Differentiating Between Typical and Expectable Distress and Then Distress That's Impairing Functioning

Are we in the midst of a mental health “crisis” for college students and other young people? How should campus administrators and faculty members be thinking about the mental health of their students and their roles in addressing it? And do we perhaps need to reframe the discussion around what “mental health” even is?

This week’s episode of The Key explores an issue that has been at or near the top of the worry list for those who work in and around higher education, as learners report record levels of depression, anxiety and other conditions; strain campus counseling and health centers seeking treatment; and struggle academically, sometimes to the point of stopping out altogether.

Joining the discussion are Lisa Damour, a psychologist and author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, Nance Roy, chief clinical officer at the Jed Foundation; and R. Ryan Patel, senior staff psychiatrist at Ohio State University and chair of the mental health section of the American College Health Association.

This episode is sponsored by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.