Due to a sharp rise in mental health cases at Scottish universities, Rachael Hamilton MSP raised the issue at First Minister’s Questions.
The number of university students in Scotland seeking support for mental health issues has increased by two-thirds over five years.
Information from universities across Scotland for the numbers of students seeking some form of support and found more than 11,700 students asked for help in 2016-17 compared with about 7,000 in 2012-13.
The reported cases ranged from anxiety to depression, gender-based violence and body dysmorphia.
Rachael Hamilton MSP said:
“The rise in students seeking mental health support means we must see more targeted support to universities, especially given the wide range of mental health issues students are facing.
“Nevertheless it is welcome that more people feel more able to speak about their mental health.
“I did seek assurances from the First Minister that all that can be done to ensure funding is fairly distributed across our universities is being actioned.
“Counsellors are vital to delivering support, and I will continue to hold the Scottish Government to ensure more is done to recruit these trained people across our academic institutions”.