With a 48 percent increase in the number of students seeking counseling, Florida universities are asking for an additional $14.5 million in the coming budget year to hire more mental health professionals, including psychologists, counselors, psychiatric nurses and prevention specialists.
At least eight of the 12 universities don’t meet staffing standards recommended by experts, because they have more than 1,500 students for each mental health professional on the campus.
The inadequate staffing has led to waiting lists, fewer counseling sessions and the need to rely on off-campus services, which are not covered by student health fees.
There also is an increase in more severe cases, with campus counseling centers reporting 4,200 visits in the 2013-14 academic year that were classified as emergency or crisis visits, involving issues like severe depression, acute anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
The counseling centers also reported 300 students had to be involuntarily hospitalized under the state’s Baker Act during that academic year.
The state Board of Governors, which oversees the universities and is meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Sarasota, will review the report and consider the mental health funding as part of its 2017-18 budget request to the Florida Legislature.
The data shows that since the fall of 2008, the number of students seeking counseling services rose 48 percent, to 20,495 clients, in the 2013-14 academic year. There also were 163,000 counseling sessions, a 67 percent increase.
The directors of counseling services at Florida State University and the University of Florida, two of the state’s largest and oldest institutions, confirmed the staffing challenges.
Under the budget proposal, the $14.5 million would fund 137 positions spread across all 12 state universities. It would allow the schools to hire more psychologists, mental health counselors, psychiatric nurse practitioners, case managers, prevention specialists and office staff.
FSU would receive $1.9 million for 19 counseling positions, with UF receiving $2.2 million for 23 positions.