Mental Well-Being in the Covid Era - Students are struggling. How are colleges trying to help?
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ARTICLE
COLLECTION
Mental
Well-Being
in the
Covid Era
Students are struggling.
How are colleges trying to help?
With
Support
From
Togetherall proudly partners with the Chronicle of Higher Education to bring this special content report to colleges and universities as an ongoing resource to develop effective solutions for student mental health concerns during—and beyond—the era of COVID-19. We also applaud the commitment, resources, innovative thinking and tireless efforts that higher-education professionals have invested, and continue to invest, in order to support the mental wellness of their students to nurture a thriving campus community. Togetherall is an online peer-to-peer mental health community monitored by mental health practitioners that empowers individuals to safely, anonymously seek and provide support 24/7. At the start of 2021, students from nearly 200 colleges and universities used the Togetherall platform. During the pandemic, Togetherall’s user base of college students has seen nearly a quarter-million logins and more than 100,000 conversations. I would like to acknowledge the mental health leaders at these institutions for taking a proactive step to address the escalating need for mental health support during this crisis by incorporating Togetherall as a resource for their students. Togetherall has always believed the first rule of success in the student mental health arena is community. This is ingrained in our culture and evident in our continual assessment of students’ user experience, level of engagement, changing mental health concerns and expressed need for support. Creating a community demonstrates our commitment to working in full partnership with institutions to integrate the Togetherall platform as a component of a comprehensive, campus- specific mental health program. The power of community is also driving the success of colleges and universities nationwide who support students academically, physically and emotionally during the extraordinary challenges of COVID-19. We are honored to contribute to the sharing of experiences and best practices contained on the following pages, and we very much see these stories as a continuation of the collaboration that will enable higher-education institutions to achieve thriving campus communities for generations to come. Sincerely, Matthew McEvoy SVP and General Manager, North America Togetherall
Mental Well-Being in the Covid Era
Students are struggling. How are colleges trying to help?
I
n recent years, the dramatic rise in students’ men- summer of 2020 found that 25 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds
tal-health problems has been a pressing concern on had considered suicide within the previous 30 days.
college campuses, and the nation’s frightening, inter- Uncertainty, upheaval, and strife have continued to
twined crises — the pandemic, reckoning over racism, dominate the news. In this fraught, stressful time, college
and political strife — have only increased students’ leaders have been striving to develop creative approach-
distress and deepened educators’ worries. es to promote campus well-being and deal with students’
Active Minds, a nonprofit organization that advocates troubles — a task made even more difficult by the isola-
for mental-health education and awareness for young tion, physical distancing, and financial strains imposed by
adults, reported this summer that 89 percent of college Covid-19.
students are experiencing stress or anxiety as a result of This Chronicle collection includes articles and advice
Covid-19. One in four reported an increase in depression. pieces that examine the state of mental health among col-
Seventy-eight percent felt lonely or isolated. Fifty-six per- lege students, new approaches to college counseling and
cent report that their level of daily physical activity has de- psychological services, online mental-health resources,
creased or dramatically decreased. And a survey conduct- and innovative strategies that colleges are taking to ensure
ed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the the well-being of their students.
4 College Students Have
Been Stressed Out During
12 Students of Color Are Not
OK. Here’s How Colleges
24 How to Prepare for the
Coming Flood of Student
the Pandemic. Here’s Can Support Them. Mental-Health Needs.
How It’s Affected Their As the pandemic and the racial- A fall to-do list to help counseling
injustice crisis continue to take centers get ready for the surge of
Mental Health. a toll on Black people and other students who will seek help when
The effects of Covid-19 are likely marginalized groups, colleges face classes resume amid Covid-19.
to make an impact on the mental a newfound urgency to support the
29 How
health of many students for some mental health of students of color.
time. Here’s a look at students’ Colleges Can Ease
18 Covid-19
concerns and stressors.
Has Worsened Students’ Fear and Anxiety
8 Shock, Fear, and Fatalism:
As Coronavirus Prompts
the College Mental-Health
Crisis. Can Resilience
in Quarantine
Care packages, safe workouts,
support groups, and even limited
Colleges to Close, Students Training Fix it? outdoor time are all ways colleges
are trying to support students in
Grit and resilience have become
Grapple With Uncertainty especially salient ideas as colleges
on-campus isolation housing.
34 Colleges
As campuses closed in the spring try to respond to students’ mental-
of 2020, students struggled with health troubles, but is that the right
stress and anxiety, and campus message to send to students — Are Canceling
leaders found themselves to push through hardship, bounce Spring Break. In Its Place:
struggling to help in uncharted back from failure, and come out
territory. stronger? Or should it be about ‘Wellness Days.’
empathy, compassion, and getting A growing number of colleges
through this time in one piece? have announced plans to cancel
class on a handful of days
sprinkled throughout the spring
semester. They’re a good idea in
concept, but success depends
on how they are designed and
rolled out.
Cover image: Chronicle Illustration, Getty Images
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College Students Have Been
Stressed Out During the
Pandemic. Here’s How It’s
Affected Their Mental Health.
By AUDREY WILLIAMS JUNE
ALAMY
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 4 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion
B
eing a college student often comes vesting in programs and services to support
with a set of struggles, like homesick- student mental health,” Sarah Ketchen
ness, poor time-management skills, Lipson, an assistant professor of health law,
and impostor syndrome. Add a global policy, and management at Boston Univer-
pandemic to the mix, which has sity, said in a news release about the survey.
disrupted students’ education, wiped out “Our prior research has shown that men-
their finances, and upended their social- tal-health problems such as depression are
support systems, and the stage is set for associated with a twofold increase in the
them to experience a wide range of psycho- likelihood of dropping out of college.”
logical repercussions. The survey showed that administrators
New research from the Healthy Minds and professors received high marks for the
Network and the American College Health support they provided during the pandemic.
