[Mental health of college students: experience of the university psychiatric outpatient clinic of Hospital de São João].

The mental health of college students has been raising major awareness, due to the increased prevalence and severity of psychiatric disorders in this population. Higher education is associated with significant stressors that contribute to the development of mental health disturbances, and most college students are in the high-risk age group for the emergence of symptoms of major psychiatric disorders. Early diagnosis and treatment of these disorders in college students are important areas of effort, since they pose a high impact at the educational, economic, and social levels. Thus, specifically planned mental health services play a major role in the management of this population, should be specialized and have easy accessibility. The purpose of this study is to describe and characterize the College Students' psychiatric outpatient clinic of the Department of Psychiatry, Hospital de São João.