Frustration with administration, health services (from experience)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
1

<p>Hello parents and other perspective students,</p>

<p>Although a lot of things that had been said about Smith College has been great (and true), such as the professors and the small classes, there are some important points to consider before you apply to really any schools, but smith college in particular.</p>

<p>I am a senior struggling with chronic depression, and I have learned that Smith College just doesn't know how (or just doesn't care to) to handle students with mental health issues, especially for a school where 25% of its students had been diagnosed as being depressed. </p>

<p>At the onset of my depression, I was on the verge of breaking down and made a phone call to health service to make an appointment. Counseling services told me that I had to wait two weeks, because I simplify wasn't crying and sounded calm on the phone, and so in their logic, I was ok to wait two weeks. A friend of mine found out, and called health service to express her concerns about me, and it was only after she basically yelled at them on the phone that they suddenly have an opening the same day I called. </p>

<p>I understand that college counseling has limited resources and other people have more serious problems, but Smith College's attitude is basically saying:" Oh, if you are not going to kill yourself, you are not a liability and I can't make time to help you." </p>

<p>Same thing happened this week when I had a major breakdown, and this time I also wasted my time on going to the dean, who basically just told me that there are people out there worse than me, and that I shouldn't be depressed (I DO appreciate all things I have). She believes that I am seeing her because I want to get out of missing classes, when it really was not the case. I was afraid for myself, I was afraid that I couldn't control my mood and will do something crazy, I just wanted her to point me at the right direction. Health services won't see me for another two weeks, what else am I suppose to do? The dean basically just told me that I have to wait two weeks, because out in the real world, that is what people do. She also said that it was my fault that I didn't make an appointment earlier, because that just how slow things are everywhere. Now I know that is not true. Umass Amherst has a crisis center where students can get help at a quick pace, and they AT LEAST have a hotline. </p>

<p>She also tried to downgrade how serious my depression was by saying that if it were an emergency, then you would have gone to the ER, since you didn't, you are obviously not that depressed. </p>

<p>It is hard enough living with depression, and it is almost impossible when the administration and the health services are just pushing me off to the side, discrediting the fact that I DO need help. I also can't help to think that if I had a parent who wrote a million dollar check to the school, I would be treated differently. </p>

<p>I understand that this kind of things happens everywhere else, unfortunately, my dean is right, out in the real world, no one really treats for illness like this until it gets really bad. I just want to give a word of caution to parents. Imagine if you child was going through this in college, would you want her to go through those same situations?</p>

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<p>Nightowl, I really feel for you, having to deal with both depression and the obstacles thrown in your way that prevents you from getting immediate treatment. Unfortunately, people say “I’m depressed” far too frequently to mean that they are temporarily saddened. Perhaps because of this, real depression is often dismissed as a passing mood instead of a clinical disorder. Uninformed people might say, “Look at all you have! You have no reason to be depressed.” They forget that being depressed usually has nothing to do with what you have and don’t have. Still, there’s no excuse for a dean and healthcare services to believe it.</p>

<p>My D (and I) had to deal with healthcare services her first year. They were helpful only in that they gave her a referral to an off-campus physician; they are not equipped to deal with more than minor illnesses and injuries. Although you will get that appointment in two weeks, don’t be surprised if they refer you to a psychiatrist off-campus. I don’t know the status of their mental health counseling – whether they are staffed by counselors or doctors – to guess at how you will be treated.</p>

<p>Do you have outside medical insurance, or are you fully insured with the campus plan? That may make a difference in what happens next.</p>

<p>The truth of mental illness treatment is this: if you are on the brink of a mental breakdown or suicide, you are hospitalized. If you are (sort of) managing with your illness, you wait for an appointment. People who get immediate appointments generally already have a working relationship with the counselor/doctor. I’m sure your situation is compounded by the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. If you do think you are in dire circumstances, call mental health services and ask about how to proceed. </p>

<p>What is your family support like? Can one of your parents call health services for you? Will you go home for Thanksgiving? Can you get an appointment with your home doctor to at least get started on anti-depressants until you can enter counseling?</p>

<p>Good luck! I hope that you find the relief you so desperately need.</p>

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<p>I agree with MWFN. Health services at Smith is essentially an infirmary. They have medical staff of course, and they even have on-campus counselors, but it’s not a hospital and it’s not a substitute for real psychiatric care.</p>

<p>But I think you’re being a little hard on the college. First off, I doubt that 25% of Smith students are clincally depressed (1 in 4? That has not been my experience). Also, while it may seem that their attitude is “we don’t care,” as MWFN pointed out, almost everywhere you have to wait for an appointment to be open unless you are hospitalized or they feel its an emergency. It’s not that they don’t care about your condition, but rather that there are only three counselors on staff and they have many students to see and they have to see them in order. In order to see you right away, they’d have to cancel the appointment of another student who also needs care just as much, so they’re reluctant to do so unless they think it’s a life-or-death situation. I know you’re not trying to put yourself above other students, you just need help for your own condition and you’re in a frustrating situation, but try to give them a little benefit of the doubt and understand that they’re not doing this to punish you. </p>

