Behind the lectures and late-night study sessions, a growing number of college students are quietly battling anxiety, depression and uncertainty. Data show the crisis is getting only worse.
At New Jersey City University, student engagement with the counseling center has increased more than 30% on evenings, weekends and during breaks, according to Danielle Bachant, the center’s director. Services include programs like Uwill, which offers free, immediate access to teletherapy, giving college students nationwide real-time counseling with licensed mental health providers.
The platform offers same-day scheduling 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Care is provided in students’ native language — crucial to NJCU, whose roughly 5,500 students attend New Jersey’s most ethnically diverse college and the seventh-most in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report.
More than 560,000 college students nationwide say depression symptoms have steadily increased over the past 15 years, especially among women, minority students and those facing financial stress, according to a March study from Johns Hopkins Medicine. The data show a rise from 2007-2022, extending a trend of more than two decades, according to researchers.
In New Jersey, 70% of students reported levels of stress and anxiety higher than the year before, according to a 2021 state Department of Higher Education study of more than 15,500 undergraduate and graduate students across 60 institutions. Forty percent said they were concerned about their mental health in the wake of the pandemic.
At NJCU, Demand continues to climb, at times reaching nearly 150 students every two weeks, Bachant told NJ Spotlight News. Services run from group counseling to “Let’s Talk” drop-in consultations to crisis support. Students are entitled to six sessions per semester, and more if clinicians agree, Bachant said.
“We see a lot of anxiety and depression and the effects of trauma,” she said. Some students come from “varying circumstances, and maybe they haven’t had a safe space to process anything like that.”
Help via app
Like many colleges across the state, New Jersey City University also offers virtual care, with a clinician available even after hours or during periods of high demand.
“There’s also Talk Campus, an app that allows students to connect with peers around the world for support, whether they’re feeling depressed, looking for community or just want to talk,” Bachant said. “It’s been a positive tool for engagement and peer support, with safeguards in place if something escalates.”
The campus Counseling Center works with partners including the Office of Specialized Services, the dean’s office, athletics and scholarship programs, reinforcing that mental health support extends beyond a single office.
“I also oversee the Pride Center, where we offer wellness programs and community events for LGBTQ+ students. So it’s not just traditional therapy — it’s workshops, connection and creating space for students to feel supported in different ways,” Bachant said.
Demand spiked recently to about 150 students every two weeks, she said. “It was so busy last semester that we were almost at the point of needing a waiting list, which we try to avoid at all costs, because we never want anybody to be without,” she said.
Students also can access help beyond campus.
“If we feel a student needs additional support, we work closely with community partners like Hudson Pride in Jersey City and Union City, Jersey City Medical Center and Bridgeway Crisis Intervention Services, helping connect them to low- or no-cost resources, including medication management if needed,” Bachant said.
‘Without judgment’
Bazga Tanvir, an NJCU graduate student and Counseling Center intern, says students face pressures far beyond the classroom.
“When I talk to classmates, there’s a lot of anxiety, not just about school, but about what’s happening outside,” Tanvir said. “From ICE activity impacting students who commute, to the economy and the job market, there’s real uncertainty about whether pursuing a degree will pay off.”
Cultural stigma can be a major barrier to care.
“As a Pakistani Muslim, I’ve seen how mental health is still stigmatized in South Asian communities,” she said. “Seeking therapy can be viewed as ‘Something is wrong with you’, but that’s not true. That’s been my personal experience.”
Even for students who want help, accessing it can be complicated.
“Some students don’t feel comfortable speaking openly at home or can’t take a virtual session in front of their families,” Tanvir explained. “It shows just how critical these campus resources are.”
Alequa Brown, also an NJCU student and intern, has a personal connection. Counseling helped her family, she said, and motivated her to get involved on campus. “People who come here can get a different perspective from someone who has lived through what they are going through now,” Brown said. “It shows them there is light at the end of the tunnel with help.”
Students aren’t seeking just solutions, she said. They’re seeking understanding.
“Many of these students just want their voices to be heard,” she says. “They’re looking for help and someone to listen without judgment.”
New Jersey in 2023 partnered with Uwill at 45 schools. Campus have shared access statewide, according to Erin Andrews, vice president of clinical affairs for Uwill.
“New Jersey’s model is really the first of it’s kind across the nation that was really focused on giving equity and shared access amongst all students, regardless of where they’re coming from, regardless of their walk of life,” Andrews said. It made her, she said, “really proud as a New Jersey native to see that the state was doing that.”
Editor’s note: If you are having thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
