<p>I don't have much to add to what is written already. I think one of the commenters sums the issue up pretty well:</p>
<p>"It seems like every single week we hear about something new that goes wrong with some department of student affairs. Last week, it was that they lied to students about the availability of off-campus housing approval, causing students to lose a ton of money after signing a lease on absolutely false information given by the office. Before that, it was security calling the police on students smoking marijuana despite their continued lip service to self-gov.
This tops all of them though. Refusing students psychiatric services on campus is nuts. Many students have issues such as depression (or even suicidal thoughts), substance abuse, eating disorders, etc that absolutely need to be addressed or will get worse. We can think of many tragedies that have happened at educational institutions that psychiatric services may have prevented.
It seems like this lack of concern for students may stem from the attitudes of the people at the top of the department most responsible for caring for students. The college needs to change this if it wants to remain a place that values respect between the institution and its students. It can start by removing those at the top of student affairs."</p>
<p>While I think that it is definetly discourteous to miss an appointment without notice, refusing students psychiatric help is just a bad idea. You don’t have to think too hard to remember tragedies that occured at other colleges that may have been prevented by effective counseling services.</p>
<p>dan, ds is not a Grinnell student (accepted last year but at another LAC), but I see your concern. This is a great thing for students/parents to ask about when considering colleges. It’s something you don’t want to think about it, but you never know.</p>
<p>I have a friend whose ds is a college freshman at another school and has had desperate need of psychiatric services. They’ve opted to go the private route.</p>
<p>I called Grinnell’s office of health and counseling services to verify this, and it is not entirely as portrayed. Grinnell has its own in-house counseling services, but does not have its own psychiatrist on staff. It brings a doctor on campus for several hours a week, and because this time is limited, if a student does not show up for an appointment, then yes, they are required to use a psychiatrist in town instead going forward.</p>
<p>The counseling services are always available to everyone, though, and the office told me that they always try to leave some intake appointments open so that students can come in on a same day basis if they have not scheduled in advance. </p>
<p>On the Grinnell website, it lists its own staff as including two psychologists and a “staff therapist.” Mental health therapy is often done by psychologists; psychiatrists diagnose and do medication management, and sometimes also do the counseling and therapy, but not always. </p>
<p>I suppose one might argue that Grinnell should increase its budgeting for on-campus psychiatric services, but that’s another story. However, to suggest that students cannot get counseling if they miss an appointment is misleading. </p>
<p>I do think that if a student doesn’t show up for their scheduled appointment, they should be charged the fee. I am saying this as a parent of a current student at Grinnell; if my child made a doctor’s appointment and then didn’t show up, I don’t see why the doctor’s time should go unpaid for.</p>
<p>Grinnell also has Residence Life Coordinators living in the dorms. From the website:</p>
<p>“All of the Residence Life Coordinators are Master’s level professionals who have training in working with you, listening to you, and helping you gain comfort with your academic workload and other concerns you may have. And you don’t even have to leave the hall to find them (except maybe to walk through the loggia, but even so, they’re pretty accessible, 10am-10pm).”</p>
<p>Thanks for checking into this SDon. Whenever I read something that has the ‘over the top’ tone that this editorial has, I always wonder what the administration has to say. I wasn’t seriously worried that Grinnell students who missed an appointment at the counseling center weren’t going to get counseling services thereafter. </p>
<p>I suspect the $200 charge to the student just reflects what the college has to pay for the psychiatrist’s services - in our area, rates range from $200-$300/hr. Having to go off campus is a pain, but missing a psychiatric appointment (and potentially the medical supervision it entails for a student on prescription meds) is risky. Dan, how else should the university convey this to an adult, except to refuse to enable it?</p>
<p>Yes, thanks SDonCC. As an alum, I am always disappointed by articles or op-eds like this, that are misleading, missing important facts, etc. Hopefully, a Grinnell education teaches one to look at issues thoroughly and critically, without jumping to unsubstantiated conclusions.</p>
<p>Of course, I’m sure if I looked at S&B articles from my day, I would see the same kind of youthful indignation ;)</p>