Mental Health at the University of Oregon

When asking whether students should have their mental health supported by schools at the university level, many answers can be reached. I would like to believe that many would lobby in support of students receiving help, although that may not be the case. It is my belief that universities should be required to provide support for student’s mental health to combat the epidemic of mental illness faced by the student demographic, the rigors of academia that affect mental health, and the otherwise lack of support given to young adults during difficult life transitions. University is a painstaking process, and it takes over the entire life of students who attempt it. Particularly for those who have previous mental health issues, this can be a very trying time. With the support of the school they attend, it is possible for students to succeed in both academia and their personal lives, regardless of mental health issues. At the University of Oregon specifically, I find the accommodation given to students facing mental health issues to be lacking due to personal experience and written testimonies from other students. In this essay I will explore the ways that universities should be better supporting their students to help them to succeed.

In a written testimony from a University of Oregon student published through The Student Insurgent, they outline the complete lack of care that they received from the school when they experienced a mental health crisis. During a depressive episode, they reached out to the school for help. Instead of receiving any substantial form of assistance, they were sent a suicide risk screening. Not completing the screening threatened “anything from a 72-hour psychiatric assessment to a hold on your university account. If the University of Oregon actually cared about the wellbeing of their students, they should not have to threaten them to take the steps they want them to take to keep them safe. It became abundantly clear that this policy was in place to shield the University from lawsuits. They are doing the bare minimum”¹. I have unfortunately experienced a similar situation to this one during a mental health crisis. I reached a point where I was forced to drop out for a term, and instead of receiving any sort of help or assistance I had an academic warning placed onto my account. It is highly discouraging to not be receiving any support from an institution that you are dedicating both copious amounts of time and money to. It is my belief that the University of Oregon is severely lacking in their support for students in terms of mental health assistance. Whether it be using students in training as therapists, placing stipulations around who can use the Accessible Education Center, or threatening students in crisis, the University of Oregon has a long way to go before they begin to perform effective care for their students.

Considering the fact that 77% of undergraduate students experienced moderate to severe psychological distress in 2022, it is my belief that it is not just the University of Oregon that is lacking in resources for mentally ill students². In a study done by the American College Health Association, it was found that one in four students have experienced depression in the last year. These students were also at higher risk of academic impairment, chronic pain, sinus infections, learning disabilities, and smoking habits³. The correlation between mental and physical illness is well documented, universities should be supporting their students long before they start to experience physical manifestations of their mental illnesses. College is supposed to be a time of exploration, instead students are busy trying to stay afloat. According to Zara Abrams, “students today are also juggling a dizzying array of challenges, from coursework, relationships, and adjustment to campus life to economic strain, social injustice, mass violence, and various forms of loss related to COVID-19"⁴. The expectations placed on students to balance both a healthy academic and social life while maintaining time for self-care isn’t feasible for many students struggling with mental illness, it’s hard enough for folks who don’t have any sort of mental impairments. The lack of support from universities does nothing to better the lives of these students, especially when they are a high-risk group. It is easier for universities to ignore the needs of their students and force them to turn to outside resources than provide them with the help that they so desperately need.

One effective resource that the University of Oregon has employed is the Accessible Education Center, which allows students to receive accommodations for both mental and physical disabilities. This is the only mental health resource available through the UO that I have personally found to be highly effective. Whether it be priority registration, breaks during class, or lengthened test times, the AEC has many available resources for students who struggle to keep up with a regular pace. There are, however, drawbacks to the Accessible Education Center; unless you have either a therapist’s or psychiatrist’s official diagnosis of your deficits, you cannot use the AEC. I understand that this is in hopes of making resources available to those who have been officially diagnosed, but not everybody has the privilege of being officially diagnosed. Whether it be monetary costs or lack of support, many students may not have the resources available to access the AEC. While the AEC has been helpful for me and many other students, it has not served its full potential for many others.

Some may argue that it is not the responsibility of universities to be handling the mental health of their students. There are outside resources that students can seek out, and universities have enough to handle without having to add in mental health. With this I vehemently disagree. Students spend a minimum of four years at a university, often spending multiple days a week on campus. This is not only a time investment for students, but a substantial monetary investment too. Many students are taking out loans to support themselves through college, which is a stressor in itself. Adding in the rigors of coursework on top of that, balancing a social life, and having personal time is nearly impossible. Outside resources that should be available to students are often inaccessible. For out of state students using school insurance, therapy outside of the school isn’t an option unless they pay out of pocket. From personal experience I have learned that the University of Oregon uses graduate students as therapists without informing their patients, giving them unreliable information and advice. Seeking psychiatry outside of the school without insurance costs upwards of $200 a session, not to mention the costs of medication. Students requiring higher levels of care such as intensive outpatient programs or partial hospitalization pay thousands of dollars a month for this care. Those unable to hold a job due to mental illness rely on the help of others for the essentials, much less for spendy mental health assistance. If resources aren’t offered through the universities that students spend so much time and money at, many students have no resources available to them at all. This is not only a detriment to the students, but the universities themselves. Students who are unable to care for themselves are often unable to attend their courses or do their required coursework. This is reflected in the overall averages of the school and their displayed grade point averages. If universities don’t care enough about their students to help them for the sake of their students, they should do it for the universities themselves.

Mental illness is an epidemic among the student population, and one that doesn’t receive enough recognition or assistance. Universities should be required to support their student’s mental health because of the epidemic of mental illness faced by the student demographic, the rigors of academia that affect mental health, and the otherwise lack of support given to young adults during difficult life transitions. It is my hope that this essay has helped to outline the complete lack of resources dedicated to students struggling with mental illness and some possible solutions. This is a topic near and dear to my heart as someone who has struggled with mental illness their entire life. The lack of support given to students at the university level is absolutely disheartening. I have watched many friends forced to leave this school due to the lack of support given to them, I almost had to leave the school myself for that exact reason. It is my hope that more awareness is raised for this topic and universities have a change of heart and start to care about supporting their students throughout all stages of their academic career.

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