Mental health resources are a growing need for college students — especially women. According to the Healthy Minds Network’s data interface, a little more than one in three female college students suffered from anxiety in 2025, compared to a little under one in four male students.
Liel Shachr, a 22-year-old UF natural resource conservation senior, has experienced those struggles firsthand.
Shachr looked for support groups relating to anxiety, depression and OCD through UF’s Counseling and Wellness Center while she was battling her own mental health issues, she said. But none of the university-led groups fit her schedule, and she couldn’t find any student-led alternatives. So, she decided to start her own.
In September 2025, Shachr and four other students formed UF’s first women student-led support group: the Women’s Mental Health Alliance.
Shachr said she started the club in hopes of creating a space for women to connect, encourage each other and be themselves.
“I haven’t had a perfect four years here,” she said. “I thought by starting this, I could maybe help future generations of students have a community.”
The alliance offers free mental health support groups in five categories: eating disorders, OCD, abusive relationships, anxiety and depression. Meetings are held biweekly and are open to any female UF students.
Each group is led by an officer who has personal experience with the specific mental health challenges discussed in that group. During each meeting, students are encouraged to discuss their experiences.
One of the most important aspects of the club’s identity is that it is women-only, Shachr said. Creating a safe space for women to share their feelings is an environment she said couldn’t have been facilitated in a mixed-gender room.
The group often talks about topics that directly affect women, such as menstruation, which she said men do not experience and might not understand. Having a women-only club also ensures members’ feelings are taken seriously, Shachr said.
While the team doesn’t offer professional support, Shachr said it offers other women company and understanding.
Jamie Primosch, a 44-year-old psychiatric physician assistant at Healthy Mind Florida and UF alumna, said peer support groups complement what people learn in individual therapy.
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“It provides a safe place for students to practice the skills, the tools that they’re gaining in therapy,” she said.
Primosch said mental health conditions like OCD, anxiety and depression can lead to “social withdrawal” and feelings of isolation.
Being engaged in a peer group, like the Women’s Mental Health Alliance, can create a safe community to discuss issues that disproportionately affect women, such as gender discrimination and disordered eating, she said.
Each year, one in five women in the U.S. experiences mental health issues, such as depression, PTSD or an eating disorder, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Women are more likely to seek help than their male peers, with a little over 71% of female college students receiving professional guidance compared to about 60% of male college students in 2025.
Melanie Murrillo, a 26-year-old UF alumna and licensed mental health counselor at Sage Wellness, said she’s noticed the difference between genders. Murillo works with college students and said she sees more female students in her practice than males.
Murillo, who specializes in teens experiencing depression, trauma, OCD and anxiety, said a women-only support group can provide a supportive framework that encourages women to gradually open up about vulnerable experiences, similar to the process used in exposure therapy.
“Women students at UF campus, there probably is a lot of similarities and experiences,” she said. “The kind of comfort that can provide — to just know that you’re not alone, that you aren’t abnormal.”
Peer groups can also provide connections and relationships that cannot be facilitated in a professional setting, Murillo said. She plans to recommend the new alliance to her clients.
Julianna Sciolina, an 18-year-old UF psychology freshman and co-leader of the depression support group, agreed with the importance of a women-only environment when discussing mental health.
“I feel so much safer telling someone, if they’re a female, what’s going on,” she said. “I feel like we can emotionally connect more.”
Sciolina said many people are uncomfortable discussing their struggles because of the stigma around mental health. Providing a women-only space can create greater comfort and deeper connections.
Vandana Sreekumar, a 21-year-old UF math junior and co-leader of the depression support group, said she feels the alliance creates a sense of comfort on campus for women by offering a place to seek support when faced with overwhelming situations.
For example, anti-abortion groups like Created Equal can create an unwelcoming atmosphere for women on campus when they lead protests with graphic images of aborted fetuses, she said.
“They’re very unempathetic towards people,” she said. “I feel like our group and community is a really great place to speak about it.”
The club has also held social events like a Valentine’s craft night social in February and a nature trail social at Bolens Bluff Trail.
Taya Kesser, a 19-year-old UF sonography freshman, said walking into a room of women facing similar struggles created a comforting environment where she felt safe to express herself.
“I’m able to openly share my feelings about how I feel about certain things without the fear of being judged by a man,” she said.
Kesser said she left the meeting with a feeling of community and a close connection with the women around her.
The club is also collaborative. Lila Golde, the treasurer and leader of the abusive relationships support group, said members attend each other’s support groups, plan social events together and help one another grow.
Golde, a 19-year-old UF biology freshman, said she has seen firsthand how the club empowers and helps its members, including herself. She values providing a space where she can support other women who may have experienced similar situations.
“I think it’s so beautiful having a safe space for women,” she said. “In our last support groups, I felt so understood, and I think that’s a really good thing that we’re offering, to give that space to people.”
Contact Alabama Weninegar at aweninegar@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @AlabamaW40513.
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Alabama Weninegar
Alabama Weninegar is a first-year journalism major and The Alligator’s Spring 2026 University General Assignment Reporter. She also works a part-time job at Wyatt’s Coffee downtown. In her free time, she enjoys watching her favorite shows on a rainy day or re-reading the Twilight series.