An April 1996 Roper-Starch survey reported that one in five college students worries that his or her stress or depression level is higher than it should be. Consequently, depressive disorders are on the rise among young adults; the average age of a sufferer of major depression is 25. According to the National Mental Health Association, suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students in the United States. With only one such tragedy in the past 15 years, Brandeis has a lower rate of suicide in comparison with other universities, including MIT (10.2 suicides per 100,000 students per year), Harvard University (7.4 suicides per 100,000 students per year) and Duke University (6.1 suicides per 100,000 students per year.)

One factor in the maintenance of mental health on campus is the existence of the University's counseling center as well as various on-campus groups that offer students counseling, information and safe havens. Some such groups are the Student Sexuality Information Service (SSIS), Counseling and Rape Crisis Hotline, Trisk, the Committee on Rape Education (CORE) and resident advisors.

But students need not be depressed or have suicidal thoughts in order to receive counseling at Brandeis. Director of Brandeis' Psychological Counseling Center, Dr. Y. Berlin said students come to the counseling center to discuss issues including eating disorders, relationship and family problems, anxiety, stress, drugs and sexuality. "We see the full gamut of presented problems and concerns," Berlin said.

According to Berlin, one out of two students in each class at Brandeis has a consultation or therapy at the Counseling Center. The center sees approximately 500 to 550 students each year. "It has increased a lot in the past seven or eight years, with changes of the HMO delivery system," he said.

In addition to coming into the Psychological Counseling Center, students are invited to check out the Center's website, accessible from the Brandeis home page. It was professionally designed to offer many services ranging from descriptions of issues that may trouble students, to telephone numbers, which students can call in order to receive help. "It's way ahead of the curve-other colleges link to us; we're a portal for lots of institutions," Berlin said.

Links to other campus support such as informational and counseling groups and services can also be found on the Brandeis website. "Counseling groups are getting more professional training," Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett said. "twenty to 30 percent of Brandeis students are involved in activities that involve counseling and helping other students."

Still "Counseling groups can't replicate the level of professionalism of the Counseling Center," Bennet said. "They only take care of situational problems."
Services and groups are aware of off campus services and are beginning to work together. CORE has increased its hours of training, and the Counseling and Rape Crisis Hotline has the largest training class it has seen in ten years.

"Since we're not a counseling service, we provide informational awareness to help people work through any problems they're having, so they can become healthy, well functioning human beings," Co-leader of CORE Sarah Simpson '05 said. "We go to dorms and do dorm raps and outreach, but unless people really try to find us, they don't."

The SSIS also gives dorm raps frequently, and tries to provide students with options and listen to them if they need support. "We've made a really big effort ... to reassert our presence on campus and to remind people of everything we do," former Co-coordinator of SSIS Dorothy Biberman '03 said. "We don't just provide cheap condoms...we provide counseling and references."

With the knowledge that the highest suicide rates are within the homosexual community, Trisk seeks to provide students with a safe haven in which they can find comfort with his/her sexuality. "Issues of sexuality can weigh heavily on the mind," Trisk member Leo Dorfman '04 said. "Making homosexuals feel safe on the Brandeis campus is positive; a lot kids come here hoping for that kind of space ... many aren't used to feeling open about this and not having to hide."

Although much credit is given to services at Brandeis, both Berlin and Bennet said the nature of the campus and of the undergraduate population is helpful in maintaining the students' mental health. "Often times a lot of credit is given to services, but the undergraduate culture is very caring, very thoughtful, and concerned with keeping things safe and healthy on campus - if the culture wasn't so thoughtful, we wouldn't have the same results," Berlin said. "There are a lot of very bright, good natured people all together."

"Brandeis' size and (intimacy) are part of the reason why we don't have the same tragedies as MIT and Harvard," Bennett said.
She added that the Brandeis student body is conducive to an inclusive environment. "People are not afraid of eccentricity," Bennet said. "Brandeis attracts and retains original thinkers."

Berlin said another quality of the Brandeis population is that many students have had therapy or some sort of counseling with a professional therapist or religious leader at some point before entering the University. "When they come here they reflect that involvement and it carries over."

Still the stress level at Brandeis is high for many students. According to Bennett, Brandeis is as challenging as any Ivy League competitor. But because it is small, people tend not to get lost. "It's difficult to be anonymous here ... If you are staying in your room and avoiding friends, I'm going to get a call about it," Bennett said.

According to Berlin, Brandeis students have a dedication in intellectual growth, and an understanding of the compromises made when entering a school that is academically oriented. "There's never enough emphasis on what selectivity means and how special the undergraduate population is," Berlin said. "The 'good time' aspects of Brandeis are friendships and relationships ... (but) lets face it, there's no question that academics are a priority."

In addition to the current counseling services, a new Brandeis organization has been founded to try to prevent students from allowing their psychological problems from impacting themselves and others adversely. The Brandeis Organization for Mental Health Awareness (BOHMA) has scheduled a mental health week from Jan. 27 to Jan. 31. "A lot of kids just don't know the issues," BOHMA President Sara Phillips '04 said. "Psychological well being is not a priority in colleges and state governments."

BOHMA Vice President Meghan Carter '05 said "we're not saying that the school is not doing a good job. This club is there in case there are those falling through the cracks." In terms of the necessity of another organization alongside the many existing counseling services such as SSIS and CORE, Carter said, "you don't have to be questioning your sexuality in order to need help." The counseling center can also be inadequate since "many times students feel more comfortable speaking to undergraduates like them," she added.

While students may prefer speaking to peers, certain issues do require professional help, and trained student counselors know when to refer a student to a professional at the Counseling Center. "I have an excellent and very dedicated staff," Berlin said.

But some students said they are concerned the counseling is understaffed. While psychologists are present five days a week, a visiting psychiatrist is only available on Thursdays. Berlin admitted that "we've been in need of more psychiatric time...we certainly could expand ... we all have to face the fact that we'd like more and more staff." But, he said, "we do the best with the resources we have ... and the quality of the staff is the most important issue."

The mental health resources at Brandeis have been publicized in many ways, including posters and dorm outreach programs. Nevertheless, some service coordinators feel that groups providing mental health services do not get enough publicity on campus, and are therefore not sufficiently utilized by students.
"The problem isn't whether or not we're publicized - rather, whether the student feels ready to use the resources," Berlin said.