Associate News Editor

A look into the University of California’s mental health department found severe deficiencies in funding and service to students.

The mental health study was proposed by UC President Robert C. Dynes last December in response to appeals from Victor and Mary Ojakian, the parents of UC Davis senior Adam Ojakian, who committed suicide on Dec. 17, 2004.

Among many findings, the study discovered that the number of students seeking psychological help has increased by over 50 percent in the last five years, with the complexity of cases dramatically rising.

Campuses are left to juggle an increasing student demand with constant resources, according to UCSD Psychological and Counseling Services Clinical Director Robert C. Mashman.

The report highlights low staffing levels as the underlying problem behind high specialist-to-student ratios, long wait times and limited access to specialists.

UCSD has roughly 11.5 full time employees resulting in a ratio of one psychologist to every 2,300 students, compared to the one to 1,500 ratio that the International Association of Counseling Services recommends, according to Mashman.

“It is grandiose to believe that a staff of 11.5 can take care of 27,000 students,” he said.

The low staffing levels are a result of the 2003-04 budget cuts, Mashman said, which not only resulted in a $112,140 decrease and 15 percent overall reduction in the department’s budget, but also a 50 percent loss of its staff.

While employees received an 18 percent raise the following year, they still remain 18 percent behind the average salary for surrounding hospitals, according to Mashman.

“We were completely out of the ballpark,” Mashman said. “That’s why they left.”

In response to understaffing, campuses must direct immediate resources to those students in crisis, the report said, undermining the ability to respond to more “traditional” problems, including homesickness, identity issues, relationship problems and career choice issues.

Although they are the largest population served, students dealing with normal developmental issues may have to wait up to three weeks to see a counselor, Mashman said.

The study also found that graduate students are at a higher risk, with almost 50 percent revealing emotional, stress-related problems, according to the UC Berkeley Graduate Student Mental Health Survey.

The increased financial need has not gone unnoticed, according to Registration Fee Advisory Committee Chair Garo Bournoutian. Student affairs granted $62,694 in resources to the cash-strapped department.

Still, the impact of the budget cut has not been remedied, Mashman said. With shallow funds, the center has chosen to emphasize preventive services, including training for resident advisers, house advisers and college deans along with outreach programs, Mashman said.

According to a UC Berkeley study, 80 percent of student respondents who have considered suicide have never sought help at the campus counseling center.

“When these numbers are so low, how do you prevent them?” Mashman said. “How do you prevent two out of 27,000 students from taking their lives? In most cases, we have had no contact with them. Frequently they don’t say anything.”

While the report details the extent of the problem facing the UC system, it doesn’t offer many solutions.

“It’s saying ‘Boy, something really needs to be done,’” Mashman said.

An equally pressing challenge for the center is the limited funds in the Student Affairs budget, which funds the department but also provides money for services that improve the campus climate — an aspect that goes hand in hand with mental health, Mashman said.

Almost every program is running with either inadequate staff support or insufficient money for programs, Bournoutian said.

One suggestion has been to increase registration fees, which support several aspects of student life including psychological and counseling services. The fee has remained relatively stagnant for 17 years, rising only $171 since 1987. This amounts to a 34 percent loss when inflation is considered, the report said.

The current situation may not be the “crisis” the media has made it out to be, Mashman said.

The need is a few hundred thousand dollars to fund sufficient staff at adequate salaries.

“Our employees bust their asses off and get burnt out,” he said. “We just need more people to help.”

The report is currently under review by the Board of Regents and Student Affairs to formulate a proper response.