More Mental Illnesses ... Equals Less Funding?

NPR recently reported about the fact that depression is on the rise amongst college students.  However, it goes on to talk about how even though many colleges have counseling centers, many of them seem to be understaffed or work at limited hours.  This creates a problem for those who seek help, since effective counseling helps students tremendously.  The link also contains the morning edition report, a short 4.5 minute listen.

NPR Summary and Broadcast

A recent report in the Los Angeles Times echos this finding in the headline "Colleges Urged to Screen More for Depression".  An obvious result of increases in depression would be to screen more in students to find and detect the early symptoms.  The stress and anxiety upon entering college can be overwhelming for some students and help for these students is critical.

""Depression screening is easy to do," Fleming said. "We know it works, and it can save lives."
Fleming's study is one of a number of recent reports to note a rise in the number of college students diagnosed with depression and other conditions that seem to indicate an overall decline in their emotional state. "

Full Article

Sadly, at the present time, although depression is on the rise, states are feeling the economic crunch and cutting mental health budgets.  This blog does not aim to take a political stance, so here are the facts.  For Michigan, the mental health budget has decreased by $24.5 million in the past three years, a -7.9% change.  For other states or more information please click the link below.

State Mental Health Budgets