Religious Contacts, Student Volunteers Find Themselves in Midst of Mental Health Crisis

Grady Newsource, May 1, 2025. 

Rylie Hamilton meets on Tuesday evenings with three female University of Georgia students to discuss a range of topics, from spirituality to navigating the dating sphere to test anxiety. Mental health is frequently part of the conversation.

Hamilton, whose role in the Wesley ministry is referred to as “student discipler,” said she believes many people who join any campus ministry may appear happy, but it’s often difficult to discern what’s happening beneath the surface. Students like Hamilton, who is 21, and adults in leadership roles with religious groups on campus are increasingly stepping into therapist-like positions to help students, even if they lack the qualifications to give mental health advice.

“Mental health is something that I definitely don’t want to give a wrong answer to,” Hamilton said.

In the wake of the student suicide of a male freshman student in February 2024, the University of Georgia students, faculty and staff grappled with students’ mental health, and other colleges and universities in have emphasized their resources in response to suicides and acute mental health needs. Nationally, 13% of youth reported experiencing thoughts of suicide, more than 1 in 10, compared to 5% of adults, according to the 2024 State of Mental Health in America report by Mental Health America.

Yet, due to limited resources and high demand, some faith-based organizations and student-led organizations are filling in gaps. While these resources provide comfort and a sense of guidance, they raise questions — even among those involved in providing counseling —  about their lack of training to provide such support and the liability if students’ problems worsen.

This shift also highlights issues within traditional mental health resources available on campus, as mental health problems in students rose during the pandemic. Some students at the University of Georgia said they have encountered challenges securing an appointment with the school’s Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) and receiving immediate attention in the case of extreme emergencies. CAPS lists 36 staffers, as of early 2025, while UGA has about 40,000 students.

Many students deemed either they can’t get an appointment, or their issue is not serious enough to hold ongoing therapy appointments, said Haley Lerner, a campus minister at the Table Athens (formerly called the Presbyterian Student Center) and vice president of the University Religious Life Association.

“I certainly have experienced burnout, and I have experienced compassion fatigue,” she said. “When I am in that spot, I am not able to care for people the way that I want to.”

Read more from Grady Newsource.