College Student Mental Health Has Been Declared A Crisis – What CCSF Brings to the Table and How Students and Faculty Are Coping

By Kyra Young
kyrajyoung@gmail.com

Mental health challenges have become increasingly pervasive on college campuses over the past decade. City College offers a myriad of resources for students to utilize, but these support services must meet an ever-increasing demand.
Experts have declared a mental health crisis amongst college students in America and nearly every metric suggests a worsening trend. According to the Healthy Minds Survey 2021-2022 Data Report, which collected data from 373 campuses nationwide, more than 60% of college students met the criteria for at least one mental health problem – a nearly 50% increase since 2013.
The Healthy Minds Survey also found some 44% of students reported symptoms of depression; 37% of students screened positive for symptoms of anxiety; and 27% of students reported they had felt emotional or mental difficulties had hurt their academic performance within the past four weeks. A report produced by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found 64% of enrolled students who considered withdrawing from their studies named emotional stress or mental health concerns as significant reasons why.
With the surge of challenges comes an increased demand for support services, putting pressure on the resources of college wellness centers and their respective counselors. In response, campuses across the country have made efforts to not only increase access to such resources, but diversify the support being offered.
City College’s Health Center includes their Mental Health Services (MHS), which offers the opportunity for personal counseling with a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), as well as a number of workshops and support groups for enrolled credit students.

As a mental health provider with Student Health Services, LCSW Felicia King said the office becomes busier as the semester progresses, but there are typically a handful of openings for an appointment. Occasionally a waitlist accumulates, but it varies based on staff availability.
“Once students get up and running with their classes and start hitting those barriers where they need support, that’s when we start getting pretty full – usually by week four or five,” King said. However, King added a busy office or waitlist is not the end of options – urgent care services are also available to perform a mental health assessment and provide assistance depending on the student, the moment and their needs.
According to King, City College’s MHS follows a “brief treatment model,” with an initial assessment for students who have paid the student health fee, followed by the practitioner’s best recommendation for treatment. Treatment options include a series of appointments with Psychological Services at no cost, or a referral to another resource if it feels as though the individual’s needs will not be adequately addressed by the department’s services.
Alongside personal counseling, MHS offers couples therapy, workshops and support group sessions every semester. One of these group sessions, “Feeling overwhelmed and looking to get “Unstuck?” Try RIO! [Recognition, Insight, Openness]” will be facilitated for three weeks by King via Zoom every Wednesday beginning Sept. 18.
Student Health Services and MHS have been making more efforts toward outreach and exposure to let students know what’s available, but there are a number of other resources available through City College for students to create support systems around them, take care of one another and themselves.
City College’s various support programs aim to help students of all backgrounds and ages succeed in their academics, while the resource centers provide students with safe spaces and individualized services on campus.
Katie Dalla, coordinator for the Queer Resource Center, sees a number of students pass through the center seeking a safe space and support on a regular basis. With no immediate staff or coworkers, Dalla manages the center almost independently and argues more funding is needed for students to get the adequate support they deserve.
“City College has more resources than most community colleges – we’re truly more of a ‘community college’ than the former term, a junior college,” Dalla said, adding, “We’re really resource focused here, students just need to know it’s available – it’s understaffed, but it is available.”
Dalla went on to acknowledge the quality of services available through Health Services and the campus as a whole, but noted that the counseling services are not enough for some individuals.
“Some people need more support to get through a whole semester. And therapy in general is really expensive out there – we have resources to refer people to, but it’s hard to find something sustainable. I think we’d need more funding for regular, consistent support here on campus. There’s just not enough staff hired,” Dalla said.

Angelica Campos, an active member of the Women’s Resource Center and in pursuit of a Sexual Health Educator Certificate, stressed how unique the City College community truly is.
“City College students are a bit more vulnerable,” Campos Said. “Some of them are formerly incarcerated, some are homeless or at risk of homelessness. They might not know how or feel safe enough to ask for help. Sometimes going out to a counselor or therapist in another part of the city, or finding a new one, can be really intimidating.”
Campos went on to add that outsourcing support can be difficult for working students. “A lot of people don’t have the time to leave campus and find support – I’m one of those people. I work a lot and am taking classes. It can be really hard to outsource, and away from a space that’s comfortable – for some students, this is their safe space.”
Brandon Castro, a program coordinator for the Homeless At-Risk Transitional Students Program (HARTS), brought awareness to the stigma of having a mental health problem, which can make asking for assistance rather daunting.
“I myself work with a lot of individuals who are at risk of homelessness, and their backgrounds are really heavy,” said Castro, adding “We have a lot of resources here, but there’s still the expectation for students to reach out and ask for help, and I think that can be really hard for individuals to do given their previous circumstances.”
Castro suggested the college could create designated safe spaces on campus for students who need to have these conversations, but may not feel comfortable enough to do so otherwise.
When grappling with any mental health issue, both Campos and Dalla recognized the important role of community as support.
“Finding and creating community, like in the resource centers, has been really important for me,” said Campos. “Friends, peers and community building is definitely my first way to deal with stress and anxiety.”
“I think friends is a good place to start,” said Dalla. “Talk with them about what they do to cope, and then maybe access resources on campus or in the classroom. Depending on the topic, a teacher might have the answers, or a resource coordinator like myself. I think going online and doing some personal research also helps, and you can maybe find what’s available in the area.”
Student Health Services will be hosting four different support groups throughout the fall semester, open to all City College students and free of charge. The support groups include “Stress and Worry: Exploration of Techniques” beginning Sept. 10; “Feeling Overwhelmed and Looking to Get ‘Unstuck?’ Try RIO” beginning Sept. 18; “Self-Talk for Wellness” beginning Sept. 23; and “Building Connections: Combating Isolation Together” beginning Oct. 1.
Appointments can be made for psychological counseling with Student Mental Health Services by calling (415) 239-3110, or stopping by the front desk during regularly scheduled clinic hours. The Health Center is located at HC100 on Ocean Campus.