Association shows that depression is one College administrators were deemed sup-
of those repercussions, with the rate of de- portive or very supportive by 69 percent of
pression among students rising since the students, with 78 percent saying the same
start of the pandemic. The survey of more about their professors.
than 18,000 college students on 14 cam- The effects of Covid-19 are likely to
puses, conducted between late March and make an impact on the mental health of
May, also provides a look at some of the fac- many students for some time. Here’s a look
tors contributing to the coronavirus-related at students’ concerns and stressors.
stress college students are dealing with.
Audrey Williams June is the news-data
One of the lead researchers of the annual
manager at The Chronicle. She explores and
national Healthy Minds study said the sur-
analyzes data sets, databases, and records to
vey’s findings can be of use to colleges as they
uncover higher-education trends, insights,
prepare to welcome students back to campus
and stories.
— in one form or another — this fall.
“There is a strong economic case for in- Originally published July 13, 2020
CONCERNS ABOUT THE FUTURE
Students identified the following worries in response to this question: Over the past two weeks, on
average, how much have you been concerned with the following?
Chart: Audrey Williams June
Source: The Healthy Minds Network/American College Health Association:, “The Impact of Covid-19 on Student Well-Being” Created with Datawrapper.
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 5 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a
FINANCIAL FALLOUT
Two-thirds of students said their financial situation had become more stressful because of the pandemic.
Chart: Audrey Williams June
Source: The Healthy Minds Network/American College Health Association:, “The Impact of Covid-19 on Student Well-Being”
Created with Datawrapper.
HARD TO GET HELP
Most of the students who sought mental-health services said the pandemic made it difficult for them to do so.
How has your access to mental-health care been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic?
Note: Over all, 58.2 percent of students indicated that they have not tried to Chart: Audrey Williams June
access mental-health care. Data represents the 41.8 percent of students Source: The Healthy Minds Network/American College Health
who did attempt to seek care. Association:, “The Impact of Covid-19 on Student Well-Being”
Created with Datawrapper.
MENTAL HEALTH BEFORE AND AFTER
The share of students with depression was up this spring, along with the percentage of students whose
mental health affected their academic performance.
Chart: Audrey Williams June
Source: The Healthy Minds Network/American College Health Association:, “The Impact of Covid-19 on Student Well-Being” Created with Datawrapper.
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 6 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion
STRONG SUPPORT
Students overwhelmingly reported that their college’s administration and their professors were supportive as
the pandemic unfolded.
Chart: Audrey Williams June
Source: The Healthy Minds Network/American College Health Association:, “The Impact of Covid-19 on Student Well-Being” Created with Datawrapper.
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 7 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a
Shock, Fear, and Fatalism:
As Coronavirus Prompts
Colleges to Close, Students
Grapple With Uncertainty
By ALEXANDER C. KAFKA
JASON ANDREW FOR THE CHRONICLE
Alana Hendy, a junior at Georgetown U., is now at her family’s home, in Bowie, Md. Speaking of her classmates, she says, “a lot of
people are anxious because not everyone can afford a flight home or a flight to campus to pick up their stuff.”
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 8 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion
E
ffectively booted off campus in an ef- and now that’s sort of thrown into flux.”
fort to contain coronavirus contagion, Her grandparents had planned to go to D.C.
hundreds of thousands of college stu- for her graduation.
dents are reacting with shock, uncer- Angle knows, however, that “there are
tainty, sadness, and, in some cases, a whole lot of people suffering a lot more
devil-may-care fatalism. Even as they hur- from this. I have a safe home to go to, par-
riedly arrange logistical details, the stress ents who are happy to take me in. It’s most-
of an uncertain future is taking a toll. ly just the stress of uncertainty.”
“A lot of people are anxious because not
everyone can afford a flight home or a flight
to campus to pick up their stuff,” says Al- Even as students
ana Hendy, a Georgetown University ju-
nior studying international relations. She is
hurriedly arrange logistical
among the rapidly growing number of stu- details, the stress of
dents nationwide who were urged not to re-
turn to campus after spring break as cours- an uncertain future is
es shift online.
Hendy too is anxious, she says, but she is
taking a toll.
more confused as she sorts through uncer-
tainties concerning her living and academic ‘UTTER PANDEMONIUM’
arrangements. A low-income student from
Bowie, Md., she says it would be better if she Not everyone is adjusting so philosophi-
stayed on campus because her father suffers cally. Students are “definitely freaking out,”
from chronic obstructive pulmonary dis- says a junior at Harvard, who asked not to
ease and diabetes, and is particularly vul- be named for fear of reprisal by the univer-
nerable to Covid-19, the illness caused by sity. The week before spring break is aca-
the new coronavirus. She filed a form asking demically hectic, so students were turning
to be allowed to remain in her dorm but may in problem sets and papers, then head-
not get an answer until next week. ing home, when they learned their classes
Among the questions on her mind: What would move online and they were to leave
will happen to her work-study job, in the campus. In some cases they zipped right
dean’s office at the School of Foreign Ser- back to Cambridge, Mass., to try to pack up,
vice? How will her responsibilities as a store, or ship their belongings.
teaching assistant in a geography class “It’s utter pandemonium on campus
change with the new online format? right now,” the student says. “Everybody is
But counterbalancing the uncertainties, partying all day or incredibly stressed out
she says, is support offered by the universi- about homework, or both. People really
ty. It is helping defray low-income students’ seem upset and confused.”
costs for shipping medication, books, and And they’re not exactly following the
other necessities, for example. And the cam- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
pus’s food pantry is open and stocked twice protocol, the student says, with parties out-
a week, which, she says, “we’re grateful for.” doors and in, “scorpion” punch bowls, and
So she’ll cope with the situation, week by games of beer pong, “one of the least sterile
week. And after law school or a doctorate in things to be doing right now.”
history, when she’s a professor, she imag- Similar seize-the-day mayhem broke out
ines she’ll look back at the Covid-19 pan- at the University of Dayton on Tuesday, when
demic as a case study. it said its classes would be moved online.
