Everyone on the campus—from administrators to faculty members to students—must recognize how important mental health issues are. How you handle the problems will vary, depending on the size and location of your institution, available resources in your wider community, the insurance your students have, and their demographics. There are, however, some basics:

• Provide rapid access to care. It is important to reach students during the brief window of opportunity when they are in distress and open to speaking with someone about it. Delays in getting an appointment drastically reduce the likelihood that students will get care.
  
  
• Prevent problems. Counseling centers should focus not just on helping those in trouble. Wellness and stress-management programs are important, too. These programs have the side benefit of introducing health-center staff members to the campus, making the whole process of referral less intimidating.
  
  
• Coordinate care. This includes training resident advisers to make referrals, working with local hospitals to decide when students need to be hospitalized—and when they can return to the campus—and helping students and their families with transitions in and out of college. Some institutions have a counseling service, separate from their health services, that provides academic and career as well as psychological help. Whatever the structure, coordination of treatment and follow-up is crucial.
  
  
• Involve other students. Students find other students most credible. Peer counselors and student mental-health advocacy groups can make a huge difference.
  
  
• Post information on the Web. Resources that can be made available include anonymous online screenings for common problems, alcohol-education sites, listings of mental-health groups and counselors, and other campus resources.
  
  
• Establish a committee that involves all stakeholders—senior administrators, student-services professionals, representatives of the health service and the counseling service, and students—to discuss issues, the allocation of resources, and initiatives.
  
  
• Establish clear policies to ensure treatment and referral of problems. What should students or faculty members do when they suspect alcohol abuse or eating disorders? What kind of feedback about referrals should they be given? What are the policies on medical leave? On confidentiality?

It is clear that academic success goes hand in hand with emotional and physical well-being. College is a fresh start for many students, but dysfunctional coping styles can cripple their efforts. Even students who “get by” or succeed academically can be at risk if unhealthy behavioral patterns follow them after college. Promoting emotional health in students is an investment in the future. It should be part of the mission of all colleges and universities.