The life of a college student is stressful. Often living on their own for the first time, and with tremendous pressure to succeed, students can find themselves with issues ranging from depression to relationship or family problems to concerns about body image.

Increasingly, colleges and universities are providing counseling services, such as the Rosemary Furman Counseling Center on the first floor of Barnard College and the Counseling & Psychological Services (CPS) offices in Columbia University.

A recent article in the Columbia Spectator reported that 16-24% of the student population at the two institutions came in for counseling in 2008. Despite that, Mary Commerford, Furman's director worries that students who should seek help, don't, often due to a mistaken feeling that a problem isn't serious enough. "There's no problem too large or too small," Commerford said.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects demand for mental health counseling to grow at a faster rate than average, 30% growth from 2006 to 2016. More insurance companies are providing for reimbursement of counselors, and mental health counselors are needed to staff services in schools and statewide service networks.