Report Regarding the Current State of Mental Health Services at Central Washington University Prepared by Cindy M. Bruns, PhD, Interim Director of Counseling With additional data by Marissa Howat, MEd, MCHES, Director of Wellness and Health Promotion Kristin Karns, ARNP, Interim Medical Director. November 6, 2018 This report is prepared in response to Trustee Gary Epp’s request for information regarding the current state of mental health services on campus, particularly their availability, their current level of use, how services are promoted to CWU students, and what is known about current barriers to usage of mental health services among the student body. Attached to this report are several data sources that are hopefully helpful in beginning to understand these concerns at Central and how multiple service providers are working to address the mental health needs of our students. Below, I will summarize the data, but I encourage a close look at the source materials for a fuller picture. First, to capture a snapshot of the mental health and illness concerns of the general CWU student body, the Healthy Minds Survey, administered by Wellness and Health Promotion services, is a significant source of data. The 2016-1017 Health Minds Summary Data report is attached. Based on a sample of 1581 Central students, the Healthy Minds Survey suggests that approximately 32% of Central students have a positive screen for depression and 27% for anxiety. Another 10% screen positive for an eating disorder. Twelve percent of students report suicidal ideation within the past year and 23% report non-suicidal self-injury in the past year. On the other side, 38% of students surveyed reported positive mental health. Seventy percent of students reported that they at least “somewhat” knew of campus mental health services and 50% agreed or strongly agreed that they possessed this knowledge. Thirty-two percent of students agreed or strongly agreed that they needed mental health services in the past year, while 40% agreed or strongly agreed that they had a current need for mental health services. In terms of barriers to services, the most frequently cited reason from those who had sought treatment in the past year was no current need for services (37%). From there, in descending order, were not enough time (31%), prefer to deal with concerns on own or with family/friends (27%), financial reasons (27%), difficulty finding an available appointment time (15%), not sure where to go (14%), “other” (13%), and planning to obtain services but not having a chance (1%). Twelve percent indicated no barriers. More information regarding the Health Minds Survey in general can be found at www.healthmindsnetwork.org A variety of avenues are used to promote mental health services to students. Wellness and Health Promotion services engages in numerous campaigns and educational events to help educate students regarding lifestyle approaches that promote positive mental health as well as events to help screen students for possible mental health concerns and to destigmatize help-seeking behaviors. They also sponsor an online screening tool that helps students evaluate their current mental health concerns and provides information regarding services. The screening tool can be found at
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