Therapy for college students in Manhattan, NY
There is more pressure on young people today than ever before
Everyone says that college is a time to have fun, learn, and explore, but between the heavy academic workload, social pressures, and the feeling that there is a ticking clock for you to 'figure your life out,' college often a time of deep stress and anxiety.
Aren't these meant to be the best years of my life?
Everyone reacts to the pressures of college differently. For many, it is hard to balance school and a social life. Unlike high-school when everyone went to school at the same time, now everyone is on their own schedule and so writing a paper might mean missing out on something fun. That puts you in a bind: either your grade suffers, or your personal life does.
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With that kind of pressure, it is no wonder that the mental health of college students has been declining for decades: between 2013 and 2021 there has been an astonishing 135% increase in depression and 110% increase in anxiety. ​​​​
Going to college in New York City comes with its own particular challenges. The same way that teenagers who grow up in NYC tend to grow up quickly, many of the pressures that come with college are accelerated for college students in New York. Instead of an insulated college campus or town, New York City students have to make friends, stay on top of their work, and try to date in the largest and most diverse city in the country. It is easy to feel overwhelmed.
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Although the current generation is much more savvy about mental health than previous generations, still too many wait to see if their anxiety, sadness, or depression will get better on their own. You don't need to wait for your grades to plummet or your friend group to become toxic before you get help. ​​
Who is therapy for college students for?
College students come to psychotherapy for a variety of reasons, including:
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Difficulty making friends
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Stress from academics
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Low self-esteem
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Difficulty getting, and staying, motivated
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Social anxiety or performance anxiety
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Dating and relationship difficulties
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Depression
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Fears about post-grad life - job searches, where to live, what to do​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Challenges College Students Face
Maintaining a positive self-image takes constant work and with the amount of change and stress college students face, anxiety and depression seem overdetermined. Some challenges college students have to overcome are: ​
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Academic overload. No matter how good a high-school is, it can't fully prepare you for the academic pressure of college. And, because it can feel like each choice you make can affect the trajectory of your future, the stakes feel high.
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Figuring out who you want to be. It can feel like the decisions you make in college affect the trajectory of your life moving forward. The stakes feel high. ​​
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Dating. Meeting new people and going on dates can be part of the fun in college, but all those new relationships can be time consuming and anxiety inducing. ​
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Friends (and enemies). Friendships are important for mental health, but they often come with fights, jealousies, even betrayals. Getting comfortable with yourself and learning how to communicate through hard times is essential to getting, and keeping, good friends. ​
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Scheduling. In high-school, everyone was doing the same thing at the same time. Now, if you want to go to the gym or study for an exam, it might mean missing out on a fun time. It is hard to set boundaries around what matters to you while still feeling like you are part of a group.
Therapy for college students at Lexington Park Psychotherapy
At Lexington Park Psychotherapy, our therapists are understand the pressures college students face. Many of us have gone to NYC graduate schools and some of us have even taught in them. But we do not just know what it is like 'from a distance' - we have worked with teens, college students, and young adults in NYC for years. That means we understand the dating scene, body-image related issues, drugs and drinking, sex and sexuality, trauma, and everything else. Nothing is going to freak us out, nothing is off limits.
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We take a trauma-informed approach that incorporates aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), emotion focused therapy (EFT), internal family systems (IFS), and psychodynamic psychotherapy in order to provide an effective and growth-oriented treatment. We are here for you. Always.
