Walking out of my first YMHC appointment, a wave of emptiness overtook me. Every person I spoke with regarding my mental health was white, whether at the front desk, during my intake, or my therapist. Growing up, my extended family was very involved in my life — constant interaction with Read more…
The first and only time I went to YMHC, I met with a counselor who had to stop me and ask what the term “POC” meant. The fact that I had to explain my literal identity told me that YHMC was not a space for me. As an Asian American Read more…
Since classes were moved online, I’ve continued holding biweekly sessions with the therapist I was seeing at the start of the semester. This experience has made me question what mental health therapy at Yale should truly entail. During this time, I went through some of the worst depression and anxiety Read more…
The most obvious way COVID has affected me is that my sister and I had it– my sister for over 100 days, and myself for around six weeks– the whole part of the semester that was online. For the most part, it was fine. I still did all my work Read more…
It took months of mustering up the courage to ask for help my first year at Yale. After over five weeks of waiting to hear back following my intake appointment, I thought YMHC had forgotten about me. When I called to follow up, I was told that I hadn’t been Read more…
During the first semester of my first year I found myself bogged down in work, in sleeplessness, and loneliness. It wasn’t until I returned home for break that I realized how unhealthy the first semester was for me—how depressed I was. When I felt terrible, I treated it as a Read more…
Upon arriving at Yale I was immediately bombarded with a slew of mental health resources—there’s The Good Life Center, groups like Hack Mental Health, an undergraduate publication about mental health, and seemingly endless events during reading period to help me relax. While I appreciate the breadth of resources available, it’s Read more…
“A few months into my first year, one of my classmates passed away. We sat next to each other every day in Chinese class and quickly became friends. This was my first experience losing a peer, and I soon realized that the pace of Yale doesn’t give space for students Read more…
Although I am an FGLI student, things at home during coronavirus were pretty stable. But I saw many of my peers struggling to survive during this time, especially with housing instability. Many students during this time were living off of their housing refunds. It’s disappointing how much students have to Read more…
Yale needs to hire more mental health counselors of color. I think it’s important for everybody to feel as comfortable as possible when they’re seeking out mental health counseling, and for many students that includes seeing their identities represented in the counseling relationship. Especially seeing as how the overwhelming majority Read more…