Third lockdown increases psychological impact on students

Student psychologists have been receiving an increasing number of students asking for help as higher education closes their doors for the third time during the lockdown, NOS reported.

Student psychologist Jerre Mijnarends told the news outlet that young people come to him with complaints from depression to homesickness. "We try to come together to find possibilities for the students to find moments of happiness. The perspective has been taken away from students," Mijnarends said.

Primary and secondary school students can attend class again starting on Monday, but students in higher education have still not heard when they will have on-site teaching again.

"There is this expectation that your student days will be one of the most beautiful periods in your life where you make beautiful memories and have fun," sociology and Arabic literature teacher Mohamed El Hirech said.

The lack of social contact is not a problem that can easily be solved by hiring more psychologists, Mijnarends said. "You can find more psychologists but that will not solve the problem. The lockdown stays, the dark months stay. The fact remains that students are in a vulnerable phase in their adolescence where they are more susceptible to psychological problems," Mijnarends said.