Apr 16, 2014 By Kimmi Baston staff Writer 6 min read

Since the Columbine massacre in 1999, horrific acts of violence have appeared in news media with increasing frequency. Recently, it seems the public hardly finishes reeling from one tragedy before another occurs. The Sandy Hook shooting, the Washington Navy Yard shooting, the death of a 10-year-old in Washington, Pa., the Fort Hood shooting and the Franklin Regional stabbing are all examples of this. 

The common element among all of these events is the ongoing discussion of mental health in conjunction with violence and of mental healthcare in the United States. 

U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., is responding to mental health concerns with a new bill, the 2013 Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which is currently being debated in the House of Representatives. If it passes, the bill will reform much of the United States’ current mental healthcare system. 

Murphy will hold a press conference April 23 at 11 a.m. in Alumni Hall to discuss his new mental health bill.

While the issue of mental health is sensitive and therefore highly debated throughout the country, it is especially important to colleges and universities. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students, and depression is the number one cause for suicide. 

Mary Hamilla, assistant director of the Counseling Center and educational enrichment program at Waynesburg University, affirms that this is true.

”College students are at a really high risk, more so than other populations, for suicide,” said Hamilla. “They come here and feel this increasing pressure to succeed.”

Hamilla works with the Waynesburg chapter of the Peer Education group, which held a suicide prevention program in the fall of 2013. The international organization requires that students take a semester-long class to be trained before they begin to plan and carry out programs centered on various issues for their college.

”The fall program was completely student led, and it was because we have a lot of students who lost somebody by suicide, so it was really close to them,” said Hamilla. “If you ask in a classroom, ‘How many people know someone who was a victim of suicide?’ lots of hands go up.”

According to the New York Times, the plan for Murphy’s bill is to provide funding for suicide prevention programs all over the country. He also hopes to fund increases in the space and personnel capabilities of mental health wards everywhere.

Hamilla agrees this is an urgent need. 

”There are still many, many, many people who don’t get the mental health care they need, and they end up in prison lots of times, or on the street, and it’s just really unnecessary for that to happen,” said Hamilla. 

According to an analysis by the Treatment Advocacy Center, about 350,000 mentally ill Americans are in state jails and prisons, while the number of psychiatric beds available in the country is down to about 35,000. 

In addition, Murphy, whose background is in clinical psychology, wants to increase funding for involuntary outpatient treatment – also known as court-ordered administering of medicine to those mentally ill. This is intensely debated in government and in treatment centers nationally, since it draws in concerns of civil and human rights.

On the college level, Waynesburg University Director of the Counseling Center Jane Owen does not believe this sort of mandate is necessary. While she does believe that “for some people, [medicine] is life-changing or life-saving,” Owen said she rarely has to mandate that a student be treated.

”Our students have good self-awareness. If they know they are feeling suicidal, I have never had anyone refuse to go inpatient,” said Owen. “I think the main problem is that we need more affordable and more access to psychiatric care.”

Owen, who has been a counselor at Waynesburg for 27 years, said she used to be able to get students admitted for psychiatric care within a day. Now, there is often a two to three month waiting list. 

Hamilla agrees that due to the volume of those needing care and the lack of availability of care, it is “difficult to cover all the need.” She believes possible solutions might include training more psychiatrists, or allowing psychologists or counselors to prescribe medication under certain conditions.

Even with the problems in the system that need addressed, both Owen and Hamilla feel that the general public’s attitude toward mental health concerns has drastically improved recently.

”There’s certainly less stigma than there used to be; people are reaching out for [help],” said Hamilla. “It’s definitely a good thing.”

Owen acknowledged that more people experience depression and anxiety symptoms each day, but that this may be resulting in a greater degree of openness.

”I can walk in the dining hall and someone will say, ‘there’s my therapist!'” said Owen. “People are pretty open about it.”

This seems to be especially true of college students, who Owen believes share a lot among each other concerning their struggles with mental health. This was evidenced by the fall suicide prevention program, which she described as “packed.”

”I think it was very valuable,” said Owen. “There was an atmosphere of ‘let’s talk about this.'”

Owen hopes this trend continues at Waynesburg and everywhere. Students can be of great help to one another if they learn to “be much more empathetic and caring” and help keep each other accountable. 

The Waynesburg University counselors emphasize that they are always available to students seeking help for themselves or others.