Be Proactive with the College

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There is approximately a one in two chance that your child is going to have trouble with depression or alcohol problems at college. While many students get a handle on both of these problems over time, one would think with a 50 percent likelihood of trouble that families would be paying closer attention to the available emotional and medical resources at the college of their choice.

Sadly, this isn't the case. But you can change that. You can protect your child (even from a distance) by paying attention to the quality of the mental health resources offered by your child's school. When parents start asking more questions and demanding parity for mental health programs, schools will come to realize that safety and emotional well-being are important considerations for increasingly informed consumers and will provide appropriate resources to address these issues.

Certainly a school with inadequate chemistry labs or athletic facilities will upgrade its resources to remain competitive; however, most schools don't think of their health and wellness programs as primary selling points. But as parents and students become more educated consumers, I believe they should. For most parents, a primary concern is that their child gets a solid education in a setting where he or she will grow and prosper academically and emotionally. With the increased awareness of the pervasiveness of common stress and mental health problems, parents should and will be asking about support resources. Schools that don't provide a supportive, safe environment will face more scrutiny by families. I believe that a good measure of a quality school is the wisdom to recognize that emotional and academic development go hand in hand.

Be Honest

To help the school give your child the best care possible, you must be honest about your child's mental health history. It is a common, but mistaken, idea that not mentioning previous mental health problems on college health forms affords an incoming student a "fresh start." Coming to college is a fresh start, but the burden of having these problems and keeping them secret ironically often makes them worse. The student feels more isolated and gets the sense that she is different and must hide her problems.

Let the college know if your child has had psychological difficulties or needs any special services. This is an ideal opportunity to be proactive. You might say, "Our daughter has had panic attacks in the past, and we'd like to know what resources you have to help her if this happens again." She will not be singled out due to this information, and she will not suffer any academic consequences or discrimination. But she will know that there are people at the college who can help her, and she will be given the information she needs to manage her own mental health.

College is not a fresh start from mental health issues. They come with the student and need to be acknowledged and cared for, especially since the stress of college can make them worse, not better.