“When I went to my first intake and then waited to be paired with a counselor, I remember doubting whether therapy was even a good idea. I was already not in a good place, and the last thing I wanted to do after was go back. If I had gotten earlier and more enthusiastic feedback, it definitely would have encouraged me to go back. The more time that passes, you think, I don’t want to do this anymore, my problems aren’t big enough, or this isn’t going to help me. I was aware that Yale MHC has a priority system, and I’m not against people at greater risk going before me, but I don’t think we should be abandoning other students. Even after I did get paired, I felt like my depression wasn’t bad enough to need therapy and other students needed it more, so I didn’t even go to the counselor I got assigned to until months later. It takes so much to go to the intake in the first place, and if you leave people hanging, you’re really not doing your job. These demands from SUN seem so obvious, and it’s crazy that they haven’t been implemented already.”
Alice Park, she/her/hers. 2021, Silliman.
