by Markayla Brooks
This article was updated at 9:47 PM on Dec. 20.
Colleges and universities are facing a mental health crisis among students. Nearly 40% of college students are experiencing depression, according to a 2020 study by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 34% report anxiety, and 13% said they had thought seriously about suicide in the last year, according to the survey.
The pandemic has added to the stresses college students already face.
“I feel like mental health in the Black community, the stigma behind it is really terrible and I wish it was better,” freshman animal science major Lyric Ames said.
Ames said she is trying to get to the University of Maryland’s Counseling Center to seek therapy but hasn’t had the time yet after a friend pointed it out.
Black and Asian students are overrepresented at UMD’s Counseling Center — more are seeking therapy than they make up on campus.
Black students make up 14% and Asian students make up 24% of students in therapy at the Counseling Center, according to the latest statistics the Counseling Center released, dated 2019-2020. On campus, Black students make up about 12% and Asian students make up about 20% of the total population, according to the latest demographics provided by the University of Maryland.
The UMD Counseling Center offers a short term therapy, where students can have 8 sessions with a counselor for a 12-month period. The Counseling Center has 15 outreach programs that reached about 9,800 students, according to the annual report. Programs include a mental health awareness week as well as programs to educate, prevent and reduce stigma around mental health.
Amanda Vu, a sophomore psychology and community health major, has gotten therapy at the Counseling Center and said that mental health is a taboo topic in minority households.
“There is definitely a stigma of mental health in the community, especially when you know you are struggling and you want to seek services but maybe your relatives or parents are worried about how that will affect your record or more about financial reasons,” Vu said.
She gets her school work done during the week and takes the weekends off and takes trips on weekends to maintain her mental health, Vu said. She feels refreshed coming back to classes on Mondays after weekends spent on her own time, she said.
Melina Smith, a freshman sociology and African American studies double major, said it took a long time to be seen by the Counseling Center — an experience shared by many other UMD students — but had a good experience once she got an appointment.
“I would recommend the Counseling Center to other Black women,” Smith said.
Featured image: The Counseling Center offers free therapy to all UMD students. Students of color at UMD are taking advantage of it. Photo by Joel Lev-Tov.