Trained counselors are being added to campus police departments at some institutions to provide enhanced support and, hopefully, less turmoil. For instance, mobile response teams led by trained therapists are being developed to attach to campus police departments at Oregon State University and several University of California campuses. A University of Florida mental health professional now accompanies campus police officers to student crisis calls. These are just a few examples.
“Mental health concerns have now become one of the top few priorities for institutions in a way that you just didn’t see—I think student affairs professionals would say it was 15 years ago, but not presidents, and now presidents are saying it,” Juliette Landphair, vice president of student affairs at the University of Mary Washington, who chaired a working group last summer on the university’s response to mental health crises, told Inside Higher Ed.
“It’s a lot about recognizing the reality of our mental health challenges right now and to acknowledge that we’re listening to students,” she said. “I think just knowing that there are resources available in and of itself is valuable.”
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