Seeking out mental health support can be difficult. Six in 10 psychologists do not have openings for new patients, and 46% can not meet demands for treatment, according to a 2022 survey from the American Psychological Association. The struggle is even worse for people without insurance that may need to pay exorbitant out-of-pocket fees for mental health support. In this context, MHS’s newly established Wellness Center is essential because it reserves free and necessary access to mental health support for students that they may not be able to find elsewhere.
Although resources like school psychologists and mental health counselors are available free of charge for MHS students, many students don’t even know where to start to access these decentralized services. Furthermore, students often have to schedule appointments in advance, so mental health support may not be available right when they need it.
The Wellness Center combats these issues with availability for walk-in appointments or referrals to off-campus resources. The center also provides therapeutic activities like puzzles and a punching bag. Although such activities are often subject to ridicule as childish, trauma therapist Olivia James explained in a “Fortune” article called “The life-changing magic of puzzling: Why solving jigsaw puzzles is good for your mind and body” that puzzles, for example, allow people to “enter a state of meditation” that can lower their blood pressure and heart rate. These activities may not build lifelong resilience the same way that counseling does, but they are beneficial for students who simply want to be in a relaxing environment and take a break.
When I visited the Wellness Center for the first time, Wellness Center Liaison Storm McNerney started off by giving me a confidentiality disclaimer – information discussed is not shared with anyone else unless the liaison believes that the student needs immediate intervention – and explaining her role. She then listened to my mental health concerns, offered immediate tips, and helped me with the referral process, a Google Form application, for formal counseling at school. This direct, on-demand access to mental health professionals through the Wellness Center tackles mental health issues in a timely way instead of allowing them to worsen over time. The option for counseling also dissuades students from turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms like substance abuse and helps them build lifelong resilience.
Many of the tips I received during the walk-in, like practicing self-compassion and trying new strategies like note-taking to improve academic retention, could be found through a quick online search but were a good reminder nonetheless. I found that the most valuable part of these walk-ins was the ability to converse with a non-judgemental, objective listener, which surprisingly alleviated stress. It was understandable that the liaison, who was not a certified counselor or doctor, could not provide much case-specific advice, but for students who want to take the next step, formal counseling is also available.
The Wellness Center liaison added that it may take a few weeks to be connected to a mental health counselor at school, but even after over three weeks of waiting, a counselor still had not reached out to me, so there seems to be a lack of prompt care for certain mental health referrals.
The Wellness Center is also somewhat unstructured, even for a newly established program. Students are allowed to visit the Wellness Center during class time if they have a pass, but students could easily abuse this policy to skip class since there is no clear way for teachers to differentiate between a real and feigned need. Even students with a real need may stay at the Wellness Center longer than needed to skip class time.
Another issue is that the center is located in a small corner of the library with an inconspicuous entrance that’s easy to miss. The center is also right next to the staff bathrooms, and staff must walk across the entire room to access them, which disrupts what should be a safe and confidential space.
As a starting point for improvement, the Wellness Center should begin by promoting the space more, as 50.6% of the 160 students that responded to a Union survey said that they did not know it exists. With more thorough consideration, the Wellness Center could be an invaluable resource for the MHS community to conveniently access mental health support.