Mental Health Counseling Is Underused Resource

To the editors:

Alexander Nguyen's "Ordinary People" (Opinion, April 5) about depression and suicide at Harvard, was excellent. I was particularly impressed with the personal testimonies from the pseudonymous "Erin," "Sarah" and "Jesse"; such stories help to demystify depression and might encourage others to reach out. Allow me to offer an additional personal story.

About 300 students know me as the head TF for Chem 5 and 7; another 300 or so from my role as a resident tutor in Eliot House. In addition, I was the music director for the Gilbert and Sullivan show this fall, and I just returned from a spring tour as assistant conductor of the Glee Club.

In these roles, people see my leadership, my compassion, my energy and enthusiasm for all I do. None can see that I was one of the students to "use mental health services" at University Health Services (UHS).

During my first year in graduate school, I faced a difficult personal crisis which hindered my academic progress. My network of friends helped immensely during this ordeal, but they were too invested in my well-being to offer an impartial sounding board for some of my concerns. A close friend confided in me that he had used the mental health services at UHS and recommended them highly; on this advice, I saw a counselor about six times over a period of several months.

I can honestly say that my meetings with her were crucial in helping me through this difficult time; there is great value in speaking with a professional who is entirely removed from your social circle. Still, it was an effort to convince my friends that I saw a counselor not because their support was insufficient but because her support was different--and complementary--to theirs.

When I look back on those events, I am incredibly grateful that my friend suggested UHS. I'm certain that I would not have gone to them on my own, and it was only through the force of his personal recommendation that I overcame my reluctance. So I am now recommending them to you: friend, acquaintance or total stranger. If this letter encourages one hesitant student to take advantage of this excellent, underutilized resource, that will more than compensate for my own hesitance in writing it.

Logan McCarty '96

April 5, 1999

The writer is a resident tutor in Eliot House.

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Expanded Urgent Care Hours

To the editors:

I want to clarify some misrepresentations about UHS in the article "Ordinary People."

The Mental Health Service continues to work hard to improve access for students to the Service and to improve communication with the deans, proctors and tutors in the University. There are two important themes in Nguyen's article with which I whole-heartedly agree.

First, ordinary people get depressed and sometimes make suicide attempts. Open lines of communication amongst deans, mental health professionals and tutors and proctors are important ways to recognize problems and help people access care.

It is also true that we are not mind-readers and sometimes don't pick up the severity of someone's situation when he or she calls up to make an appointment. We are always trying to find the right balance of inviting people to come in for care and letting them define the urgency of the visit, i.e., by not asking too many questions that feel intrusive when someone calls to make an appointment.

It is important for students to know that we have further increased our urgent care/walk-in hours to four hours a day on Monday through Friday. There are urgent care hours with staff available from 9:30 to 10:30, 12:30 to 1:30, 3:30 to 4:30 and 5 to 6 Monday through Friday, and there is a Mental Health Clinician on call on evenings and weekends available to come in and speak with students on-site or speak on the phone with students who call in with questions or concerns.

We have instituted a new system of liaisons to each of the Houses and the Freshman Dean's Office so that College officers will have a personal relationship with our staff. We are always available for consultation to tutors and proctors.

We also meet with and coordinate care with the Bureau of Study Council, as many students access both of our systems. We are increasing our training hours for tutors and proctors during the year and are strongly committed to doing whatever we can to prevent suicide.

The Mental Health Service is a dedicated group of clinicians who want to do whatever we can to help the students at Harvard deal with the myriad stresses and demands that they face in this very intense environment. We hope that ordinary people will come to us for help with their problems and concerns because we are all vulnerable, and relationships and support are the best ways to deal with life's stresses and uncertainties.

Richard Kadison

April 6, 1999

The writer is the chief of Mental Health Services at UHS.