More students are arriving at college with mental health challenges that can hinder learning and even lead to dropping out.
But Dr. Niki Elliott teaches an evidenced-based practice that may help reverse the problem: mindfulness.
“We should wrap our hearts around all youth, not just the ones we raise in our own family, but around other people’s children, too,” Elliott said. “We have to raise these children as a community.”
Elliott, the co-director of the University of La Verne’s Center for Neurodiversity, Learning, and Wellness, trains classroom teachers, school psychologists, and other education professionals to make mindfulness practices the first line of treatment and positive behavior support for all students. Mindfulness is a psychological process of focusing on the present moment through practices such as meditation.
The American College Health Association’s 2015 National College Health Assessment Survey showed that 20.8 percent of students surveyed experienced overwhelming anxiety within a year of college. That is a jump from 18.2 percent in the 2008 survey.
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