For Rachel P. Angle, a Georgetown senior What was initially reported to be a protest
from Middletown, Conn., studying govern- against the university’s anti-virus measures
ment and living off campus, the academic was in fact, the administration says, “one
disruption should not be too drastic. But, last large gathering before spring break, and
she says, “It’s my senior spring. There were the size and behavior of the crowd required
so many things I was planning on doing, police to take action.” More than 1,000 stu-
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 9 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a
dents gathered in the streets, according to lo- friends, then they should have pizza night
cal news coverage, and when some students together online.
stood on cars and the situation grew rowdi- Counselors, in person or in teletherapy
er, the police launched “pepper balls,” which sessions, need to push beyond vague rec-
contain irritants, into the crowd. ommendations to help students “operation-
“Students are often accused of living in alize” good habits and a positive outlook.
a ‘campus bubble,’ immune to wider social Don’t just advise them to get exercise, says
concerns, so it doesn’t seem surprising that Bartley. Talk through with them exactly
on some campuses there would be outbreaks what walking, jogging, or bike route they’re
of partying,” says Mikita Brottman, an author going to take, for how long and how of-
and psychoanalyst who teaches literature at ten. It’s a disconcerting time, she says, but
the Maryland Institute College of Arts. “there’s a difference between healthy con-
“It’s hard for some cern and fear. … Let’s
students to take the vi- make smart choices,
rus seriously. They’re “There’s a difference but let’s not be afraid.”
often cynical about Gregory Roper, a
‘media panics,’ and
between healthy freshman at Rensselaer
even if they do follow concern and fear. … Polytechnic Institute,
the mainstream me- is more afraid for his
dia,” she says, they feel Let’s make smart grandparents than he
that “this is a virus that is for himself. He was
targets ‘old people.’”
choices, but let’s not already visiting them,
“Beyond that,” Brott- be afraid.” in Fairfield, Conn.,
man says, “I think the during spring break,
celebrating reflects both a feeling of disas- and “it looks like I might be doing that for
ter-inspired togetherness — and together- a while longer,” he says, now that the New
ness is part of the spring-break tradition York college has announced that classes
anyway — along with a sense of social con- are going online and students must move
straint collapsing.” The partyers “are like off campus. His parents are in Santa Clara
the inhabitants of Prospero’s palace” in Ed- County, Calif., which has a high concentra-
gar Allan Poe’s story “The Masque of the tion of coronavirus cases. They’re consider-
Red Death,” she says, “getting drunk while ing going somewhere safer, so he won’t be
plague ravages the nation.” joining them at home for now.
A computer-science student, Roper says
‘STAY IN THE ROUTINE’ a lot of his coursework was already online,
but the lab sessions in his biology class “are
The stress of uncertainty can be very still completely up in the air.”
unnerving, says Alise G. Bartley, a clinical Reactions to the crisis among his friends,
assistant professor in the department of Roper says, “are very much a mix.” Some
counseling and director of the communi- think fears are “sort of overinflated.” Oth-
ty-counseling center at Florida Gulf Coast ers, particularly “friends with weak im-
University. The most constructive way mune systems, are very scared.”
to approach it is “to focus on what we do In addition to fear, students are ag-
know” staves off illness: wash hands, avoid grieved over losing life experiences like
high-density groups, get sufficient sleep, spring of senior year, says Nicole Dan-
eat well, and exercise. forth, director of outpatient programs for
As students are yanked from their cam- child and adolescent psychiatry at New-
pus settings, it will be crucial for them to ton-Wellesley Hospital, in Massachusetts.
retain structure in their academic and per- Acknowledge that grief, Danforth recom-
sonal lives, she says. They need to “stay in mends, but challenge yourself “to limit how
the routine and feel like there’s a purpose much you let your anxious brain take over.”
so that they don’t fall into depression.” The bachelor-of-fine-arts students of Jil-
If they’re used to Friday pizza night with lian Harris, an associate professor of dance
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 10 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ionat Temple University, felt “a strong sense Text Line by texting ‘BRAVE’ to 741-741.”
of disappointment” that showcase perfor-
mances of their senior choreography proj- ‘UNCHARTED TERRITORY’
ects couldn’t proceed when Temple an-
nounced courses would move online start- Active Minds chapter leaders across the
ing next week. country, like Stephanie Cahill, a senior
But “everyone is trying to be creative,” studying psychology at Arizona State Uni-
producing instead online rehearsal-progress versity, have a front-row view of their peers’
portfolios with written analyses, Harris says. anxieties. Even before the university an-
On stage and in life, she says, “fortunately nounced, late Wednesday, that it was mov-
dancers are very good improvisers.” ing classes online, Cahill says, a lot of stu-
Technology will be a defining aspect dents were “nervous and scared” and just
of the mental-health challenge, Danforth not showing up.
says. A life behind blue screens can already Active Minds meetings on campus saw a
be isolating, she says, and we’re in danger surge in attendance — to groups of rough-
of succumbing further to that. But telether- ly 25 — and visits by administrators like
apy options are more sophisticated and ASU’s associate vice president for counsel-
plentiful than ever, and if Covid-19 leads ing and health services helped ease stu-
to greater use and acceptance of them, she dents’ worries, Cahill says.
says, that is “a win for everybody.” Information is key, but colleges “have to
Laura Horne experienced the trauma of acknowledge that we’re in uncharted terri-
displacement herself as an undergraduate tory here,” says Kevin Krueger, president of
at Loyola University New Orleans after Hur- Naspa, an association of student-affairs ad-
ricane Katrina struck, in 2005. Her family ministrators. “We don’t have a playbook.”
