New York University (NYU) administration is not doing enough to address the mental health crisis of students. The long waiting lists for therapists, failure to address the problem directly and continued students complaints have all been said about the administration.
The state of mental health intervention in NYU has gotten worse over the last few years. This has resulted in most students not being able to access adequate time with therapists. The students have also complained about long waiting lists for students seeking therapists services.
To address this problem, the Washington Square News (WSN) reported that NYU had introduced wellness exchange had introduced a new program called ‘while you wait’ meant to help students in the waiting lists. The program basically allowed students to attend group sessions as they wait for an opening to have a one on one therapist session.
Addressing mental health issues by NYU
The sessions, called ‘toolkits’ are voluntary and one can opt-in the group at any given time. The sessions were put in place to address some of the common problems students were having such as sleep problems, academics and anxiety.
NYU’s assistant vice president for NYU Student Mental Health, Zoe Ragouzeos argued that introduction of these sessions were a form of self-management. Something the vice president believes will have a positive impact for NYU students.
Despite the universities claims that it is committed to the well being of students wellbeing, it had not put much effort in addressing the mental health issue. The students’ inability to reserve time with a therapist was a major issue that students complained about but school administration failed to listen.
WSN describes the plight of one ex-student named Natalie who needed counselling due to her bi-polar conditions. She said that no help was offered to her even in her most critical point when she contemplated suicides.
With such a long waiting list and difficulty in reserving sessions with therapists, students have been forced to seek private help. However, private consultations are expensive and only students from well to do backgrounds are able to access therapists, therefore, the crisis in NYU continues to thrive.
The administration’s priority has therefore been put into question and many have argued that it needs to take mental health issue seriously. The group sessions, though a step forward, should not be used as a substitute for one on one sessions with the therapists. The solution is for the university to hire more therapists that can address the rising cases of mental health.
