Senators Discuss Preventing College Attacks — and psychologists present some hard-to-believe statistics:
Some of the most disturbing testimony came from Russ Federman, director of counseling and psychological services at the University of Virginia.Dr. Federman ticked off statistics from a recent survey about the extent of mental health problems on campuses. He said that 94 percent of students reported feeling overwhelmed by all they have to do, and that nearly 50 percent reported having felt so depressed that it was difficult to function.
In the same survey, 9 percent of students reported seriously considering suicide and 1.3 percent actually attempted suicide. Colleges’ counseling centers are struggling to keep up, Dr. Federman said.