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Across the nation, therapists are reporting increases in the number of students seeking counseling as well as the severity of their problems. At Catholic University of America in Washington, there was a 20 percent increase in the number of students who sought help at the counseling center in the last year, said director Peter Cimbolic. The increase comes as enrollment has fallen 6 percent since 1991. "There's a marked increase in severe depression, severe eating disorders, and substance abuse," he said. At the University of Pittsburgh, 25 percent of more than 600 students responding to a student-needs survey said they felt depressed enough to seek intervention. Robert Gallagher, who runs the counseling service there, also conducts an annual survey of about 350 counselors across the nation. One question asked is: "Have you noticed an increase in the number of students with severe psychological problems over the previous year?" In 1988, 56 percent said yes. Last year, 87 percent said yes. During the 1993-94 school year, 1,232 students at Pennsylvania State University's main campus were seen by campus therapists, a 15 percent increase over the previous year, according to Mary McClanahan, a psychologist at the school's Counseling and Psychological Services. At Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., counselors report that last semester, they conducted 374 sessions with students suffering from severe depression. In 38 cases, there was a concern that the students would hurt themselves or others. "Most of the surveys have shown that during any one period of time, between 6 and 12 percent of the student body has sought counseling services," said Morton Silverman, head of the counseling service at the University of Chicago, who is involved with a study of campus suicides. "And that may just be the tip of the iceberg. Beside those who are coming in for formal services, there are many more who are in private treatment or seeking assistance from others. I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers of those (in counseling) were doubled." Davis Tracy, director of counseling at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., said that while the number of students seeking help at school has remained the same - about 15 percent of the student body - there has been "a clear shift away from the passing difficulties, and more toward lasting and serious psychopathology." In 1988, he said, 10 percent of the students seen at the center had serious mental health problems. That was up to 35 percent in 1994. Problems identified as "passing difficulties" would be familiar to any 19- or 20-year-old in college: a breakup of a relationship, a lousy grade on a biology exam, a fight with a roommate, concerns about intimacy, plus the normal emotional tugs-of-war