Mia Watson

Increase in mental health related calls to University of Georgia police raise concerns about school stress
By Mia Watson

Mental health related calls to University of Georgia police have increased by at least 30% every year since 2015, according to Captain Adam Fouche, Commander of the Bureau of Field Operations for the UGA Police Department.

Fouche oversees mental health response for the UGA Police Department and pointed out the two categories of mental health related calls.

“We pretty much keep track of two statistics: The total number of calls for assistance related to a mental health/behavioral health crisis and the total number of suicide attempt calls,” he said.

In 2018 alone, there were 86 mental health related calls and 10 suicide attempt calls. From 2016 to 2018, the amount of suicide attempt calls made increased by 100%. 

Mental health related calls were not tracked by UGA Police until 2015. Fouche said the department started logging calls to improve their service to students.

“Internally, we decided to keep track of calls for assistance related to a mental health crisis to help us inform our practices to hopefully better serve those suffering from a behavioral health crisis,” he said. 

While the increase in calls is concerning, Fouche said he does not have any information on what could be causing it. 

“I think you'll find national trends of an increase in mental health calls,” he said. “Also awareness of mental health issues.”


















According to the 2018 The Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors
Annual Survey, 58.9% of counseling center clients sought help for anxiety, making it the most prevalent issue noted. Depression was cited as the second most prevalent concern at 48%, and stress followed closely at 46.9%. 

Stress is a ubiquitous aspect of the college experience, and the pressure to succeed can prove detrimental for some students’ mental health. 

Lauren Kamali, a junior psychology and sociology student at UGA, said school causes too much stress in her life. 

“It’s just a lot of time commitment,” she said. “It’s hard to balance having friends, a social life and your own self care while staying on top of assignments.” 

Kiki Griffin, a UGA freshman, echoed Kamali’s sentiment on school stress and mental health.

“A lot of those stem from school,” Griffin said about mental health issues. “I’ve had friends deal with depression or anxiety.”

Kamali said she believes the increasing rigor of coursework is to blame for the steady increase in mental health related calls.

“I think there’s more pressure on students to do better in school, take more hours and push mental health aside to get better grades,” she said. “I also don’t think help is really super available.”

Griffin said the pressure to succeed is not a recent stressor -- she has been dealing with it since before she entered college.

“I remember growing up, a lot of my friends -- especially cause me and my friends were definitely academically rigorous -- seeing each other try to compete and try to battle all of this workflow and be under this mindset that the only way I can be happy is if I’m successful in my work… I think a lot of that can lead to anxiety and depression,” she said.