Spring 2020 TC Magazine

Photo by Sidney Sims

Ending the stigma

Find out how Otterbein is working to improve mental-health efforts on campus

Brynna Guthrie ’21

H

ave you or anyone you know ever struggled with a mental health issue? The answer is probably yes. It’s become common these days for people to experience some sort of mental health struggle throughout their lifetime, especially during the college years. College students tend to have an immense amount of pressure on them, whether it be from the financial stress of paying college tuition, the weight of trying to maintain a certain grade point average or anything in between.

Dr. Kathy Ryan, a licensed psychologist at Otterbein’s Counseling Center, has worked closely with students who have dealt with mental health issues ever since the program started in 2015.

10 April 2020

“If you push your body too long and hard, you are vulnerable to mental health issues; we can all be vulnerable if we don’t take care of ourselves.”

“Last year, we saw 13% of the undergraduate population for mental healthrelated issues,” says Ryan. “Since we’ve opened on campus, we’ve seen close to a 40% increase in the number of students using the Counseling Center.”

This steady increase is indicative of struggles students are bringing with them before they even step foot on campus. According to Ryan, about 25% of entering freshman students have already met with a counselor before enrolling.

Despite these numbers, there are still many students who won’t seek help for issues like depression and anxiety. In the past, those struggling with untreated mental illnesses often were labeled