Responding to Mental Health Trends – News

According to the American Psychological Association, suicide rate increased at an alarming rate over the past two decades.

It’s a trend that Robin Farris, licensed counselor and director of Missouri State University’s Downtown Counseling Clinic (CCCC), observed over the past decade.

“We used to tell students, ‘You might see suicidal issues in a semester,'” Farris said. “Now we tell students, ‘You’re going to see clients with suicidal thoughts every week.’ This has grown so much that students now undergo mandatory suicide prevention training before they even begin working with clients.

The clinic is a community branch of the department of leadership and special education consulting at MSU.

Missouri State master’s level students gain hands-on client-facing experience by providing counseling sessions to adults, teens, children, and couples at the clinic under the supervision of licensed instructors.

“We pride ourselves on our ability to help between 80 and 90 people a week with their emotional struggles and mental health issues,” Farris said. “For many of our clients, this is a service they simply could not afford without the clinic’s sliding scale policy. We will not turn anyone away due to an inability to pay.

Learn more about the Downtown Counseling Clinic

Mental health problems

Mental health is a complex issue, especially considering the recent increase in anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation

“There are so many rapid changes with technology and so many crises with the whole world – environmental, economic and political,” Farris said. “Much of this stress is felt by people on a daily basis without them being aware of it.”

While the recent pandemic has brought these issues to the fore, the trend existed before quarantine and social distancing protocols.

“People are so frantic for life and meaning and connection,” Farris said. “They don’t know where to go, so they crash.”

Negative stigmas around mental health care still exist, but attitudes are becoming more compassionate through better mental health education.

“It’s not just about physical and spiritual health. There’s also mental and emotional health,” Farris said. “To be a healthy, balanced person, we need to be as balanced and healthy as possible in these categories.”

Make the difference

the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) accredits the counseling program. This gives students a head start in their job search after graduation.

In addition to receiving training through an accredited program, MSU students learn to navigate a variety of intense concerns that shape the role of counselors.

Farris said Center City Counseling Clinic is known for its warm and inclusive environment and receives positive feedback every semester in its anonymous client surveys.

“I’m always proud to pass on positive feedback to students,” she said. “They may be in their infancy as advisors, but they are making a difference.”

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