lived in the city’s suburbs, and she couldn’t But they’re writing one quickly as they
go home. She transferred to Louisiana go along. Seventeen hundred participants
Tech University for a quarter, and though signed up for a Naspa webinar on Wednes-
she tried her best to keep up with friends day, and they’re sorting through best practic-
through Facebook, email, and phone calls, es on housing and food for low-income stu-
“a lot of students relocated to other schools dents, provision of mental-health services,
and never came back,” she says. and, in the longer term, engaging students in
“I had to somewhat mourn and be OK the online environment — not just academ-
with letting that go for a time,” she says, ically, but in critical services like academic
“and engage with the new environment.” advising, orientation, career services and job
Many students this spring might also “go fairs, and campus culture and Greek life.
through a period of mourning, and that’s As a new normal slowly forms for stu-
normal,” says Horne, now the chief pro- dents, Krueger says, it’s also important to
gram officer for Active Minds, which sup- recognize that fatigue is setting in among
ports mental-health awareness and educa- administrators, staff, and faculty: “There’s
tion for students. a toll that comes from being in a crisis
She offers coping tips for students on mode in these situations.”
the Active Minds website, but “if what you
Alexander C. Kafka is a Chronicle senior
are feeling seems like more than just a bad
editor.
day,” she writes, “seek help from a profes-
sional. … If you need it, contact the Crisis Originally published March 12, 2020
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 11 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r aStudents of
Color Are Not
OK. Here’s How
Colleges Can
Support Them.
By SARAH BROWN
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a
KLAUS VEDFELT/GETTY IMAGES
12 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ionD
rop-in counseling for Black stu- In the throes of dual national crises,
dents. Therapy groups on coping students of color will need quick access
with racism. Programs for white to mental-health-care options that reflect
students on how to be anti-racist. their experiences, recreate their support
As the pandemic and the ra- systems remotely, and acknowledge the
cial-injustice crisis continue to take a toll physical and emotional tolls the past few
on Black people and other marginalized months have taken.
groups, colleges face a newfound urgency
to support the mental health of students of CULTURALLY COMPETENT COUNSELING
color.
Just about every survey conducted since As Alexa Sass, a junior at the University
the beginning of March indicates that stu- of California at Los Angeles, was finishing
dent distress is only going to get worse up the spring term, George Floyd was killed
this fall. Those mental-health concerns in police custody in Minneapolis, and pro-
will be exacerbated for Black and Hispan- tests against racial injustice exploded na-
ic students, whose populations are dispro- tionwide. Processing the news was over-
portionately harmed by Covid-19 and by whelming and exhausting for Sass, who
the police violence gripping the nation’s identifies as Black and Filipino.
consciousness. Asian American students, She tried to get through her final exams
meanwhile, are dealing with racial slurs as best she could. She turned to books on
and jokes stemming from the pandemic’s spirituality. She leaned on her communi-
origins in China. ties within UCLA and back home in the Bay
What’s more, students of color often Area — virtually, of course. She has tried
don’t get the help they need. About 45 per- out some of the university’s online men-
cent of white students with mental-health tal-health resources, but they’re not what
challenges seek treatment, according to a she really needs.
2018 study, but only a third of Latinx stu- Without much in-person interaction,
dents do so. For Black and Asian students, she’s struggling emotionally. “The way that
the proportion is even lower — about 25 I process my mental health is through sup-
and 22 percent, respectively. port systems,” said Sass, a leader in the
And this fall, they will return to colleges campus chapter of Active Minds, a national
that look and feel very different. Putting mental-health advocacy group.
distressed students on a two-week waiting The pandemic and the racial-injustice
list for therapy sessions won’t cut it, men- crisis have caused fear, anxiety, depres-
tal-health experts say. sion, and hopelessness in Black students,
LESS HELP-SEEKING AMONG STUDENTS OF COLOR
Among students who have a mental-health problem, Black, Latinx, Arab, and Asian students are far less
likely than white students to have sought treatment in the past year.
Source: Lipson et al. Created with Datawrapper.
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 13 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r aHIGHER RATES OF PERCEIVED STIGMA
Students of color who meet the criteria for having a mental-health problem are more likely than white
students to believe that the general public stigmatizes mental illness.
Source: Lipson et al. Created with Datawrapper.
said Kayla Johnson, a staff psychologist at tal-health experts say.
Prairie View A&M University, a historical- Before Stacia Alexander arrived at Paul
ly Black institution in Texas. But those stu- Quinn College, in 2018, the historically black
dents don’t often use mental-health ser- institution in Texas had a mental-health
vices, because of stigma. provider on campus for only a few hours
For some Black people, Johnson said, each week, from the nearby University of
going to a therapist means that some- Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
thing must be wrong with you, or that you Once Alexander took over as the college’s
don’t have enough faith in God. There’s first mental-health-clinic coordinator, she
also pressure to keep problems to yourself, tried a direct form of outreach: She hand-
she said: “There’s kind of a level of secrecy ed out her cellphone number to students at
about things that happen.” orientation and told them to text her when
Not only are there cultural barriers they were having a bad day. One of the big-
that discourage many students of color gest barriers to accessing care, she said, is
from talking openly about mental health, that students don’t know where to go.
but they also encounter a staff of cam- It worked. And many students told her
pus therapists many of whom don’t look how excited they were to have a Black ther-
like them, said Annelle Primm, a senior apist to talk with.
medical adviser at the Steve Fund, a men- But students were texting her all night,
tal-health-support organization for young she said. So, earlier this year, Paul Quinn
people of color. Some students, she said, joined with TimelyMD, a teletherapy com-
make the calculation that “it’s best not to pany, to ease the burden. Now students can
seek help if they can’t seek help from some- reach a therapist 24/7 through the Time-
one with whom they feel comfortable shar- lyMD app, which offers access to providers
ing such personal feelings.” from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.
