QUALITY CARE, ROBUST RESOURCES

Although many students with long-term issues express discontent with UHS’ treatment system, students who have received short-term mental health treatment from UHS shower praise upon the system, particularly the accessibility of appointments and the relatively short wait times.

Barreira says that the availability of care is partly a function of the robustness of UHS staff, which he says is one of the largest on a per-student basis for any university in the country.

New patients receive a 20-minute appointment to speak with a clinician by phone within two days of their initial request, and they are then set up with a follow-up appointment to see a UHS therapist in person.

“I think the mental health side of UHS is a lot more helpful than the physical health side,” says Emma, another student who has used UHS’ mental health services and whose name has been changed to maintain her privacy. “There was a lot of flexibility in times, and they were really good about contacting me about appointments and setting things up.”

Undergraduates who received less than 10 therapy sessions at UHS say they never felt as though their therapy was being restricted, and they were not informed of any limit on the amount of treatment they could receive.

Students who approach UHS for a specific issue also praise the system, like Caitlin E. Carey ’13, who receives treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“I haven’t really had any negatives with UHS mental health services,” Carey says.

Barreira says that UHS continues to increase and restructure its staff to reduce wait times and increase the availability of therapy.

“Mental Health Services is always evolving,” Barreira says. “It is never the same today as it was a month or even a year ago.”

—Staff writer Danielle J. Kolin can be reached at dkolin@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Evan T.R. Rosenman can be reached at erosenm@fas.harvard.edu.