College mental health centers are swamped. Here’s what parents can do.

Mental health issues among children and adults have been rising for years. Pre-pandemic data from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health showed that the number of students seeking mental health services nationally increased at more than five times the rate of enrollment. The result: Counseling centers have shifted to “short-term crisis support and rising caseloads of clinicians, which are both associated with reduced treatment and less effective care,” the center noted in its 2021 report.