Nearly 30 years ago, when Jamie Davidson left the University of Georgia to join UNLV, he didn’t expect that he would so soon need to justify the need for student mental health services.

Shortly after he started as a staff psychologist, the campus counseling center’s director quit; an administrator told him the center would likely be closed as a result. “I was like, ‘How can you close a counseling center at a major university?’ You know, that’s unheard of.”

Now the associate vice president for student wellness at UNLV — which includes the Student Health Center, Student Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and the Behavioral Health Team — he can look back and see how far UNLV has progressed in prioritizing mental wellness.

“We still have a counseling center, so I guess you know that they decided to keep it open,” he jokes.

But, at the time, he felt dejected. It took a conversation with his wife for him to “find my moxie” and confront the administrator about what it would take to keep the center open. “The administrator said, ‘Besides helping students, I want to know the counseling’s center’s impact on academic success and on student retention.’”

Although such research is prevalent now, Davidson says he had to get creative to find the answer back then. His team dug in to make the connection to dropout rates. And they’ve been making that case with stronger data ever since.

“By collecting the data, one of the things we showed is that by offering counseling — not only do students get better, which is what you’d expect — 85% said that counseling helped their academics. Because when you’re struggling with a well-being issue, it’s really difficult to focus and study.”

A National Issue

The American Council of Education notes that students with a mental health issue are more likely to have lower GPAs, take longer to complete a degree, or drop out of college entirely.

Today, more and more students are grappling with mental health issues, according to the latest Health Minds survey of college students:

• 44% reported symptoms of depression;
• 37% said they experienced anxiety;
• 15% said they have seriously considered suicide.

Coming out of a pandemic, those were the highest rates in the survey’s 15-year history.

“It’s like Maslow’s hierarchy,” says Davidson. “When you help students meet their core needs, it can have a profound impact. Not only on their emotional well-being, but their ability to academically succeed. I like to think it’s part of laying a cornerstone of wellness for their whole life.”

Davidson no longer has to fight so hard to prove the relevancy of the counseling center, now called CAPS. President Keith E. Whitfield, a psychologist, placed supporting student mental, physical, and financial well-being as a top initiative when he joined UNLV amid the pandemic in fall 2020.

In 2022, he launched periodic campus mental health town halls to help faculty and administrators better understand student needs. That event led to a group of students founding Project Wellness for peer-to-peer support. At the most recent town hall in February, he dispensed with the typical panel presentations to moderate a more interactive conversation.

“I think it’s vital that we talk about mental health, that we normalize caring for our mental well-being as much as we do our physical,” he said. “When we look at traditionally aged students, folks my age might think, ‘What do these kids have to be stressed about?’ To me the answer is clear: a lot.”

And that was true even before the Dec. 6, 2023, shooting brought trauma, grief, and anxiety to our campus.

From Rebel Recovery to Reconnection

CAPS, along with several UNLV programs in social work, psychology, and counselor education have been integral in the UNLV Rebel Recovery program, launched by Whitfield after the shooting. In addition to expanding wellness resources for students, Rebel Recovery brought benefits enhancements, numerous pop-up wellness events, and other programs to students and employees alike.

In December, January, and February, Davidson said CAPS saw a 27% increase in the number of appointments over the previous year. About 40% of students making their first appointments cited experiencing trauma unrelated to abuse as a reason for their visit.

“But most striking to me was the increase in same-day crisis appointments — that jumped 492% after the shooting,” he said.

Similar jumps were seen among employees. UNLV’s human resources department has long offered work-life balance workshops and webinars. Sessions specific to trauma recovery were added in December, and all garnered above-average attendance.

The immediate need for counseling was overwhelming, so the university also tapped into the services at the Resiliency & Justice Center, which was created by county and state agencies after the 1 October shooting in 2017. Numerous practitioners in private practice, many of them alumni, offered their services pro bono.

For those affected by trauma, Whitfield notes, healing can’t be rushed. But he says the hope comes in remembering that after recovery comes reconnection.

“I am so proud of how our university community has rallied together to support one another,” Whitfield said. “This is a place that understands compassion, and I’ve seen countless examples of people supporting each other and our students. But more than that, I want people to know this is a place that is centering mental wellness in our mission and in our everyday practices.”

From OK to Thriving

UNLV has increased CAPS staffing by 50% since a mental health fee of $50 a semester went into effect in fall 2021. The increase was approved by the Nevada Board of Regents after strong support came from undergraduate and graduate student governments.

CAPS will employ 21 counselors, two psychiatrists, two behavioral health providers, two psychiatric nurses, and two wellness educators to serve UNLV’s 31,000 students. Davidson notes that the demand for psychiatric services has increased as more students come into college with previously prescribed medications. Most major mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, have their peak onset before age 25.

Last year, CAPS embedded two staff members in the residence halls and is expanding to the Shadow Lane medical campus. Programming expanded to train faculty and staff proactively to respond to students they’re concerned about.

“CAPS services are a game changer for students,” reports Chelsie Hawkinson, a professor-in-residence in the College of Education. Her research is in college student engagement and success.

“We spend a lot of time in First-Year Seminar discussing the importance of developing psychosocial skills before we explore academic skill development. Without the strong foundation of positive psychosocial behaviors, it is very difficult to focus on learning and goal achievement.”

Like Davidson, Whitfield notes that it’s no longer hard to make the connection between student well-being and classroom success. But, he notes, the impact goes far beyond helping students get through their studies and on to graduation.

“Ultimately, what we’re doing here is preparing our students for success beyond us,” he said. “We give them skills and knowledge they need for their careers, of course. But we also are helping them learn how to establish strong relationships and to cope with challenges — to learn how to get help when they’re not OK and how to work their way from being OK to really thriving.”