Texas universities are struggling to keep up with demand for mental health services amid a shortage of care providers across the state.
Zachary Zoet, deputy director of the Midwest State University Counseling Center in Wichita Falls, said this is a public health crisis not only in Texas but across the United States.
“Staffing issues, pay issues, retention and recruitment issues involve a variety of factors, as these are regular topics that counseling center administrators discuss at the state and national level. That's why,” Zoet said.
Mental health support is urgently needed. During the 2020-2021 academic year, the majority of college students nationwide met criteria for at least one mental health diagnosis, an increase of nearly 50 percent from 2013. She has 90,000 students on 133 campuses in the United States.
But the study also revealed some bright spots. More college students are reporting receiving therapy and counseling than ever before.
Hilary Jones, associate director of clinical services at the Texas State University Counseling Center, said the increase in cases is due in part to increased awareness and decreased stigma about mental health care. She said students with less severe concerns are seeking help, who may not have considered counseling in the past.
The growing demand for mental health services on Texas college and university campuses has not been matched by a corresponding increase in funding. This increased the number of cases per clinician on campus, or the number of sessions each counselor was expected to handle.
“We have a lot of students here at Texas State University, so it takes a lot of resources to meet the mental health needs of all of these students,” Jones said. “I think there’s an ongoing conversation both in the counseling center and in upper management about, ‘How can we meet these needs?’” How can we do this in creative and innovative ways? ”
The annual consultation volume for a typical full-time college counselor in Texas ranges from 95 to 200 students per counselor, according to data obtained through a public records request filed by Texas Community Health News. It extends to.
This data is based on records obtained from Texas State universities with at least 2,000 students in the 2022 academic year. Twenty-three universities, or two-thirds of those contacted, responded to the request.
At centers with high caseloads like Texas State University, staff often set session limits, space out appointments, and schedule students on a biweekly basis.
College counseling has never been an easy or lucrative career path, but it is a profession that many staff members are passionate about, and it used to be less taxing on staff members' time.
“Even though we don't pay as much as we do elsewhere, most of us continue to work here because we truly feel a mission to help students and we deeply love our work. “I think so,” said Jones, who counsels students every day. .
Lynn Reeder, director of the Texas State University Counseling Center, said that before the pandemic, counselor applicants were high and those hired stayed on for years.
“In the past five years alone, we have lost so many talented counseling center professionals to private practice because there is no challenge and there is no real reward. , we can live for a long time on the joy of what we do, and certainly that has sustained me a lot over the years I've been doing this, but it also makes me sad. only,” the leader said.
Few people are currently applying for jobs at colleges and university counseling centers in Texas, he added, and some who planned to stay until retirement have left to go into private practice.
At Texas Southern University, during the 2021-2022 academic year, three out of four full-time, non-intern staff members of the university's counseling center reported the highest student utilization among responding universities. Retired from one of the highest teams.
Texas Southern University did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
Campuses across the state are struggling. Of the schools that have disclosed student enrollment numbers, the University of North Texas had about 3,600 students last year, more than any other school. Nearly 40 percent of UNT's counseling staff retired that fiscal year.
Stephen F. Austin State University, about a quarter of UNT's size, had the highest student utilization rate of the schools that provided data. That rate was nearly double that at UNT, where nearly 16 percent of students enrolled at the university sought counseling.
The University of North Texas did not respond to a request for comment, and Stephen F. Austin State University declined to comment on the findings.
All universities mentioned in this article were given the opportunity to respond to our report, but either did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment.
The International Association for Counseling Services, an organization that sets accreditation standards for university and college counseling centers, recommends that campuses serve 1,000 to 1,500 students with full-time professional staff 1, depending on the services and other services provided. We recommend maintaining minimum staffing levels within the human range. Campus mental health agency.
Ann Patterson, the association's executive director, said there are six accredited colleges in Texas that meet staffing standards but have chosen not to apply for accreditation despite meeting the association's standards. He said there is no way to know how many other counseling centers there are.
“The staffing shortage is not so obvious,” Patterson said. “Students are going to suffer because open positions are not being filled. How they suffer ultimately has this cascading effect: long wait times, even longer waiting times. Waiting times create problems that probably could have been better addressed if students didn't have to wait for classes. Perhaps the problems would be less severe than they are now in terms of the type of counseling they need. Sho.”
Of the 23 Texas universities that provided staffing data, six met the recommended ratios. The University of Texas at Arlington's Counseling Center is the farthest from this standard, lacking 16 of the 27 recommended full-time mental health professionals needed to meet the Counseling Association's standards.
At this rate, the University of Texas at Arlington would need to budget about $1 million to hire the professionals it needs, at the school's average salary of $63,000 a year for psychologists.
Zoet said the problem is exacerbated on campuses in rural communities with lower densities, where local amenities may be lacking and salaries are typically lower than in urban areas. Ta.
“Students go to get their health care provider degrees, but in many cases they don't return to the rural areas where they came from,” Zoet said. “They chase money, the ability to get a job, and the opportunity to be involved in city life.As a result, these rural and underserved areas are struggling to keep up with health care delivery, leaving those areas without access to health care. We will no longer be able to provide it.”
Zort said efforts are underway to increase the number of mental health professionals on Texas college campuses, including student loan repayment plans for staff and state and federal funding for staff recruitment and retention. It also includes an increase in funding, he said.
“There are many factors involved in staffing issues, as this is a regular topic discussed by counseling center administrators,” he says. “While it is difficult to define the future direction, changes are occurring that will change the way students access and receive services.”
In addition to programs aimed at recruiting and retaining staff, some academic institutions across the state and nation are partnering with tech companies to offer virtual mental health services to supplement counseling centers' typical 9-to-5 schedules. We provide services. Texas State University and the University of Texas System are among more than 300 schools nationwide to partner with Timely Care on mental health and wellness apps for students. The app was adopted this school year at Texas State University and is intended to expand access to mental health services for students.
Telehealth services do not replace the entire counseling center, but provide students with 24/7, nonstop access to a variety of licensed counselors across the country. Students can use this service free of charge.
Teletherapy has grown in popularity during the pandemic, especially with college and university campuses moving classes online as mental health disorders like anxiety and depression skyrocket.
Christopher Albert, director of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Counseling Center, said apps like Timely Care fill a gap in mental health treatment for college students.
“They learn how to recognize when a student is having difficulty. They know how to talk to that student and persuade them to get the help they need. They will learn about our counseling center,” Albert said. “You can't get all your work done by just sitting in your office.”
Jordan Gus Poore is a freelance journalist based in New York. Texas Regional Health Newsjoint research with Texas State University Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication and the university Translational Health Research Center. TCHN's stories, reports and data visualizations are free to Texas newsrooms.
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