Directors reported 154 student suicides over the last year. Some 2,462 students were hospitalized for psychological reasons, up from 2,210 in 2004. The percentage of schools offering psychiatric services on campus rose by 4.5 percent, to 58.5 percent. And the percentage of school centers charging for personal counseling fell from a high of 17.2 percent to 10.9 percent.

      At peak times, toward the end of semesters, the University of Northern Iowa’s counseling center is at or slightly above capacity, says Dr. Dave Towle, a psychologist and director of the center. His office sees 500 students a year, about 10 percent of the student population.

      To help more students, Natvig sees some clients every three weeks instead of every two, a measure to help alleviate the wait for some students seeking counseling. The waiting list for psychiatric appointments at the University of Iowa has doubled, now sitting at four to six weeks, says Natvig. He noted that students who can’t safely wait are squeezed in sooner. The longer wait reflects a national increase of college students with severe psychological problems.

      The University of Iowa Counseling Service conducted about 2,100 consultations with students in the last fiscal year, compared with about 1,900 two years earlier.

      â€œWe’ve been operating at capacity for quite a while now,’’ says Dr. Mark Harris, director of clinical services at the counseling service.

      The study can be found at www.iacsinc.org.

— Associated Press and staff reports