THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
Policy and Global Affairs
Board on Higher Education and Workforce
and
Health and Medicine Division
Board on Health Sciences Policy
Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Wellbeing in STEMM
Undergraduate and Graduate Education
*****
Congressional Briefing
Friday, January 22, 2021 – 9:30 a.m.
via Zoom
on
Mental Health, Substance Use, and Wellbeing in Higher Education
Supporting the Whole Student
The nation's institutions of higher education are seeing increasing levels of mental illness, substance use and other forms of emotional distress among their students. Some of the problematic trends have been ongoing for decades. Some have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic consequences. Some are the result of long-festering systemic racism in almost every sphere of American life that are becoming more widely acknowledged throughout society and must, at last, be addressed.
This new report, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, lays out a variety of possible strategies and approaches to meet increasing demand for mental health and substance use services, based on the available evidence on the nature of the issues and what works in various situations. The recommendations of this report will support the delivery of mental health and wellness services by the nation's institutions of higher education.
This briefing was for members of Congress and congressional staff only. The report was publicly released on January 13, 2021 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.