College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do about It - Paperback

by Richard Kadison (Author), Theresa Foy Digeronimo (Author)

Written for parents, students, college counselors, and administrators, College of the Overwhelmed is a landmark book that explores the stressors that cause so many college students to suffer psychological problems. The book is filled with insights and stories about the current mental health crisis on our nation's campuses and offers:

• A hands-on guide for helping students overcome stress and succeed in a college environment.
• An examination of the effects of such commonplace stress factors such as: identity development, relationships, sexuality, roommate problems, academic pressures, extracurricular demands, parental expectations, and racial and cultural differences that affect self-worth.
• Personal stories of students under stress and describes how they overcame a variety of problems.
• The warning signs and symptoms of common problems, including depression, sleep disorders, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, impulsive behaviors, and suicide.

Front Jacket

• THE CAMPUS MENTAL
• HEALTH CRISIS AND
• WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

FROM THE FOREMOST LEADER IN THE FIELD

An Action Plan for Confronting the SeriousPsychological Crisis Among Students

"Kadison, chief of mental health services at Harvard, and DiGeronimo are deeply concerned about the marked growth in serious mental health problems on campus: they note statistics showing that almost half of all students will become seriously depressed during their college career and may engage repeatedly in binge drinking. . . . Kadison and DiGeronimo do a commendable job of outlining the many stresses students face, such as academic pressure, financial problems, feelings of social inadequacy and, for women, a fear of sexual assault. In a stark chapter, the authors outline the self-destructive coping mechanisms adopted by those with emotional problems, including eating disorders, drug abuse, cutting, and suicide attempts. Parents will find sensible suggestions for helping their children deal with college life. Most important, say the authors, is keeping the lines of communication open by listening to children without judgment or criticism. Parents, college counselors and administrators, and students themselves (to whom the last chapter is addressed) will find helpful, if sometimes disturbing, information here." --Publishers Weekly

"A wise and highly readable guide."--Elizabeth Studley Nathans, dean of freshman, Harvard College

"Excellent."--Lorraine Siggins, M.D., psychiatrist-in-chief, Yale University Health Service; clinical professor of psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine

"An extraordinary book."--Patricia Light, Ed.D., director, MBA Support Services, Harvard Business School

Author Biography

The Authors

Richard Kadison, M.D., is the chief of the Mental Health Service at Harvard University Health Services. A board-certified psychiatrist, Kadison has specialized in campus mental health and student mental health treatment throughout his career.

Theresa Foy DiGeronimo is the author of more than thirty-five books in the fields of education and parenting. She is the coauthor of How to Talk to Your Kids About Really Important Things and Launching Our Black Children for Success, both from Jossey-Bass.