I remember asking for a queer woman of color at my intake appointment and the person laughed. It’s exhausting to explain to someone who doesn’t understand your experience why your mental health is the way it is; relationships with therapists often take years to build.

I remember asking for a queer woman of color at my intake appointment and the person laughed. It’s exhausting to explain to someone who doesn’t understand your experience why your mental health is the way it is; relationships with therapists often take years to build.

Yale, like the neoliberal university writ large, values efficacy. In the simplest terms possible: wouldn’t it be more efficient to have mental health providers who understand the needs and experiences of your students, especially when students in these affinity groups are the ones often in the most need of these services?

Ananya Kumar-Banerjee, She/They, 2021, Berkeley College