At predominantly white institutions,
counseling-staff members often don’t know NO MORE TWO-WEEK WAITS
how to talk with Black students, Johnson
added. Sometimes, she said, students end Accessibility, experts say, should be an-
up taking time out of their therapy sessions other top priority for colleges trying to
to explain social, economic, and cultural better reach students of color with men-
problems affecting Black families to their tal-health resources.
white therapists. Dozens of colleges, including George
“Of course, when that happens, you don’t Washington University, Texas A&M Univer-
want to come back,” she said. sity, and Mississippi State University, are
This fall, making sure students of col- offering quick drop-in consultations with
or can connect with culturally competent therapists meant for students of color. The
mental-health providers will be key, men- program, known as “Let’s Talk,” typically
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 14 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ionis set up at different locations across cam- make sure students know where they can
pus during a given week, often in student find help.
unions or cultural centers. For now, the
drop-in sessions are happening virtually. ANTI-RACISM AS WELLNESS
Brown University’s counseling center
uses a flexible-care model, in which most At Loyola University Maryland, Jason
students are served through 25-30-min- Parcover, director of the counseling center,
ute sessions that they can schedule just is also trying to offer a menu of flexible, ac-
once, or as often as they want. Continuing cessible resources for students. But beyond
50-minute counseling appointments re- that, he’s creating spaces for white students
flect a Western-centric care approach that to learn how to tackle racial injustice. “Our
doesn’t appeal to many students of color, marginalized students are telling us that
said Will Meek, director of counseling and they want to see action,” he said.
psychological services. The conversations, as Loyola calls them,
Since March, he said, no Brown student will help students understand how to be
has waited more than a day to see one of anti-racist, to “make a commitment to tak-
the university’s campus therapists, a staff ing specific actions, and to hold each oth-
that Meek describes as culturally diverse. er accountable for following through with
The university uses a third party to further those actions,” he said. The programs fit
expand access. squarely into Loyola’s values as a Jesuit in-
When Brown students call the counsel- stitution, he said, and into the counseling
ing center with an ur- center’s mission.
gent request, a clini- “Investing in an-
cian from ProtoCall, “By definition, anti- ti-racism efforts in-
a 24/7 crisis line that cludes really acknowl-
works with colleges, racism work is edging and under-
will pick up the phone.
The clinician will talk
mental-health and standing deeply that
we are all in this to-
with the student and wellness work.” gether, and that our
report back to Brown’s health in all forms,
counseling staff. Often including our mental
students just want to talk with someone for health, is connected to how other mem-
a few minutes without even making an ap- bers of our community are faring,” Parcov-
pointment, Meek said. er said. “By definition, anti-racism work is
To prepare for the fall, he has also been mental-health and wellness work.”
rethinking outreach to students of color. Counseling centers should “name the
For instance, instead of waiting for stu- issues,” he said. In public communica-
dents to contact the counseling center, he’s tions, campus mental-health staff members
hoping to have them opt in to a program in should be specific about what’s going on
which a staff therapist can contact them di- in the world and talk about the impact of
rectly and connect one-on-one. trauma on mental health.
At UCLA, which has 45,000 students, Educating white students about being
there can be long wait times for therapy, effective allies should be a core part of any
said Sass, the junior there. But there are campus strategy to support the well-being
other places that students of color can turn of students of color, said Erin McClintock,
for mental-health support, she said. There’s a former campus therapist and director of
the RISE Center, which stands for “resil- wellness at Clark University who’s now se-
ience in your student experience.” There’s nior director of impact and education at
an academic-support program for Black EverFi, a company that provides students
students, where Sass serves as a trained with online training in alcohol, sexual mis-
peer counselor who helps other students conduct, and mental health.
with both academics and life stressors. Socially conscious students are going to
UCLA leaders, she said, just need to return to campuses this fall wanting to act
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 15 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r aagainst racial injustice, she said — but if and how to maintain self-care as an activ-
they want to become good allies, they can’t ist. California State University at Fullerton
psychologically burden Black students conducted a study this spring and found
while they take on that work. “People of that students of color used the You at Col-
color don’t need to be the ones who are val- lege platform at a higher rate than white
idating their white peers,” she said. students did, Demers said.
Students can use You at College on their
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION phones, and they can do so privately, which
is especially important for students who
Creating a culture of well-being is not are staying with their families and wouldn’t
just about what the counseling center is feel comfortable speaking with a therapist
doing, McClintock said. Colleges can stop in that environment, he said.
personal crises before they happen by help- With prevention in mind, California
ing students who are experiencing “sub- State University at Sacramento added men-
clinical” issues — distress that’s not yet a tal-health sessions for parents to its virtual
mental-health disorder but affects their new-student orientation this summer — in-
ability to function. cluding in Spanish and
That means investing Gujarati, a language
in food pantries and
emergency financial
Like many fields, spoken in India.
More than 70 per-
aid so that low-income therapy and wellness cent of Sacramento
students, who are dis- State students are non-
proportionately people work “were originally white, and many come
of color, don’t have to
stress as much about
developed through from cultural back-
grounds where mental
basic needs, she said. a white lens and a health isn’t discussed
Some colleges are openly, said Lara
turning to online plat- white framework. Falkenstein, a campus
forms to try to reach
students before they
It’s our challenge to health educator who
advises the university’s
spiral into anxiety or shift that — to really Active Minds chapter.
depression. More than As students learn on-
120 institutions are of- take into account line this fall and con-
fering You at College,
which compiles men-
the experiences and tinue to spend much
of their time at home,
tal-health and well-be- needs of students she said, the universi-
ing resources tailored ty wants to make sure
to campuses. from different that families can have
Nathaan Demers,
a former campus psy-
communities.” conversations about
emotional well-being
chologist who’s now and look out for poten-
vice president and di- tial signs of distress.
rector of clinical programs at Grit Digital Sacramento State is also beginning a
Health, which worked with Colorado State two-year, grant-funded research project on
University to develop You at College three the mental health of students of color that
years ago, said students’ use of the platform will examine what they need and where
increased by 153 percent in the first five the university needs to improve, said Reva
weeks of the pandemic compared with the Wittenberg, associate director for campus
previous three months. wellness.
