After seeing a rise in the number of students seeking mental health support, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is increasing their number of counselors, says a report by ABC 33/40.
UAB joins the ranks of several other nationwide colleges who are currently seeing the same trend.
The school has doubled the number of employed counselors over the last five years and is now set to add an additional counselor to the mix.
According to the report, the UAB counseling center has seen a 114 percent increase for students seeking counseling services over the last half-decade. That rate is somewhat startling, considering UAB’s eight percent increase in enrollment over the same time period.
The report suggests that many of the students are placing a great deal of time in mental health support because seeking assistance is becoming “more normal and has less stigma.”
UAB Grad Student Celina Atkins, who now serves on UAB’s Student Advisory Board for Counseling Service, is highlighted in the report and said, “I was in crisis last spring semester.”
Atkins was hesitant to attend counseling, but after speaking with friends who had experienced counseling before, she decided to go.
The counseling experience resulted in a “tremendous turnaround” for Atkins, she told ABC 33/40.
Asmi Chakraborty, who also serves on the Student Advisory Board for Counseling Service at UAB, said, “People are becoming more normalized to the idea that I can actually go to counseling and seek help and that’s actually a good thing to do early on.”
In the report, Director of UAB Student Counseling Services Dr. Angela Stowe explained the need for such counseling services.
“56 percent of students report experiencing overwhelming anxiety,” said Stowe.
Stowe also mentioned that student depression has increased dramatically within the last twelve months and that many students were feeling hopeless.
Stowe also mentioned that students were thinking and attempting suicide.
“Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students so it’s a very serious issue,” Stowe explained in the report.
Stowe attributes the rising cost of college and increased prevalence of homelessness, food and security to the skyrocketing need for counseling across the nation.
@RealKyleMorris is a Yellowhammer News contributor and also contributes weekly to The Daily Caller
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