Student mental health: a university crisis?

Have you ever heard that the student years are the best of one's life? If so, you might wonder why this doesn't seem to be the case for so many at university. Australian and international research suggests university students experience heightened risks for the onset of mental health problems when compared to the general population and previous generations (Browne et al, 2017; Lewis et al, 2021). University years often coincide with the critical transitional period (between the ages of 17 and 25 years) when mental health problems are most likely to onset. Coupled with this, a recent UK government report says that the number of students in higher education experiencing mental health problems has doubled since 2014 (ONS, 2022). Over the last decade, the number of students disclosing a mental health condition to their university has increased fivefold. Over 90% of university counselling services have reported an increase in demand for their services. So, are we facing a crisis in student mental health?