Nine percent of college students in North America sought psychiatric or psychological counseling last year, continuing an upward trend in those on campus seeking help, a University of Pittsburgh-sponsored study says.

Directors from 366 counseling centers in the United States and Canada were polled by Dr. Robert Gallagher, retired vice chancellor for student affairs. The findings are reported on the Web site of the survey's publisher, the International Association of Counseling Services: www.iacsinc.org.

Ninety percent of directors report an increase in those going to counseling centers with severe psychological problems, the survey found.

Of their clients, directors report 43 percent had severe psychological problems, including 9 percent with impairments serious enough to force them to leave school.

A larger share of directors raised concerns about student self-inflicted injuries, eating disorders and sexual assault in 2005 than in 2004, the survey said.