How to Address Mental Health Challenges in Young Adults

Mental health challenges among young adults have reached a scale that can no longer be treated as a peripheral concern in education. Since the mid-20th century, mental illness has become a leading cause of health burden, particularly among adolescents and emerging adults, with most disorders emerging before the age of 25. Yet in many educational institutions, the conversation about mental health remains reactive – addressed only when a crisis becomes impossible to ignore. The truth is, schools and colleges are among the most powerful sites for early recognition and systematic management of mental health concerns. Understanding how to address these challenges – at multiple levels and through multiple actors – is essential for educators, administrators, and policymakers alike.

The growing need for mental health awareness
Levels of mental health intervention in educational institutions
Primary intervention: prevention before problems begin
Secondary intervention: early detection and timely response
Tertiary intervention: managing ongoing mental health conditions
The role of teachers and counselors
What teachers can do
What counselors contribute
Effective programs and strategies
Whole-institution mental health programs
School-based mental health workshops and curricula
Peer support and community engagement
Culturally responsive and inclusive approaches

The growing need for mental health awareness

The data on youth mental health is hard to look away from. According to the 2023 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2 in 5 high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with rates especially high among girls (53%) and LGBTQ+ youth (65%). At the college level, the picture is equally concerning. The 2024-2025 Healthy Minds Study, involving over 96,000 students from 135 U.S. institutions, found that 32% experience moderate-to-severe anxiety, while 22% report severe depression.

These are not simply statistical abstractions – they translate into real consequences for academic performance, social relationships, and long-term wellbeing. Anxiety, stress, and depression significantly affect student well-being and contribute to increased dropout rates, especially among those experiencing multiple mental health disorders. Financial stress is another significant driver: a 2024 national survey by the Hope Center revealed that 59% of students have considered dropping out due to money issues, with nearly 80% reporting that financial stress negatively impacts their mental health.

Despite rising awareness, institutional responses have often fallen short. A 2024-2025 survey from the National Center for Education Statistics found that just over half (53%) of public schools reported a rise in the share of students seeking school-based mental health services – but only 52% of those schools said they are effective in providing mental health services to all students in need. Common barriers include inadequate funding, a shortage of qualified mental health professionals, and insufficient staff training. Leveraging digital platforms to offer accessible resources, psychoeducation, peer support, and connections to mental health professionals can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression among young people – though digital tools alone are not a complete substitute for human-centered care.

Levels of mental health intervention in educational institutions

A structured approach to mental health in schools and colleges depends on understanding intervention at three distinct levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Classification as primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention is based on when during the course of a disorder the intervention is provided. Each level targets a different point in the mental health continuum and requires a different institutional response.

Primary intervention: prevention before problems begin

Primary prevention acts at the stage before a mental health disorder has emerged – targeting the general population or individuals considered to be at risk. In educational settings, this means creating psychologically safe environments, building social-emotional skills into curricula, and reducing the stigma around mental health. The WHO recommends that schools function as primary mental health support systems for students, enabling the planning and implementation of a broad spectrum of mental health actions that encompass promotion, prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation.

Practically, primary intervention can look like classroom-based mindfulness sessions, life-skills workshops, orientation programs that address emotional adjustment, peer-support clubs, and anti-stigma campaigns. Youth mentoring programs, where an adult mentor provides social support and engages in shared activities, can enhance social and emotional skills and reduce the risk of behavioral disorders, substance use, and related difficulties. The goal is to reach the entire student population – not just those already in distress.

Secondary intervention: early detection and timely response

Secondary intervention targets students who already show early signs of mental health difficulties. Secondary prevention focuses on the early detection and prompt intervention of mental health disorders – essentially getting in quickly to provide timely treatment before a condition escalates. This level depends heavily on trained staff who can notice behavioral changes and connect students to appropriate support.

Faculty, staff, and peers are increasingly trained to spot warning signs and connect students to appropriate mental health services. Screening tools – such as brief depression and anxiety questionnaires administered at the start of an academic year – are effective instruments at this level. The University of California, Los Angeles introduced the STAND stepped-care programme, screening thousands of students and providing tiered digital and clinical interventions that significantly reduced depression and anxiety symptoms and lowered suicide-risk severity. Early identification at this stage is critical: early intervention can promote coping skills and resilience by equipping students with the tools to react positively to change and obstacles, allowing for greater mental, social, and academic success.

Tertiary intervention: managing ongoing mental health conditions

Tertiary intervention addresses students who are already experiencing significant mental health challenges. The goal here is to reduce impairment, support recovery, and prevent the problem from worsening. Tertiary prevention can include outpatient counseling support following a mental health crisis, or pharmacological therapy for a student who suffers from a diagnosed mental health disorder. In college settings, this may involve sustained one-on-one counseling, psychiatric referrals, academic accommodations, and reintegration support after a leave of absence.

Newcastle University’s CBT-based student clinic maintained recovery rates comparable to pre-pandemic levels – around 47% by NHS criteria – while delivering therapy remotely, with students reporting high satisfaction with accessibility and continuity of care. This demonstrates that even under constraints, well-designed tertiary programs can sustain meaningful outcomes.

The role of teachers and counselors

Teachers and school counselors occupy a unique position in the mental health ecosystem of educational institutions. They are often the first adults to notice behavioral, emotional, or academic changes in students – long before a formal concern is ever raised.

