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MiTRENDS: Training and Resources for Exploring Needs and Developing Support

The MiTRENDS Mental Health Hub uses data from the Michigan Mental Health Landscape Survey to visualize how community colleges across the state are supporting student mental health, while offering tailored resources for colleges to expand their capacity to support student mental health.

Explore the data visualizations below to learn more about student mental health services at Michigan community colleges and discover relevant resources for addressing the gaps and challenges identified.

Many community college students don’t have adequate access to mental health support at their college.

Research shows that over half of community college students meet the criteria for one or more mental health conditions, yet the majority of these students don’t receive or access mental health care. ^1,2

Receiving treatment from a trained mental health provider is an evidence-based solution that reduces negative academic impacts, increases student persistence, and enhances pathways to success in the workforce. ^3,4

However, many Michigan community college students have limited access to mental health care at their college.

30% of Michigan community colleges do not offer any in-house counseling services to students.

Learn more about mental health services offered at Michigan community colleges and view relevant resources
85% of Michigan community colleges don’t meet the recommended standard of having one full-time counselor for every 1,000 students, a guideline set by the International Accreditation of Counseling Services.

Learn more about the clinical capacity of Michigan community colleges and view relevant resources
The most commonly reported barriers to improving mental health services at Michigan CCs include a lack of funding, a lack of counseling staff time, and competing institutional priorities.

Learn more about barriers to expanding mental health services at Michigan community colleges and view relevant resources

Community colleges often take innovative approaches to support student mental health.

Many Michigan community colleges do have invaluable mental health staff doing vital work to support student success on their campus. However, the way colleges provide this support can look very different from one school to another. Given resources are often limited, colleges tend to use innovative approaches to meet student mental health needs.

Among Michigan community colleges…

While referring to outside providers can play an important role in supporting student mental health, this can often make it harder for students to get care. Students may face long wait times, need health insurance, or experience other barriers that delay treatment.

Learn more about mental health services offered at Michigan community colleges and view relevant resources
Partnerships with local mental health providers and community organizations can be especially useful for colleges with limited in-house counseling services. Community partnerships also make it easier to connect students to specialized treatment options when students need higher levels of care.

Learn more about community partnerships and view relevant resources
Digital Mental Health Interventions don’t replace on-campus counseling. Instead they’re an innovative way to offer additional support to students who can’t access traditional services due to long wait times, scheduling difficulties, or discomfort with meeting with a counselor.

Learn more about Digital Mental Health Interventions and view relevant resources

Discover your college’s mental health resource availability.

Browse our 2024 landscape analyses of mental health resource availability for all 31 Michigan community colleges.

Landscape Analyses

Explore our full library of technical assistance resources.

These resources are designed to help community colleges increase student access to evidence based mental healthcare.

Resource Library

Lipson, S. K., Phillips, M. V., Winquist, N., Eisenberg, D., & Lattie, E. G. (2021). Mental Health Conditions Among Community College Students: A National Study of Prevalence and Use of Treatment Services. Psychiatric services, 72(10), 1126–1133.
Eisenberg, D., Goldrick-Rab, S., Lipson, S.K., Broton, K. (2016) Too Distressed to Learn? Mental Health Among Community College Students. The Wisconsin Hope Lab, Retrieved from: https://saragoldrickrab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Too_Distressed_to_Learn_Mental_Health_Am.pdf
Arria, A. M., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., Winick, E. R., Baron, R. A., & O’Grady, K. E. (2013). Discontinuous college enrollment: associations with substance use and mental health. Psychiatric services, 64(2), 165–172.
Eisenberg, D., Golberstein, E. & Hunt, J. (2009). Mental Health and Academic Success in College. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 9(1).