Area schools, university see increased wait times for mental health services

Nov. 22—EAU CLAIRE — The Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health found 40% of children with mental health conditions around the state did not receive treatment in 2021, according to the organization's annual report.

The same report found at least a third of Wisconsin adults ages 18 through 24 experienced anxiety on most days throughout the year.

Across the nation, mental health care professionals are reporting an increase in demand as patient wait lists grow. According to The Washington Post, the American Psychological Association reported unusually high referral numbers after surveying its members last fall, with most relating to anxiety, depressive and trauma-related disorders.

"Yet 65 percent of the more than 1,100 psychologists who responded said they had no capacity for new patients and 68 percent said their wait lists were longer than they were in 2020," the Post stated.

Last December, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued an advisory on "the urgent need to address the nation's youth mental health crisis."

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and national economic decline, area students aren't immune to the adverse impacts these stressors can have on mental health.

Kaying Xiong, executive director of student services for the Eau Claire Area School District, says there has been an increasing demand for support within the schools from both students and adults.

Internally, Eau Claire schools employ counselors, social workers and school psychologists to meet the mental health needs of students.

"We have staffed our counselors to the national recommended level, which is one counselor to every 250 students," Xiong said. "So, that should play a significant role in us being able to provide for the needs of students prior to them needing a therapy service with an outside provider."

If those avenues do not suit a student in need, that student may be referred to a mental health therapist in the community through collaboration between the family and the schools' Pupil Services.

"Of course, we never feel like we have enough," Xiong said. "Whether they're counselors or mental health therapists from the community, everybody always feels like we could use more. The schools are just a microcosm of our community. I think whatever the community is experiencing, that's exactly what we're also experiencing in terms of needs and having the resources to meet those needs."

The difficulty, Xiong said, stems from the myriad types of needs arising within the district. It's hard to pull together resources and services that accommodate every student's unique circumstance.

"It's just all over the board, and I think our ability to better understand that and provide for those types of needs is certainly a challenge right now."

Samantha Behnke, mental health coordinator for ECASD, said the wait time for obtaining mental health care services within the schools can take up to several months, depending on the school. While some students require only a few sessions and are able to open their position to a new student quicker, others take more time.

"In a perfect world it'd be really nice to not ever have wait lists for students and families to be able to get the mental health care services that they need," Behnke said.

She noted that eliminating key barriers for students and families is an important part of getting students help more efficiently.

Each school in the district has a day contact for mental health services, Behnke said. This contact will work with families to find services that best fit their needs if a student is unable to attain services outside of school. Additionally, each school has a therapist who comes in for at least four hours a week.

Another service offered by the school district is the Family Support Program, funded by a United Way grant. This program offers families access to four free family therapy sessions. As of right now, there is no wait list for this service.

University faces similar challenges

Riley McGrath, director of Counseling Services at UW-Eau Claire, said the university has also noted an uptick in mental health care services demand in the past two years with Counseling Services being essentially "at capacity."

"We see about a little over 1,000 students every year, which is 11 or 10% of the student population, but it's clear that there's more than that we're prevented from seeing just because of how far we get booked out," McGrath said. "The demand is by far the biggest challenge — knowing that there's so many people that want to be seen and we want to see them, but also having to juggle when to do it."

About a dozen counselors see students at an average wait time rate of 20 days. To meet demand most effectively, McGrath said the university would probably need to employ double the current number of counselors.

In past years, average wait times were only 13 days in 2018, 14 days in 2019, seven days in 2020 and 20 days in 2021.

McGrath said the university actually saw a decline in demand at the height of the pandemic when all classes had gone virtual.

"We were able to see people a lot more frequently because people weren't as interested in telehealth," he explained.

However, demand rose again when in-person classes resumed. Pandemic aside, McGrath said stress from classes and exams, anxiety over leaving home, starting and ending relationships, and making other big life decisions all have major impacts on the mental health of college students.

The university does what it can to eliminate the three major barriers to mental health care services, he added: finances, proximity and stigma.

Counseling Services are free to students, as they are covered by segregated fees. The services available are accessible right on campus or virtually. Finally, McGrath said it can be difficult to fight the stigma surrounding mental illness, but the university makes efforts to educate and inform its students.

"For people to succeed in college, it's important for them to have access to resources," McGrath said, noting the benefits that strong mental health care services can have on student well-being and retention.

UW-Eau Claire currently offers in-person services and tele-counseling via Zoom, daytime crisis drop-in sessions, group therapy and workshops, individual therapy, couples counseling, mental health and addiction assessments, and aid with case management.

As of Monday, the UW System is now partnering with telehealth provider Mantra Health to offer students mental health care services on nights and weekends, which previously couldn't be done. The UW System has also established a 24/7 crisis support line, 888-531-2142.

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