What teachers can do

Throughout the week, many students spend more time in the classroom than they do with their parents – making teachers, counselors, and other school staff among the first to notice changes in behavior that could signal a mental or behavioral health issue. Teachers are not expected to be therapists, but they can build emotionally responsive classrooms. Simple strategies make a measurable difference: English teachers can have students discuss the emotions of a character in an assigned book; science teachers can explain how to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to calm anxious thoughts. Across grade levels, teaching emotional literacy – understanding emotions, naming them, and taking others’ perspectives – helps build resilience.

Importantly, teachers should know when to refer students to professional support rather than manage complex mental health concerns alone. Recognizing warning signs – sudden changes in grades, social withdrawal, excessive absenteeism, or visible distress – and acting on them through appropriate channels is itself a critical mental health function.

What counselors contribute

According to the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), school counselors deliver instruction that enhances awareness of mental health, promotes positive well-being, and seeks to remove the stigma associated with mental health issues. They also provide short-term counseling and crisis intervention, and refer students to school and community resources when longer-term treatment is needed.

Through a collaborative environment, school counselors, teachers, and staff can work together to support the well-being of students. Beyond in-school resources, counselors connect students and their families with external mental health services, ensuring that support extends beyond the school environment. Collaboration is at the heart of effective counseling: mental health professionals, teachers, parents, students, administrators, and school staff all play a vital and collaborative role in the development, implementation, and evaluation of mental health services aimed at maximizing students’ academic success.

One structural challenge that limits this work is the high student-to-counselor ratio. The 2019 student-to-school counselor ratio was 444:1, nearly twice as high as the ASCA’s recommendation of 250:1. Addressing this gap is a policy priority that institutions and governments need to act on with urgency.

Effective programs and strategies

Structured programs – rather than ad hoc responses – are what move mental health support from intention to impact. Institutions worldwide have developed evidence-based initiatives that others can learn from and adapt.

Whole-institution mental health programs

More than 18 million people attend colleges and universities in the U.S. every year, putting academic institutions at the forefront of bringing mental health initiatives directly to young adults to help prevent suicide and lower the incidence of anxiety and depression. The JED Foundation’s JED Campus program – a four-year, technical assistance model for colleges – is one of the most well-documented examples. Among the findings of its 2024 impact report, the program documented a significant decline in suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts among students at participating colleges and universities. To date, more than 440 colleges and universities have participated in JED Campus, reaching at least 5.6 million students.

School-based mental health workshops and curricula

Mental health literacy workshops – delivered in classrooms or as stand-alone sessions – are among the most scalable primary interventions. These workshops typically cover recognizing signs of distress, understanding common conditions like anxiety and depression, and developing help-seeking behaviors. Schools should implement mental health programs that include early identification and intervention services, as these can significantly improve student outcomes and address mental health challenges.

The WHO’s Global School Health Initiative emphasizes the importance of focusing on and enhancing the psychosocial environment in schools with a view to fostering emotional and social well-being. Programs such as the European PROMEHS initiative – a multi-year, evidence-based curriculum for students aged 3 to 18 – have demonstrated that integrating social-emotional learning into standard schooling improves both mental health outcomes and academic performance across diverse national contexts.

Peer support and community engagement

Perceived support from peers, family, or university staff correlates strongly with lower stress, anxiety, and depression. Universities that actively foster these connections – through peer-to-peer initiatives, mentoring schemes, and community engagement – can strengthen resilience and normalize help-seeking. Peer support programs train students to serve as first-responders in emotional crises – not as therapists, but as empathetic bridges between a struggling peer and professional resources.

Recreational activities, sports, arts, and student societies are not just extracurricular add-ons. These activities can strengthen peer networks and perceived social support – well-established protective factors against stress, anxiety, and depression. A whole-university approach should connect curricular provision and counseling with these co-curricular spaces, making them intentional, inclusive, and well-signposted.

Culturally responsive and inclusive approaches

No mental health program will succeed if it fails to account for the diversity of its student population. Reports on discrimination and mental health highlight the need for culturally affirmative counseling approaches, systemic support services, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives in educational settings. This is especially important for LGBTQ+ students, students from low-income backgrounds, first-generation college students, and international students – all of whom face compounded stressors that generic programs may not adequately address.

Additionally, the field has witnessed a greater emphasis on systemic reforms, such as policy standardization and the inclusion of youth in the co-design of mental health services – a shift that recognizes students not just as recipients of care, but as active participants in shaping the systems that support them.

Managing mental health concerns in educational settings is not the responsibility of any single actor. It requires deliberate, layered action – from building awareness and reducing stigma, to training staff, to designing programs that reach every student. The most effective institutions treat mental health not as a supplementary service but as a core dimension of education itself.

What do you think? Does your institution have a structured approach to mental health support that spans all three levels – primary, secondary, and tertiary – or does it tend to respond only when a crisis arises? And in your view, are teachers currently given enough training and institutional backing to play a meaningful role in student mental well-being?

References

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Table of Contents

The growing need for mental health awareness 🔗

Levels of mental health intervention in educational institutions 🔗

Primary intervention: prevention before problems begin 🔗

Secondary intervention: early detection and timely response 🔗

Tertiary intervention: managing ongoing mental health conditions 🔗

The role of teachers and counselors 🔗

What teachers can do 🔗

What counselors contribute 🔗

Effective programs and strategies 🔗

Whole-institution mental health programs 🔗

School-based mental health workshops and curricula 🔗

Peer support and community engagement 🔗

Culturally responsive and inclusive approaches 🔗