Mental Health Tips For Teens Headed to College

As the days move on, and we reach mid-way-through-summer, teens who are going to college this fall could be starting to feel mixed emotions anywhere from excited to anxious.

The beginning of the school year is a little over a month away, but it’s super important to check in and make sure teens feel mentally and emotionally prepared to leave for college. These conversations can start to happen as soon as possible.

Teens, though you may tend to procrastinate, experts don’t advise that you wait until you’re fully living on campus to start thinking about how to protect your mental health and emotional well-being.

Here are some tips for parents and teens who want to start preemptively preparing themselves for their big move to college:

1. Look at what the college has to offer as far as extracurriculars and clubs together.

   1. This helps prevent feelings of loneliness and isolation.

   2. Broadening their social network and support system can be good for people living in a new place.

   3. Having roommates is another way to prevent possibly feeling like they don’t have a place.

   4. Extracurriculars and clubs can also encourage exploration and learning about new interests.

2. Prioritize health and wellness.

   1. Sleep is really important, and a lot of teens struggle with not getting enough sleep; if this is something you struggle with, try to prioritize getting 8 hours a night this summer.

   2. Make sure you move your body in some way that makes you feel good (yoga, walks, working out, running, etc)

   3. Start incorporating foods into your diet that make you feel good too, whether that means ordering a salad with your pizza or drinking nutritious smoothies.

   4. Lowering screen time can also really help teens get better sleep or feel more motivated to move their bodies.

3. Have real and open conversations about drinking.

   1. Teens will likely drink socially in college if they have not already; this may make parents nervous, but there are ways to have this conversation that prioritize their safety.

   2. Discussing this openly can help prevent teens from giving in to pressure with anything that makes them uncomfortable.

   3. Understanding limits, setting boundaries, and making plans for safety should take priority over being judgemental, strict, or controlling.

   4. It’s important for teens to practice setting these limitations now before they go away, and knowing that their parents will be there for them if they need them.

4. Connect with the school’s counseling center and ask the right questions, so that your teen and family can know the policies and have a plan in place if you need to use them.

   1. Is there an on-call counselor 24 hours a day, or some sort of after hours emergency service? Is there some sort of text line available or resident advisers for students?

   2. Are students allowed to visit the counseling center as much as they need to for free? What services are provided?

   3. What accommodations are available for students with disabilities, and do these accommodations apply for students with emotional disorders? An example of this could be note takers.

   4. What is the school’s policy on taking leaves of absence for mental health purposes.

5. Have conversations with your family about mental health.

   1. Discuss anything that may run in your family or that parents experienced in college, as this can be a common age of prognosis.

   2. Put a plan into place if your mental health starts to waver when you move

   3. Make sure nobody feels judged about their feelings or emotions, and validate/ de-stigmatize it.

As always, if your teen or family would like to receive additional supports outside of the advice that this blog has discussed, Amel Counseling & Consulting is always here for you. Reach out today and schedule a free, 15-minute phone consultation and ask to schedule with one of our teen or family therapists!