<p>As for the Dean, well, she’s not a mental health professional. Her profession is making sure that students fulfill their academic obligations and to direct them to the neccessary campus resources. Like MWFN pointed out, she probably sees a lot of women who come in and throw around all kinds of words, and her job is basically to calm them down, which is what I think she was trying to do in this situation (though it probably didn’t feel that way at the time). You were very upset, she was trying to think of a way to calm you by focusing you on what she saw as the positive things you have in your life. Maybe not the best tactic, but again, probably not done out of malice or to be dismissive of your problems. </p>

<p>And yes, UMASS has a crisis center and a hotline, but they also have 20 times more students than Smith does. Not only does that increase the need for counseling services, but it also allows for a the infrastructure of staff and volunteers to staff things like a crisis center and a hotline. It would be very difficult for Smith to provide that kind of infrastructure. </p>

<p>I’m very sorry you’re not feeling supported in your time of need. I definitely think you should make sure that everyone in your life is clued into your condition and can help support you, including your parents. You’re right in that Smith is really not equipped to support an ongoing severe condition. If you’re having multiple break-downs or near break-downs per semester, maybe think about taking a medical leave of absence? Or if not that, speak to counseling services about getting a referral to an in-town doctor so that you are getting the medical support that you need to continue your studies. Don’t just try to muddle through on your own in between break downs and hope that it will get better. Please get help and good luck.</p>

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<p>I agree 100% with the OP. i 'm fed up with the health Service. D has been ill for over a month (fever, cough, acute sinus problems). The first time she went, they told her it wasn’t swine flu, so it wasn’t serious and to take a couple of aspirins. A week later, she was worse, couldn’t work, called them several times but was told that they were overbooked and (like the OP) she was not an emergency. She got an appointment for the following week, and it was cancelled twice. I had her on the phone in tears of despair: she was flunking her classes, her brain had stopped functioning, she couldn’t sleep because of the cough, her head ached non stop, etc… That makes a Mum feel great when she’s thousands of miles away! I finally called a friend who lives in Boston, who took her to his own GP. Severe sinus infection aggravated by mould allergy. Not a case for Gregory House. I find them overwhelmed and totally irresponsible, particularly in the case of an International student who has no other medical insurance than the campus one and does not have family backup on the spot.
if D doesn’t get into Harvard Grad school because of the fall in her grades this semester, I’m suing (joke :slight_smile: but still furious)</p>

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<p>Nightowl, I appreciate your wanting to be heard and validated for the struggle you’re having and you want treatment. As a mother of a first-year and as a former clinical social worker, I sincerely hope you get the help you need so you can get back to a reasonable equilibrium. I imagine that health services has to sort out both physical and emotional conditions, and with the H1N1 flu epidemic compounding the typical overload of students this time of year, I can imagine it’s all they can do to schedule two weeks down the road. That doesn’t help you, however, if you need help now. </p>

<p>I see that you posted at 4:37 AM. If you or your friends are really afraid you’re going to do something dangerous to yourself, then go to Emergency. Period. If you have non-Smith health insurance, call them and tell them you need to go, AND THEN GO. If you’re waiting for someone to give you permission to say you’re so bad off that you need to go, give it to yourself, knowing that you’ll get the help you need right when you need it. You deserve it. At the very least, if you’re managing to struggle along right now and you haven’t seen a psychiatrist before for your depression, find one now before you have another major breakdown. I hope you can also arrange for counseling.</p>

<p>I encourage you to talk to your family, if you can, if you haven’t done so already. Hopefully they will understand and can advocate for treatment for you both at Smith and at home. </p>

<p>While the Smith Forum on College Confidential isn’t the best place to evaluate a student’s emotional condition, please let us know how it goes.</p>

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<p>Lost in translat, I am so sorry your daughter has been so miserable and I’m glad she’s finally gotten treatment. I can appreciate how helpless you felt and how furious you are. With your daughter being an international student, is the campus medical insurance the only option for her? Do American hospitals and doctors not accept medical insurance from other countries? Is there no reciprocity for health insurance with other countries?</p>

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<p>Health services is definitely more of an infirmary than a health care center – no doubt about it. In my D’s case, her condition was originally diagnosed as “allergies,” but when it became clear that it was worse than that, they referred her elsewhere. </p>

<p>I hope the OP reads Carolyn’s post because if she needs immediate help, she should not wait for health services to “refer” her to an emergency room. That’s exactly what happened with my daughter. She called one morning, in tears, and I told her to get to the hospital, pronto. Campus security arranged the ambulance, and disability services arranged for transports to doctor’s appointments. Unfortunately, you have to figure out the system to get help in extreme cases. </p>

<p>Both the OP’s and LiT’s cases demonstrate that one must go beyond health services at times to get the necessary care.</p>

<p>@Nightowl: please get back to us.</p>