The end of my sophomore year, I went to Yale Mental Health feeling stressed and anxious, after what my intake therapist called a depressive episode. This was a few weeks before the end of the semester and I was told that since there’s usually a minimum two week wait time between the intake appointment and assignment to a therapist, I probably wouldn’t get one because the semester would already be over by then. All throughout reading period and finals, I was constantly stressed and couldn’t focus on my studies. I needed access to a psychiatrist immediately but couldn’t get it. So when junior year began I went to Yale Mental Health before the semester even began for my intake session again and was assigned a therapist. As a peer liaison I recommended all first-years who thought they might need mental health services to do the same so they wouldn’t have to wait for weeks during the semester when they really needed help. But students shouldn’t have to wait such a long time. With an increasing number of students seeking mental health services, and next semester looking even more stressful and anxiety-inducing for numerous reasons, the university should shorten the wait time as much as possible so no one’s left hanging.
Eui Young Kim, She/Hers, 2021
