural; but it never works.

            The rate of students looking for mental health counseling on college campuses has been steadily increasing in recent years, according to various studies.

This trend is happening at Castleton University as well, university officials said.

            According to statistics collected by The Wellness Center, the 2010-2011 school year saw 132 Castleton students receive counseling on campus.

In the 2014-2015 school year, 260 students got help.

            And the number continues to increase with 258 students already having been seen for counseling in this academic school year.

            “I think it's for a couple of factors, one being that we, as a society, are becoming more encouraging for young adults to open up about their mental health issues, so people are finally becoming more comfortable with sharing their issues and getting help,” Maraldi said. 

            Experts in The Wellness Center Amy Bremel, Jamie Bentley and Martha Coulter, collaboratively gave their opinion on the topic of counseling on campus.

            “In 2004, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act was signed into law by the U.S. Congress to reduce the incidence of suicide among college students,” Coulter wrote in an email representing the group. “Since then, higher education institutions have significantly increased efforts in suicide prevention, educating campus communicates about mental health, reducing stigma, increasing help-seeking, and increasing the ability of community members to identify students at risk and refer them for treatment.  These efforts could hypothetically produce a measurable increase in the overall demand for mental health services.”

            Both Maraldi, Bremel, Bentley and Coulter believe that it is important to note that many people have pre-existing conditions that they feel can potentially go untreated while at school, but that isn’t always the case.

            “I would say that it's probably true that many kids here are having issues with anxiety and depression. College is an awkward time for people,” said student Cara Cummings. “Meeting new friends, harder classes, heavier workload than high school, money issues, etc. can all take a toll on young people.”

It is not clear, school officials said, whether there has been an increase in the number of students who experience anxiety and depression. According to The Wellness Center officials in Coulter’s email, “it is more likely that students feel increasingly that it is acceptable to seek assistance for these issues.  Our students here at Castleton feel comfortable seeing a counselor and that is a good thing.”

Many believe that attempting to find a way to decrease the need for counseling is not the objective. Students say that the increase in the demand is showing positive signs that people are getting proper treatment.

“I don't think decreasing the need for counseling is part of solving the issue. We should rather try to completely eliminate the leftover stigma that still surrounds counseling, and making sure that no one feels embarrassed in getting help,” said Maraldi who mentioned that she would be lost without her weekly appointments.

 “By increasing the availability of counseling, I think we'd decrease the need. I think that many kids on campus just need someone unbiased to talk to like a health professional versus their friends,” Cummings said.

The Wellness Center encourages talking and confronting others with problems, but in a calm and collected way, in-person as opposed to texting, where much can get lost in translation.

The Wellness Center also offers outlets for students who are looking for ways to de-stress, educate the community about mental health and eliminate the stigma of counseling.

Examples include the Student Support Network, depression and alcohol screening days, the new “therapy dog” stress clinic and awareness campaigns sponsored by Peer Advocates for Change.

“There is no quick fix to anxiety and stress. Each person has to find the right mix of things that help them and it is a different recipe for each person,” said Coulter. “We try to give a menu of options allowing time to practice many of those options, in the hope that each student will find the activities or mechanism that will assist them in managing their stress and anxiety.

 “Research indicates that mental health and well-being are greatly increased when people feel connected to others, when they feel that they are important,” she said. Italian International student Leenda Maraldi has struggled with mental health since she was 8 years old, and has had chronic depression since before starting school at Castleton.

 She believes that young adults, especially college students have too much on their plate. Between keeping good grades, finding a job, maintaining relationships and financial struggles, she believes that sacrificing ones mental health becomes almost natural; but it never works.

            The rate of students looking for mental health counseling on college campuses has been steadily increasing in recent years, according to various studies.

This trend is happening at Castleton University as well, university officials said.

            According to statistics collected by The Wellness Center, the 2010-2011 school year saw 132 Castleton students receive counseling on campus.

In the 2014-2015 school year, 260 students got help.

            And the number continues to increase with 258 students already having been seen for counseling in this academic school year.

            “I think it's for a couple of factors, one being that we, as a society, are becoming more encouraging for young adults to open up about their mental health issues, so people are finally becoming more comfortable with sharing their issues and getting help,” Maraldi said. 

            Experts in The Wellness Center Amy Bremel, Jamie Bentley and Martha Coulter, collaboratively gave their opinion on the topic of counseling on campus.

            “In 2004, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act was signed into law by the U.S. Congress to reduce the incidence of suicide among college students,” Coulter wrote in an email representing the group. “Since then, higher education institutions have significantly increased efforts in suicide prevention, educating campus communicates about mental health, reducing stigma, increasing help-seeking, and increasing the ability of community members to identify students at risk and refer them for treatment.  These efforts could hypothetically produce a measurable increase in the overall demand for mental health services.”

            Both Maraldi, Bremel, Bentley and Coulter believe that it is important to note that many people have pre-existing conditions that they feel can potentially go untreated while at school, but that isn’t always the case.

            “I would say that it's probably true that many kids here are having issues with anxiety and depression. College is an awkward time for people,” said student Cara Cummings. “Meeting new friends, harder classes, heavier workload than high school, money issues, etc. can all take a toll on young people.”

It is not clear, school officials said, whether there has been an increase in the number of students who experience anxiety and depression. According to The Wellness Center officials in Coulter’s email, “it is more likely that students feel increasingly that it is acceptable to seek assistance for these issues.  Our students here at Castleton feel comfortable seeing a counselor and that is a good thing.”

Many believe that attempting to find a way to decrease the need for counseling is not the objective. Students say that the increase in the demand is showing positive signs that people are getting proper treatment.

“I don't think decreasing the need for counseling is part of solving the issue. We should rather try to completely eliminate the leftover stigma that still surrounds counseling, and making sure that no one feels embarrassed in getting help,” said Maraldi who mentioned that she would be lost without her weekly appointments.

 “By increasing the availability of counseling, I think we'd decrease the need. I think that many kids on campus just need someone unbiased to talk to like a health professional versus their friends,” Cummings said.

The Wellness Center encourages talking and confronting others with problems, but in a calm and collected way, in-person as opposed to texting, where much can get lost in translation.

The Wellness Center also offers outlets for students who are looking for ways to de-stress, educate the community about mental health and eliminate the stigma of counseling.

Examples include the Student Support Network, depression and alcohol screening days, the new “therapy dog” stress clinic and awareness campaigns sponsored by Peer Advocates for Change.

“There is no quick fix to anxiety and stress. Each person has to find the right mix of things that help them and it is a different recipe for each person,” said Coulter. “We try to give a menu of options allowing time to practice many of those options, in the hope that each student will find the activities or mechanism that will assist them in managing their stress and anxiety.

 “Research indicates that mental health and well-being are greatly increased when people feel connected to others, when they feel that they are important,” she said.