Following a turbulent summer at home, one Harvard student says she is taking the advice of a high school guidance counselor and is seeking out professional help at Harvard. But she is not likely to find the kind of long-term care she had in high school.

The University leaves students like this female undergraduate, who wants counseling but have not been clinically diagnosed as needing it, without limited options. Neither the University Health Services (UHS) mental health unit nor the Bureau of Study Council, Harvard's two professional counseling centers, cannot provide ongoing, long-term care for such students.

The University's policy runs counter to what some mental health experts believe is best for young people. For some undergraduates, the short-term, preventive care Harvard limits itself to may not be enough, says Dr. Robert Y. Berlin, the director of mental health at Brandeis University.

"[Counseling] is one of the only relationships during the course of college years with a neutral adult where someone gets to think about and work through their decision making without judgment or influence," Berlin says.

Brandeis offers students free, long-term psychotherapy for all four years to any student who requests help, he says. "We have a health model here and it is perceived as an emotional accom- paniment to education," says Berlin, who heads a staff of 19 psychologists and social workers.

Of the 3,400 students enrolled at Brandeis, 550 receive counseling on a regular basis and 50 percent have seen a therapist by the time they graduate. At Harvard, 12 percent of the student body sees a therapist by graduation, according to Dr. Randolph Catlin, director of UHS's mental health service.

"To have [therapy] all contained here would require that we have to hire a lot of people," Catlin says.

According to Catlin, Harvard students who want care still have options. They are either referred to outpatient departments in Cambridge and Boston hospitals or given "ongoing therapy"--on average, five irregular appointments with UHS psychologists.

Students using the "ongoing therapy" approach do "not feel that they are in treatment," Catlin says.

"The kind of issues students come for don't require long-term therapy," he says. "We don't have the time to allocate to see somebody on a regular basis."

The doctor adds that while students can be seen as long as they want, it is difficult to give therapy from within UHS.

Their only other option, though, is referrals to hospitals, which can cost students anywhere from $50 to $100 per visit.

Catlin highly recommends the Bureau of Study Counsel for undergraduates who cannot afford to pay for counseling on a regular basis.

Suzanne Repetto, the bureau's associate director, says her group is well prepared to provide short-term therapy.

The bureau offers a wide range of support groups and care, in addition to some one-on-one counseling. In case of severe psychological problems, referrals are made to UHS.

"We are treating people as human beings and our hope is that we support people in taking care of themselves," Repetto says. "We are teaching [students] not to be dependent on somebody else."