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E-PrinceOne afternoon midway through the fall of her freshman year, Mary ’10 was walking through her common room when her roommate turned to her and said, “It’s great how you’re so happy all the time, Mary. I love ...
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it's good to see this addressed
As a male student who sought counseling while an undergrad at Princeton, I can say that the biggest obstacle to getting help was my own willingness to make the first move--for various reasons, most of which are addressed in the article. The first time I sought counseling was in my freshman year, and it took me about 3 months to work up to it. After two visits, though I felt I had developed a good relationship with my counselor, I no longer wanted to go there. I felt uncomfortable with the whole situation--the place, the concept, the time spent--and ultimately decided that the issues I was getting counseled on were very personal, and needed to be dealt with as such. However, my second experience with UHS, which was not until my senior year when I began to really struggle with obsessive compulsive behaviors, was troublingly abrupt. I talked for about half an hour with a counselor, who scheduled a follow-up appointment with me, but never actually did any counseling. I guess I was expecting to do most of the talking at that first meeting, but not all of it. In our second meeting, which lasted approximately five minutes, she gave the names of two area psychologists who might be able to help, and assured me that if neither of those two connections worked out they would do something to help me get treatment. I followed up on one of the suggested leads, which did not pan out because my schedule and hers didn't fit, and in the midst of the thesis, I never made contact with the second. I continued to struggle with the issues until I graduated and, though I've seen some abatement of symptoms--ironically, since starting med school--I still struggle with them today, and really with only marginal success.
Much like Anna I received no follow up inquiry, and became a loose end that UHS would ultimately never tie up. It was as much on me for not pursuing all options that I never got treatment, but I think that decision was made at least in part because the initial experience was so alienating. The point, which I think is indicated though not expressly stated by the article, is that while in most cases, students will be alright without further help, there are almost certainly some who slip through these rather large cracks in the system, with potentially more dire consequences. My case was rather minor, but one can imagine how someone with more serious issues would really suffer, and perhaps be in danger, if it wasn't plainly apparent to the UHS counselor that his/her case was urgent.
The solutions to these problems are far from obvious, but I don't think that Princeton, as wonderful an institution as it is, can justifiably accept the system that's now in place.
And, as a side note, excellent reporting.
what a wonderful article on a somewhat touchy subject... job well done
thanks for this article
so did the lexapro make you gain weight? I'm interested!
Thanks for addressing this issue! I'd guess that 25+ percent of the members of certain departments (Math and Physics come to mind) are clinically depressed and /or already on medications.
There are some rather simple things that can help moderate depression short of going to the counseling center and getting drugged up:
-regular sleep
-regular vigorous exercise
-sunshine
great article
i'm really glad to see this!
and great photo's to match although the drawing doesn't seem to fit...
Great article. Definitely something that needed to be talked about--I have gone into McCosh for counseling a couple of times, and have been dissatisfied with the treatment I received there. I think its an especially important issue as the mental health of the students is at stake here.
some years ago, a student committed suicide on campus. the gist of the
article about the death consisted of pu reps putting a positive spin on
the death and justifying the universitys (in)actions. i am forced to wonder what portion, if any, of the simply enormous funds devoted to the 'improvement' of the campus are budgeted to the improvement of resources for allowing students to achieve nad/or maintain adequate mental health. by the way, those of you who made joking cooments about the situations and individuals discussed here should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.
Really great article. There were a few times during my Princeton career when I was very low and tried to seek some help at McCosh. Each time it was impossible to make an appointment till about two to three weeks after the time I had called. From the experiences with the counseling service it does not sound like it would have helped. It's strange, given that when I've been physically ill and had to be kept in McCosh for some time the staff was absolutely phenomenal and took such good care of me.