The purpose of this study was to understand college student perceptions of integrated behavioral health (IBH) care on a college campus and how likely students are to seek mental health help in an IBH setting compared to traditional mental health care. Participants were recruited from a sample of 2,000 students at Wichita State University. Seventy-four participants completed an online survey regarding perceptions of IBH (e.g., benefits of the model) and their intention to seek help in that setting. Results found that 40.5% of students felt very comfortable receiving mental health treatment in the same setting as physical health and 35% found the merger of student health and student counseling services to be beneficial. There was no significant difference found between intentions to seek help for mental health care in IBH versus traditional mental health care. Results suggest that the IBH model may be an acceptable model of care for college students and that students are just as likely to seek help there as they would a traditional mental health professional. Future analysis will assess which factors may predict willingness to seek help in IBH.
Incredible work and great to see the potential benefits of integrating BH and PC on college campuses!!!