The platform recently added resources Like many fields, therapy and wellness
that address the racial-injustice crisis, on work “were originally developed through
how to make one’s voice heard effectively a white lens and a white framework,” she
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 16 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ionsaid. “It’s our challenge to shift that — to schools need to step up and say, ‘Hey, we’re
really take into account the experiences here. We see what’s happening. We support
and needs of students from different you,’” she said.
communities.” Meera Varma, a UCLA junior and a lead-
At Prairie View A&M, more of the coun- er in the campus Active Minds chapter, em-
seling center’s therapy groups, workshops, phasized that colleges should offer support
and other outreach programs will focus and academic flexibility in recognition of
on coping with racial injustice and giving the toll that activism can take on mental
students a space to process what they’ve health, particularly for Black students.
been going through. “For Black America,” “This fire, this passion from our students
said Kayla Johnson, the staff psychologist, isn’t going to die down anytime soon,” she
“we heal and cope by getting together.” She said. This fall, “it’s really important to un-
is heartened to see more Black students derstand that school education might not
talking openly about mental health on so- be students’ first priority.”
cial media and other platforms.
Sarah Brown is a senior reporter who covers
Black students’ well-being this fall, she
campus culture, including Title IX, race
added, will also depend on their institu-
and diversity, and student mental health for
tions’ taking a strong stance against racial
The Chronicle.
injustice. Otherwise, how will students
be able to feel safe on campus? “I think Originally published July 6, 2020
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 17 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r aCovid-19 Has Worsened the
Student Mental-Health Crisis.
Can Resilience Training Fix It?
By SARAH BROWN and ALEXANDER C. KAFKA
JACQUELINE RICCIARDI FOR THE CHRONICLE
Ai Bui, an architecture student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: “Thankfully, and apparently, I seem to be
pretty indestructible.”
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 18 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ionT
rhere were six years of anorexia, two In recent years, “resilience” and its com-
of bulimia, and 10 of depression and panion concept, “grit,” have become buzz-
anxiety, plus a recent stress disorder words in higher education. Colleges have
from “repeated sexual assaults by introduced wellness programs, campus
a trusted authority.” Ai Bui, a third- campaigns, even full-blown courses that
year architecture student at the Massachu- incorporate meditation, yoga, reflective
setts Institute of Technology, knows what writing and sketching, and stress-manage-
trauma is. ment techniques like deep breathing.
“I’ve fought myself to nothing but vomit, Gritty and resilient students, the think-
blood, skin, and bones, and all these years ing goes, know how to persevere through
I’ve just wanted to vanish and become air,” life’s inevitable stressors. They know how
Bui told an audience at Lesley University in to halt the negative thoughts that can spiral
October during a performance series called into a crisis. They’re more likely to stay on
This Is My Brave. “But thankfully, and appar- track, academically and psychologically.
ently, I seem to be pretty indestructible.” Grit and resilience have become espe-
The pandemic is putting that notion to cially salient ideas as colleges try to re-
the test. spond to students’ mental-health troubles,
With no in-person support system to which were already skyrocketing before
fall back on, Bui grieved the death of a fam- the pandemic. In some ways, the Covid-19
ily friend and faced a looming deadline era seems like exactly the right time to ed-
for a big class project. It “really took a toll ucate students on how to manage the in-
on me,” Bui said in a late-April phone inter- tense sadness, isolation, and anxiety they
view. One night, “I felt so stressed out are feeling.
that I broke down for a solid hour sobbing But during the horrible natural experi-
really badly.” ment called coronavirus, is that the right
But maybe teary is what tough looks like message to send to students — to push
in this era. As Bui’s friend texted: “You don’t through hardship, bounce back from fail-
think it takes resilience to go through this? ure, and come out stronger? Or should it be
And then to wake up tomorrow? And the about empathy, compassion, and getting
next day and the next day and the next day?” through this time in one piece?
COVID-19’S EFFECTS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS
In an April 2020 survey of 2,086 college students, the vast majority indicated that Covid-19 had negatively
affected their mental health.
Source: Active Minds Spring 2020 Student Survey. Created with Datawrapper.
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 19 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r aGRIEVING LOST EXPERIENCES nary moments,” the everyday contact with
classmates and professors — “the physical
In a blizzard of bad news, this genera- aspect of being in a classroom” and “just
tion of ostensibly delicate students is al- passing them in the hallway.”
ready proving pretty strong, mental-health She tries to structure her day, go for
experts say. In the past two months, some walks, limit screen time, and stay in
have lost family members, their only safe e-touch with friends. But the bottom line,
living environment, or the jobs that paid she said, is that she’s “heartbroken.”
their bills. “I joke with my family that I feel fine in
According to an April survey by Active the morning, but who knows what the af-
Minds, a national mental-health advoca- ternoon will bring, if I’m going to break
cy group, 80 percent of college students say down in tears or whatever.”
the Covid-19 crisis has negatively affected Campus leaders are worried about the
their mental health. One-fifth say it has sig- pandemic’s psychological fallout. In a
nificantly worsened. survey by the American Council on Educa-
For many students, uncertainty is at the tion, 41 percent of college presidents said
root of their pandemic-related distress. the mental health of students was among
“The thing I hear from students is a lot of their most pressing pandemic-related
the ‘but’ sentences,” said Kelly Crace, asso- concerns. Thirty-five percent of the presi-
ciate vice president for health and wellness dents said they plan to invest more in men-
at the College of William & Mary. Sentenc- tal-health services.
