“At the start of my sophomore year, a friend and I both decided to go to Yale Health for therapy. During my intake appointment, one of the questions asked was if I wanted a therapist of color and I said yes. To me, as a Black student, this felt important. She then asked if I would be okay with having her as my therapist. I was surprised by this, as I had assumed that when she asked if I wanted a therapist of color, she would ask about having a Black therapist specifically, and she was non-black and white-passing. It made me wonder what their parameters were for assigning students to therapists of color. I felt put on the spot and obligated to say yes, even though her not being black was a big issue for me. I didn’t want to say no because I knew that everyone’s horror stories could prevent me from getting a therapist soon. I had a couple of appointments with this therapist, after which I realized it was not helping. I have not gone back. Yale needs to hire more therapists of color, and specifically Black therapists, in order to meet the demand of students.”
Jordan Ashby, she/her/hers, 2022, Davenport
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