You’ve hit Bed, Bath and Beyond with your daughter multiple times. Your son still needs to pick up his room key and student ID card. College move-in weekend is a whirlwind of stress and excitement –meeting roommates, buying last minute toiletries and snacks, campus welcome activities. But there is one often-overlooked stop during college move-in that can be a key factor in your kid’s success this academic year – the college counseling center.

If your teenager has never really had any significant mental health issues up to this point, she is starting off on some good footing. However, it is hard to predict how the stressors of college can impact anyone’s emotional well-being. While college brings wonderful experiences and opportunities for growth, there are many factors that can contribute to stress. This may include: first time for independent living, meeting new people and establishing new connections, academic pressures, and disruptions in sleeping and eating patterns. Students also may face new and difficult choices regarding sex, drugs, and alcohol. All of these elements, and more, can conspire to rock your adolescent emotionally. This can manifest as excessive drinking, disordered eating, missed classes and assignments, anxiety, depression, self-injury, and for some, thoughts of suicide. A handful of students find themselves leaving school mid-semester due to mental health issues, putting their academic pursuits on hold until they get treatment and feel better.

The college counseling center can be a soft place for students to land and an important resource for those who are struggling. By taking the time to check out where the counseling center is and how it operates, you are preparing your teen to access it if and when she needs it. Since each university’s center is organized a bit differently, here are some elements to look out for:

  • Physical location of center: Find out where the counselors are located. Their offices may be right in the student center, in another administrative building, or off-campus. See if they are easily accessible for your teen or if there is a need to take a shuttle.
  • How to set up an appointment: Some centers are set up so that you can make an appointment online, on the phone, or simply by walking in. Is there usually a delay in being seen? Can students be seen on a walk-in basis?
  • Number of Sessions/Cost: University policies vary greatly. Some have free and unlimited sessions. Others involve fees per session and/or a limited number of sessions before being referred to an off-campus therapist.
  • Groups: Does the center run any support groups? This would be different from one-to-one counseling where your teen would be placed in a group of peers dealing with similar issues (i.e. anxiety, grief, stress).
  • Psychiatrist on staff: Does the center have a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner on staff to provide psychiatric evaluations in case medication or a higher level of care is needed?
  • Ways to report concerns: Some schools have procedures in place for concerned friends, roommates, peers, teachers, staff or family to let the counselors know that there may be an issue going on for a student. This allows a counselor to check in with the student and the reporter remains anonymous.

“The college counseling center can be a soft place for students to land and an important resource for those who are struggling.”

If your teen is already diagnosed with a mental health issue, there may be other things to consider to ensure that he is adequately supported.

  • Therapy: How will he continue to receive therapy while at school? If he is continuing with his current therapist through teletherapy, help him establish a private place in which he can virtually “meet” with her. If he can be seen through the college’s counseling center, make sure he knows where it is and how he can set up an initial appointment. If he is seeing a local therapist off-campus, figure out the logistics of how he’ll get there and how payment will be arranged.
  • Medication: If he is prescribed medication, where will he be able to get refills? Locate the nearest pharmacy and take note of the address and phone number so that it can be provided to the prescribing clinician. How will he be seen by a prescriber for medication management? Will he be returning home to visit with his original prescriber, or will he be seeing a new one on or off campus? It’s important to maintain continuity so that he doesn’t find himself depleted of important medication. Is he consistent with taking his medication? If he has difficulty remembering, suggest setting phone reminders or using a pill box. If his medication includes controlled substances, you may consider getting a room safe for him to securely store medication.
  • On-campus support: Even if your student will be using off-campus resources, it is important for them to know where they can find on-campus support in case of a crisis. Even if not for themselves, it may be important to know for a roommate or friend.

Preparing your college student on how to find and use her college’s counseling center can make her more comfortable accessing it before problems get too out of hand. While most schools have good websites that cover their counseling information, physically seeing or visiting the counseling center while your teen is moving onto campus will go a long way. You may get some resistance, but I encourage you to at least walk your teen past the college counseling center before you take off in your newly emptied car. You’ll be glad you did.

 

<Photo Credit: Henrique Felix via Unsplash>