For reduced appointment wait times.

“When I did receive treatment, it was not with someone who could fully understand or relate to my complicated experiences with race and belonging as a half-Asian woman. The COVID-19 crisis is leaving behind Yale’s most vulnerable students in their time of need.”

It took a total of 7 months of self-advocacy to be able to see a therapist at Yale. I started in August, and wasn’t seen until February. It took me going to Yale Health in person to demand care in order to get an appointment, even though I was supposed Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago

“When I really needed it, I thought, ‘Why spend so much time trying to get help when it’ll take so long for it to happen?'”

Hearing about wait times and the fact that you sometimes had to wait so long deterred me from reaching out. When I really needed it, I thought, “Why spend so much time trying to get help when it’ll take so long for it to happen?” I didn’t get help until Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago

“I was met with the same long wait times, inconsistency, and poor communication while struggling with the medicine I was on.”

In my first-year at Yale, I struggled with alcohol dependency due to my rising depression. Through the process of getting counseling that first-year, I was met with unpleasant demands, counselors who didn’t seem to relate or understand what I was going through, and a lack of communication. This led me Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago

“When I got home from Yale in March, I immediately had my access to gender affirming therapy for my transition taken away, and my healthcare was back under the control of my parents who never supported my transition to begin with.”

When I got home from Yale in March, I immediately had my access to gender affirming therapy for my transition taken away, and my healthcare was back under the control of my parents who never supported my transition to begin with. When I got home, I lost the typical supportive Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago

“In my first two years at Yale, I dealt with a lot of anxiety about not being as smart or as talented as everyone else. This feeling of inadequacy negatively impacted all areas of my life.”

In my first two years at Yale, I dealt with a lot of anxiety about not being as smart or as talented as everyone else. This feeling of inadequacy negatively impacted all areas of my life. I thought about using Yale Mental Health services, but I had heard so many Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago

“I am already stressed about what my unpaid thesis work will take from my jobs and my classes. Without having to worry about work and money, I could put so much more of myself into my senior project. It would mean a lot to me to finish off my Yale career in the way I would choose if I truly had all the options.”

“I have been working at Yale since before classes started my first year. I spent Camp Yale scheduling job interviews, as my number one priority was to get an on-campus job. Going to this school would not have been possible unless I could make money. I felt lucky that I Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years2 years ago

“Just like one wouldn’t make an appointment for an X-ray prior to breaking a bone, reaching out to MHC is not something one does in advance when one think’s they might need it in six months. It’s something one does when they are in need of immediate support from a professional.”

Lower therapy wait times are imperative because mental health affects every aspect of a person’s life. Bad mental health could negatively affect one’s mood and self-confidence, one’s friendships and relationships, one’s academic performance, one’s eating and exercising habits, and even one’s ability to get out of bed in the morning. Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago

“Some people with money on campus will even go to private therapists because they don’t want to or can’t wait that long to see a therapist at Yale Mental Health; however, low-income students who cannot afford that are forced to wait, and it’s an unfair standard.”

I’ve had a lot of experience with mental illness; I have depression and anxiety, and I have been in an intensive outpatient program. I think it’s very important to have timely access to mental health professionals because in my experience, I didn’t want to get help until I was already Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago

“After a few weeks of waiting, I was not able to make any of the times that the ‘therapist’ proposed for the meeting, and when I followed up proposing an alternate time, I never received a response. The lack of response made me feel that my situation was not important enough to warrant help; thus, I have continued to struggle silently.”

When I arrived at Yale as a first-year in the fall of 2019, I had just had the traumatic experience of my sister being diagnosed with a serious illness. At Yale, I dealt with the anxiety and depression this reality had caused me by not talking about it and focusing Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago

“Because I’m in a stable financial situation, I didn’t have the struggles that some of my friends did. It’s essential that Yale provides accessible mental health care to everyone so that everyone can get the support and care that they need.”

In many ways, COVID affected me a lot less than many other people. I was able to stay home after spring break and was also able to take in two friends of mine who didn’t have anywhere else to go and were turned away by Yale from staying on campus. Read more…

By Students Unite Now, 4 years4 years ago