College Mental Health Program

Established in 2008, the College Mental Health Program’s mission is to help college students with mental illness and adjustment issues live more productive lives by providing the highest level of psychiatric care and working closely with college student-patients, their families, and their institutions of higher education to ensure the greatest probability of academic and personal success.

Each year, more than 600 college students are treated at McLean Hospital. These young people come from more than 200 different colleges and universities to address a broad range of issues and psychiatric illnesses. Today, more than ever, students with proper support, skills, and psychoeducation are thriving while learning to cope with mental health and adjustment issues.

The College Mental Health Program is ideal for:

• College or university students who are struggling with a mental illness
• Friends worried about a peer who is receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital
• Parent of a college student who is struggling with a mental illness or adjustment to campus life
• Mental health professionals interested in learning more about McLean Hospital’s resources for college students
• College or university administrators concerned about supporting students more effectively through practice, policy and programming

By providing student-focused services to students in treatment throughout McLean Hospital, the College Mental Health Program is prepared to work closely with students and with institutions of higher education to support both mental health and academic goals. When students enter a treatment program, we get involved as an adjunct to the overall treatment team. These interventions include psychoeducational groups, consultation to treatment teams, and meetings with individual students planning to return to college or preparing to take a medical leave of absence.

In addition to the services we provide within the McLean community, we offer academic consultation, transition support, and psychoeducational outpatient services to students who are struggling to co-manage their mental health and academic lives. Our facilitator-led support sessions provide opportunities for students to collaborate with peers while learning necessary skills for managing stigma, strengthening campus support and relationships, and assessing readiness to increase academic and social demands.

When students have mental health crises, parents often feel overwhelmed and unsure about how to help. Frequently, parents need help addressing their adult child’s mental health and educational needs simultaneously. The College Mental Health Program is dedicated to also providing support for parents during these challenging times.

CMHP in the News

Read about the college transition in the article “Mental Health Issues Overlooked in College Transition”

Learn more about the College Mental Health Program’s newest services: college readiness consultation service and individual coaching.