As student anxiety skyrockets, campus ministries are trying to help by not just offering the comforts of faith and community, but also creating collaborations with mental health professionals
. It found everything from sadness to suicide plans increased by more than 40% in the decade before COVID-19 — and that the pandemic's further impact was"devastating."
At Yale University, Omer Bajwa, an imam and director of Muslim life, has seen a dramatic increase in attendance at Friday prayers and Ramadan events compared to pre-pandemic times. While he said the class of 2025 has nearly double the usual number of self-identifying Muslim students, he believes attendance is also driven by how relevant chaplains have become.
Even before the pandemic, despair seemed to mark Generation Z, whose members were born roughly between 1997 and 2012. The Newman Center at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, offers game nights and dances and also pays for weekly student counseling sessions at its residence hall, which is open to non-Catholics, too.
Many experts argue that therapy should assess students’ engagement with spirituality as an overall part of their identity. It would help uncover potential coping mechanisms, said David Hodge, professor in the school of social work at Arizona State University.