Students' mental health is an important facet of university life, and Ohio University is taking note of that. Because of an increased demand for mental health services over the past few years, Hudson Health Center will add two psychologists and a psychiatrist to Counseling and Psychological Services next year, despite the university hiring freeze.
It's encouraging to see the university invest in its students and work to fix a problem on campus. OU treats 6 percent of its students for psychological problems, compared with the 9 percent most colleges report. Even without the new hires, OU has managed to decrease wait time for first appointments this year: Last year, an average patient waited between two to four weeks, compared with one to two weeks this year.
Another positive aspect about the hirings is that they will be funded without tuition dollars or mandatory fees. Instead, the WellBeing Plan (which is optional for students) and third-party insurance charges will cover their salaries next year.
However, even with three new Counseling and Psychological Services personnel, director Jeanne Heaton said that they could use more, because of an increasing number of visits every year. This problem is not unique to OU; a study from the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University found that almost half of college students have some kind of mental health disorder. Hopefully, when the university emerges from budget woes, OU administrators will continue to recognize that need as a priority.
OU is making great strides by refusing to ignore the genuine need for good mental health personnel on campus. The university officials who made this happen deserve recognition for their commitment to making sure that when a student asks for help, someone is available to listen.
Editorials represent the views of The Post's executive editors.
4 Opinion
Added mental health personnel will have positive impact on OU
