Mental health services at Harvard are understaffed and inefficiently coordinated--though improving--according to a report to be released today by a special committee organized by University Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67.

The committee's findings come after eight-months of interviews with about 75 students and administrators and an examination of mental health resources across Harvard's nine faculties.

The 10-member group concluded that Harvard must do more to train its faculty and residential staff and to build stronger communication between mental health providers across campus.

"The mental health service is understaffed, especially considering its multiple constituencies, locations and its complex obligations to a diverse student community," the report reads.

The report represents the first comprehensive look at mental health care across the University and was headed by Fineberg, Harvard's point-person for inter-faculty initiatives and a former dean of the School of Public Health.

The report cites patients' frustrations with long waits for appointments and their difficulty in getting care after-hours as among the most pressing student concerns.

These findings support a survey of students released in October about University Health Services (UHS), in which 36 percent of those surveyed said they viewed UHS' mental health services unfavorably.

The provost's mental health committee brought together a number of prominent campus administrators and the University's lead mental health professionals.