CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Heading off to college is typically an exciting time for students but it can also be wrought with anxiety and trepidation, especially now in the face of COVID-19.
Dr. Arthur Bregman, a Coral Gables Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, is seeing a large influx of college students who are suffering from anxiety, depression and panic disorders.
“What we see here is a crisis. In 2019 is there were studies from the American College Health Association and a large majority of college students before this were suffering from major mental illness. I mean, like 40 percent of kids in one year had a major depressive illness, so this is going to be a catastrophe and we’ve got to get ready,” Bregman said.
He said students going back to campus need to identify mental health resources that can work with them directly, and their families back home.
“I sit down with the kids and I insist that if they’re going to see me, I have to have authorization to talk to their parents right away,” Bregman said.
Currently, about half of college students plan to return to campus, many facing financial strain which affects their ability to pay tuition and also takes a toll on their mental health.