A recent study conducted by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute found the percentage of students who rated their emotional health as above average fell to 52 percent — a 12 percentage-point drop since 1985, when the institute began the survey.
Valerie Gebhardt, a therapist in the University of Illinois Springfield’s counseling center, said the university generally keeps new freshman busy for two or three weeks to avoid adjustment issues popping up.
“That first week we are just bombarding the students with activities and introducing them to different places on campus,” she said. “The counseling center being one — we are a resource for depression, anxiety or loneliness.”
Gebhardt was featured in an August 23, 2011, article in The State Journal-Register.
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