Another important context for understanding the challenge before us is
that “mental illness begins very early in life. Half of all lifetime cases be- gin by age 14; three quarters have begun by age 24. Thus, mental disorders
are really the chronic diseases of the young. For example, anxiety disor- ders often begin in late childhood, mood disorders in late adolescence, and
substance abuse in the early 20’s.”2
According to the 2014 American Col- lege Health Association’s National College Health Assessment, 49.3% of
graduate and professional student respondents across the nation reported
having felt “overwhelming anxiety” during the preceding 12 months.3
Of
the undergraduate respondents, 54.7% reported having felt “overwhelming
anxiety.”4
Depression, anxiety, and alcohol and drug abuse impact individual
students and the community as a whole with 10% to 15% of college
students in the United States reporting having experienced academic impairment
from mental distress. Whether in treatment or not, some studentsprofoundly affecting their families, friends, and campus communities.
may become suicidal as a result of the evolution of serious mental illness,