Most of us struggle when facing change. Regardless of the kind of change, it usually carries with it a certain level of anxiety and a generous assortment of challenges.
College life is one of life’s great periods of change. Often seen as an exciting time of growth, it is also fraught with stressors and temptations. Overwhelming schedules, the pressure to succeed, peer and family expectations, a new and challenging social environment…it can all add up to some very negative outcomes. Anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and even suicide are quite familiar shadows over college campuses across America and mental health issues are a major challenge for our country’s youth.
The good news is that there are proven tools for making the journey to behavioral change, if not easy, at least much more viable. Online screenings, for example, provide a nexus between feeling isolated or hopeless, and taking that first step toward recovery.
Anyone who faces the challenge of a behavioral disorder, goes through common phases, which were first articulated in the late ’80s and early ’90s by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente at the University of Rhode Island in their "Stages of Change Model." With the subsequent advancements in technology – in particular the advent of the Internet – it is now even easier to follow Prochaska and DiClemente’s model than when they first devised it. The Internet has made it possible for people to get a clearer picture of their mental health, whilst affording them complete anonymity.
But it’s still a tough road.
"When people are faced with behavioral change, there’s a usually a high relapse rate," said Douglas G. Jacobs, MD, president and CEO of Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH) and associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "It’s a common pattern – whether dealing with weight loss or anxiety issues – to come out of the gate highly motivated and then either gradually lose momentum or have a slip back into the undesired behavior. But with modern tools for, say, self-assessment, the actual stages of change can be negotiated a little more easily. It will still take hard work, but we’ve gone a long way to addressing the resource gaps."
When a student takes an online screening or watches a video that addresses their particular problem, it is often the launching pad they need that makes all the difference. Depending on the student’s issues, the depth of their problem, and their personal strength and independence, these tools may take them a good way through the change process Prochaska and DiClemente outlined. Or it may just give them enough impetus to seek help.
"On the academic side of things, college students operate in a structured world of course guides, curricula, grades and GPAs," said Dr. Jacobs. "But when it comes to the behavioral challenges they are faced with – and we have to remember that they are in a unique, high-pressure environment – there are no handouts or textbooks that tell them how to get a passing grade, as it were. As mental health professionals, we need to be cognizant of how behavioral change occurs, and what resources are out there that can facilitate it."
College counselors are over-burdened and their schedules fill quickly once the semester begins. According to the "National Survey of Counseling Center Directors, 2011," 46 percent of directors reported that this leads to wait lists being developed,” and 88 percent of these directors expressed concern that some students "may not be getting the help they need when they need it."
Given such statistics, any tools that provide valid expediency can be invaluable – possibly even life-saving. This is not to downplay the value of face time with a counselor, but simply to say that any tools that enhance or augment the discovery-diagnostic-healing process are a boon to a very finite human resource pool.
"There is no substitute for clinical help if someone has a mental health problem," said Dr. Jacobs. "But sometimes individuals feel stigmatized or may not have immediate access to person-to-person help. Other tools may be helpful. They fill that need and can empower the individual. With that initial empowerment may come the confidence to seek help. It’s vitally important that college students be made aware of such tools but with the ultimate goal of seeking professional help."