es like: “I can finish the semester remotely. But they won’t be able to rely solely on
But if this goes into July, I can’t handle it.” campus counseling centers, many of which
They’ve lost their usual coping mecha- are already overwhelmed by increasing de-
nisms. Students can text or call their college mand. Meanwhile, financial uncertainty
friends, but it’s not the same as getting to- could make it difficult to hire more coun-
gether for a movie night. Classes can feel like selors and therapists.
an uninspiring imitation of the real thing. What’s more, teletherapy isn’t always an
“It’s the most social time of your life,” option for students now scattered across
said Michael R. Lovell, president of Mar- the country; licensing laws often don’t al-
quette University. “You’re constantly sur- low treatment across state lines. An Amer-
rounded by your friends.” To have that ican College Health Association survey in
taken away so suddenly is a shock. For stu- early April found that less than half of the
dents, as for faculty members, there’s no 356 colleges that responded were able to
substitute for being in a room bouncing virtually treat students regardless of where
ideas off one another. “You can’t quite get they were living.
the same energy in a remote-learning envi- So colleges will have to help students
ronment.” help themselves through this new wave of
Emma Brauer, a senior at Marquette ma- psychological distress — and they’ll have
joring in anthropology, misses “those ordi- to be careful about the messages they send,
STUDENTS’ SELF-CARE CHALLENGES
Covid-19 forced most students into distance learning, upending their lifestyles and routines. As a result,
an April survey found, some are struggling with these aspects of self-care:
Source: Active Minds Spring 2020 Student Survey. Created with Datawrapper.
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 20 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ionmental-health experts say. They’ll need insecurity, career prospects battered by the
a nuanced approach, offering resilience economic plunge. But while post-traumat-
strategies while recognizing students’ grief. ic stress is one possible outcome, she said,
“there’s also the possibility of post-trau-
GRIT VS. GRIEVING matic growth.”
“This is not going to be a footnote. This is
For Ally Beard, a junior at Harvard Uni- going to be a chapter in the history books,”
versity, “the grief came first, and it wasn’t she said. And by finding purpose in one’s
until we had finished grieving that we were actions and meaning in one’s relationships,
able to be resilient.” Being sent home “was “one day you’ll be telling your children and
just so heartbreaking. Within 24 hours, grandchildren about how you lived through
the world exploded,” she remembered in history, and I want you to be proud of how
a phone call from Nantucket, where she is you reacted to it, that you demonstrated
staying with her boyfriend and his family. character.”
Managing her depression and anxiety
disorder for years has proved to be helpful THE RESILIENCE RUBRIC
training, she said. “I’m better at flexibility
and going with the flow than I was just two As Covid-19 upended Jacqueline Thorn-
weeks ago.” ton’s life, she immersed herself in a course
That, said Angela Duckworth, is how called “Changing Minds, Changing Lives.”
it’s supposed to work. It’s a student-resilience
Duckworth, a psychol- curriculum developed a
ogy professor at the “It might appear dozen years ago by Gen-
University of Pennsyl- evieve Chandler, a pro-
vania, stamped a buzz-
that someone is less fessor of nursing at the
word on education with resilient when in fact University of Massachu-
her 2016 best seller, setts at Amherst. The
Grit: The Power of Pas- they’re just trying to course, which involves
sion and Perseverance. eight to 10 sessions over
She is far from be-
navigate things that several weeks, is focused
ing a Pollyanna about other students don’t on mindfulness tech-
the pandemic, partic- niques, yoga postures,
ularly on the heels of have to.” and reflective writing
her father’s death from exercises.
Covid-19. While she “We teach adaptive
sees grit and grieving as “in some ways in resilience,” Chandler said. In other words:
tension,” like most tensions, it can be re- “Bend and come back.”
solved, she said. Thornton, a UMass senior, has struggled
The first week off campus, more of her with her mental health for years. She tried
students failed to turn in work than they therapy, but it was hard to fit into her busy
ever had. She reached out to them, said that schedule. Then, as a junior, she discovered
she wanted to make sure they were OK, and “Changing Minds, Changing Lives.” She
told them that if they weren’t they should loved the course so much that she took it
text or call her for help. But if they were all again this semester.
right, she wrote them, “I really look forward As part of the course, Thornton and her
to getting your assignments.” classmates completed an assessment of
“Sure enough,” she said, “all of my stu- their strengths. One of hers is being an “ac-
dents turned in their work. They wrote me tivator.” She’s good at making plans.
apologies. They explained.” Back in March, when classes went on-
Resilience “is not the exception to the line, Thornton had decided to spend the
rule, it is the rule,” Duckworth said. There rest of her final semester with her family in
are real worries for this generation of col- Boston, instead of with her friends in her
lege students — health, housing and food off-campus apartment. Quickly, she started
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 21 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r afeeling left out. She was plagued by nega- the transition to online learning. But she has
tive thoughts: They don’t like me anymore. adopted a resilient mind-set: “Do not be up-
They don’t miss me. set about the things you can’t change.”
That’s the kind of thinking the resilience The resilience project doesn’t just point
course taught Thornton to recognize and students to sophisticated mindfulness rou-
reject. She remembered that she was an tines. It emphasizes basic survival mecha-
“activator.” So she planned virtual hang- nisms, said Karen Oehme, director of Flor-
outs with her friends — and made sure they ida State’s Institute for Family Violence
actually happened. Studies. Did you drink enough water today?
