A panel presented TED-talk style speeches on of free speech in the media followed by a discussion. FILE PHOTO / THE FLAT HAT In light of recent events, we have compiled a list of articles and columns that address mental health on campus.
News
Less than half of Counseling Center appointments are with licensed psychologists
“Students seeking appointments at the College of William and Mary Counseling Center have a 58 percent chance of meeting with an individual without a psychologist license, according to a breakdown of Counseling Center clinical services appointments obtained by The Flat Hat.”
College community addresses mental health
“The College of William and Mary hosted an open conversation on suicide prevention and mental health April 22 in light of recent criticisms by alumni, students and parents about mental health on campus.”
BOV holds open mental health discussion
“Deviating from its scheduled agenda, yesterday’s Board of Visitors’ Committee on Student Affairs meeting provided an open question and answer session for committee members to ask questions about the College of William and Mary Counseling Center, mental health and suicide on campus.”
Opinions
To professors and students: accept our limits
“As we begin to define ourselves, our values and work ethics, we need our professors, mentors and advisers to help and allow us to understand that forward is not the only direction.”
In response to “Less than half of Counseling Center appointments are with licensed psychologists”
“The process of determining the optimal size of a training program takes several years and we are currently adjusting that size to be longitudinally sustainable. As we add staff, including a full-time psychiatrist, we expect the percentage of clients seen by interns and practicum students to decrease over time.”
Mental health: progress over platitudes
“Grounds crews whitewashed fences outside the Wren Building before Day for Admitted Students earlier this month, weaving in with the rest of our beautiful campus for a crackling image of endless possibility. Days later, a senior Flat Hat reporter got lost on an assignment. She was looking for the Counseling Center.”
Mental health care can make the difference, but not always
“To me, Paul Soutter ’17 was one of those people who weaves in and out of your life, coming and going, but always leaving a profound impact.”
It is on us
“It is on us. It is not on our professors for challenging us in the classroom. We come to this school because we want the academic challenges. It is not on the administration for choosing its best applicants. We come to this school because we want to surround ourselves with high-caliber students.”
In response to the Washington Post
“Capitalizing on one professor’s response to a very curt email is upsetting and unfounded. The College was there for me in the darkest period of my life. This I hold to such a great esteem, as many other colleges would have let me slip through the cracks.”
In light of Paul Soutter’s suicide
“It is the administration’s responsibility to straddle the line between being a school of excellence and being a school of compassion. It is the administration’s responsibility to listen to its students when they say that enough is enough. The administration must listen, above all.”
An open letter to the College of William and Mary
“I’m usually proud of my university and what we stand for. I’m never proud, however, of the lack of help it offers my friends in need. I’m not proud that it prioritizes the marks in their exams over the marks on their wrists, and makes their concrete steps toward better mental health into failures. “
The truth about depression
“No one on our campus should be left to feel alone, at fault, or out of options when there are so many ways for things to get better. What we have to address now is the silence surrounding mental health that feeds into the stigma of asking for help and the possibility that we do not have adequate resources to meet everyone’s needs.”
A helping hand: how the counseling center supported me
“It was during these times at the counseling center that I truly learned the value of being authentic. In fact, it’s almost ironic that I spent so long trying to get back to my “old self” when all I had to do was be real and deal with what was in front of me.”
