Results from a 2016 survey of more than 25,000 Ontario university and college students indicate anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts have increased on campuses within the last three years. The Ontario University and College Health Association (OUCHA) published the findings based on surveys completed in the spring and found that mental health concerns are on the rise among students.
Among the major findings, as reported by the CBC:
- 65 percent of students reported experiencing overwhelming anxiety in the previous year (up from 57 percent in 2013).
- 46 percent reported feeling so depressed in the previous year it was difficult to function (up from 40 percent in 2013).
- 13 percent had seriously considered suicide in the previous year (up from 10 percent in 2013).
- 2 percent reported attempting suicide in the last year (up from 1.5 percent in 2013).
- Nine percent reported attempting suicide sometime in the past (not restricted to last year).
“We’ve got a major crisis on our hands,” Houghton told the CBC.
“Many of us who oversee counselling services describe our day as using a finger to stop a flood and the demand for our services far outstrips our capacity to support students.”
The Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health (CICMH), which is housed at CMHA Ontario, is helping to address the issue of campus mental health.
The CICMH helps Ontario’s colleges and universities enhance capacity to support student mental health and well-being.
The Centre works with campus mental health providers to identify innovative ideas and approaches and to address gaps in services and programs. This includes facilitating a community of practice, coordinating access to expertise and fostering and supporting new methods to address student mental health.
One of the current projects that the Centre has developed is a toolkit for campus mental health professionals and support staff to access additional resources and information on best practices in order to enhance the services currently offered on campuses across the province.
And at the heart of the Centre, is the strong, collaboration with the post-secondary education sector on campus, and the mental health and addiction services in the community off campus.
CICMH is a partnership project involving Colleges Ontario, the Council of Ontario Universities, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, the College Student Alliance and the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division. This project is one of the 21 projects that were funded by the Ministry of Training and College’s Mental Health Innovation Fund.