One recent day, feeling overwhelmed, Did you get fresh air? Did you get enough
Thornton cried for an hour. But the re- sleep?
silience course taught her that’s OK. At William & Mary, there’s been more in-
“Through resiliency, you can figure out a terest than usual in resilience-focused pro-
way to do the crying and do the anger and grams since the pandemic began, Crace said.
be really emotional,” she said, “but not get More than 13,000 people have participated in
down on yourself for feeling that way.” virtual offerings that range from a two-min-
Research backs up the course’s effective- ute meditation to an art-therapy video. Stu-
ness. Student athletes who’ve taken it are dents have told Crace that they finally have
less stressed and more time for resilience train-
capable of regulating ing now — and that they
their emotions. “If any of us are need it more than ever.
At Florida State Uni- having trouble getting Grit and resilience are
versity, students can not personality traits,
turn to the Student Re- out of bed one day, Crace said. They are de-
silience Project web- veloped with practice.
site for resources on or have several bad “People who flourish are
breathing, responding days, that just means not less afraid, worried,
to a panic attack, and or upset about what’s
“grounding,” which en- we’re responding going on around them,”
courages focusing on he said. “They have just
today instead of wor- appropriately to worked at holding these
rying about tomorrow. the crisis.” emotions and thoughts
University leaders have in a healthy manner.”
regularly promoted the Grit and resilience
resilience project in their messages to the are worthy goals, but are they realistic ones
campus community. right now? Not only do college students
There’s also a campus organization have to absorb the shock of displacement
reaching out to far-flung students. If online from their campus lives, but they have to
learning continues this fall, the Resilient turn it into a saga of triumph and growth?
Noles — as the group is called — hope to That expectation seems a bit much to Lau-
ask professors if they can pop into virtual ra Horne, chief program officer for Active
classes and briefly talk about resilience. Minds.
“You can help yourself,” said Rima Patel, “If any of us are having trouble getting
a Florida State junior and president of Re- out of bed one day, or have several bad
silient Noles. Using the counseling center days, that just means we’re responding ap-
remotely isn’t an option for her, she said, propriately to the crisis,” she said.
because she feels less comfortable talking The grit-and-resilience narrative can un-
about mental health at home. Instead, she fairly suggest some character flaw among
watches the resilience project’s videos on today’s students, Horne said.
tolerating frustration, and how physical Mark Patishnock, director of counseling
space affects well-being. and psychiatric services at Michigan State
Patel was on track to get all A’s this semes- University, said it often builds in assump-
ter before the pandemic. She struggled with tions — about financial resources, fami-
m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r a 22 t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ionly culture, and other privileges. “We risk you stronger and this is going to make you a
alienating a lot of the students we want to more resilient person.’”
help,” he said. Betsy Cracco, executive director of well-
Patishnock pointed to the racial dispari- being, access, and prevention at UMass,
ties in those affected by Covid-19 in Michi- agrees. But stress hurts students’ abili-
gan. African Americans make up 14 percent ty to learn, she said, and colleges can re-
of the state’s population, but they account spond by helping students understand their
for one-third of the cases and 41 percent strengths and tap into them when they feel
of the deaths as of May 11. That is having overwhelmed. Many resilience programs,
a disproportionate impact on Michigan like UMass’s course, are evidence-based,
State’s students of color, he said. she added. “It’s like medication,” she said:
“It might appear that someone is less re- Why withhold helpful treatment?
silient when in fact they’re just trying to Some resilience practices are easy to in-
navigate things that other students don’t corporate, Cracco said. Start classes with
have to,” he said. three minutes of breathing or a two-minute
wellness infomercial. In the middle of a lec-
PSYCHIC SCARS? ture, get up and twist around. Create buddy
systems and small groups in which students
George Bonanno, a professor of clinical can help one another through their stressors.
psychology at Columbia University’s Teach- Colleges can also remind students
ers College, believes some counselors and about available resources that are a text,
therapists have a distortedly pessimistic an email, or a phone call away. “More than
view of how students will emerge from the half of students,” the April Active Minds
Covid-19 era. “If you see pain all the time, survey reported, “say that they would not
you think pain is the norm.” know where to go if they or someone they
For 30 years, said Bonanno, who runs Co- knew needed professional mental-health
lumbia’s Loss, Trauma, and Emotion Lab, services right away.”
his research has shown that “human beings When a traumatized population starts
are very resilient through traumatic events, returning to campus, colleges will need to
stressor events, natural disasters, medical vet students’ mental health as diligently as
emergencies. … I think the same thing is they do their physical health, Lipson said.
very much true for this Covid epidemic.” “Assessment is hugely important,” she said.
“We aren’t going to see massive psycho- Moreover, students might learn a thing
logical breakdowns over this,” he said. or two from classmates who have struggled
What might be toughest for most stu- with their mental health for years.
dents, he and other experts said, is uncer- Their grit takes many different forms,
tainty and needless confusion. Regular, like MIT’s Ai Bui, the self-taught ukulele
no-nonsense communication — even if it’s player who sat on the edge of a universi-
just to say, “Things are still up in the air, ty stage in October, singing away years of
but here are the factors we’re monitoring” trauma, depression, and eating disorders in
— is the most constructive approach col- an original song called “Darling Me.”
lege leaders can take, Bonanno said. “What I went through before — I often say
Officials must be thoughtful about the this to my therapist — I’ve been to the bottom
mental-health messages they send their of the bottom,” Bui told The Chronicle, “so
students, said Sarah Ketchen Lipson, an whatever happens, I know I can get through it
assistant professor of health law, policy, and get out of it and keep moving on.”
and management at Boston University and
Sarah Brown is a senior reporter who covers
co-principal investigator of the Healthy
campus culture, including Title IX, race and
Minds Study, which assesses students’
diversity, and student mental health for The
mental health.
Chronicle. Alexander C. Kafka is a Chronicle
It’s important to create a space for stu-
senior editor.
dents to grieve, Lipson said, “before we
start talking about ‘this is going to make Originally published May 11, 2020
t h e ch ron icl e of h igh er educ at ion 23 m e n ta l w e l l- b e i n g i n t h e c o v i d e r aYou can also read
