College was extremely difficult for me. When I was an undergrad at Fayetteville State University, an HBCU in North Carolina, I juggled academics, part-time jobs, relationships and other obligations. I was a walking ball of anxiety wrapped in the strong Black woman trope that we all still insist on upholding. And that, if you can imagine, was five years ago pre-pandemic.

The collective trauma of COVID-19 paired with heightened racial tension in the wake of the George Floyd protests has had a profound impact on Black students. Many counselors at Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) are noticing this effect in their students and the heavy toll that it is taking on their mental health. After a little digging, I found that not only has the need for counseling increased among Black students, but the severity of certain mental illnesses might have too.

People are very much feeling disconnected from a lot of things. From classes, from their friends, from families. That could have a huge impact upon other areas of their lives, said Vivian Barnette, counseling director at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Sometimes, however, its not as easy to detect whats clearly a crisis in the community. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the number of students seeking counseling at Southern University and A&M College is just about the same as pre-pandemic, after opening back to in-person sessions. But counseling director ValaRay Irvin explains that many of her counselors are now seeing more students presenting with increased anxiety, depression and lack of motivation.

Rates of depression and anxiety among Black students have been increasing at a staggering rate. A study from the National Institutes of Health found that approximately 34% of Black students reported feeling so depressed in the last year it was difficult to function. Black students attending HBCUs have also been dealing with the additional stress of bomb threats at their universities, and suddenly not having access to abortion services in the wake of Roe v. Wade Black women are disproportionately affected by this. Eighty-six HBCUs are in states that have already restricted access to abortion , and many more are in the process of challenging reproductive rights, a factor that undoubtedly adds to the stress and anxiety Black students are already experiencing.

Its ridiculous, said Gabrielle Oliver, an alumna of Howard University. When people say abortion is health care, it really is true. The [maternal] mortality rate for Black women is so high. Its really scary right now. According to the According to the CDC , Black women in the United States are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, and abortion restrictions could increase the maternal mortality rate among Black women.

These are just a few factors that make it clear that Black students need mental health services both talk therapy and sometimes meds now more than ever, but with the increase in students seeking counseling, some universities are having trouble meeting their needs.

All of us directors have been talking about how the demand is much higher than our staff availability, said Barnette, about counselors at N.C. A&T having difficulty accommodating every student. The university is looking for solutions, one of which is utilizing wellness apps when in-person options arent available.

India Mallard, a senior at Bowie University in Maryland, thinks its incredible her university is also providing telehealth and after-hour crisis services for students at the counseling center. She explains that her sessions are now primarily telehealth because it is easier for her as a commuter student.