Transforming Mental Health Culture in Higher Education: Understanding Trends and Changes Through a New Lens
Colleges are responding to growing student mental health needs and increasing demand for services, which is being driven by changing societal factors, greater public discourse around mental health, and reduced stigma. As campuses expand services, terminology and descriptions of supports vary widely across institutions. Across institutions, similar services are often labeled differently, while the same terms can refer to different types of support. This inconsistency makes it harder for students and families to understand available resources, and for institutions to identify gaps or compare services across campuses. Currently, there is no shared framework for categorizing campus mental health services in a way that is both rigorous and easy to understand for students and their families. This white paper examines how service definitions and scope have evolved across U.S. institutions and proposes a conceptual model for organizing supports from wellness and prevention to acute care and recovery.