The Board finally agreed to increase our staffing levels and commit to the new office space. It has been a long and draining road but we held our ground until they had to listen. I will be watching closely to ensure they keep these promises now that the fight is …
June 27, 2019
Final supporters
To: The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees
We would like to bring awareness to an issue that has been brought to light on the campus of the University of South Carolina. There is currently a shortage of efficient and timely mental health care available to students through Student Health Services on our campus. This problem is overwhelmingly due to a shortage of staff and resources available for counseling use within the University. On average, approximately 30% of students will suffer from anxiety and/or depression at some point during their time at USC. With a student body population of around 35,000, that means that over 10,000 students may be in a situation where they might need counseling services. However, most therapists can only see about 150 students per year; this means we would need 70 therapists to provide mental health support for all students who need it. Currently, there are only 20 therapists working at USC, so the staffing cannot come close to meeting these needs. As a result, many students report receiving underwhelming care. For this reason, we ask the Board of Trustees to consider the following:
A. Adding an additional 7-10 licensed mental health professionals to the existing service.
B. Facilitating the re-introduction of an effective peer-led mental health counseling program.
C. Including additional space within residence halls for counseling offices in the University’s long term master plan.
While we recognize these changes are difficult to balance with the many demands of a growing university, we hope that they will be given consideration. These changes reflect the importance of addressing college mental health by making access to services more readily available.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
April 13, 2019
Reached 100 supporters
April 8, 2019
April 7, 2019
The feedback coming back from the administration is quiet and my patience is wearing thin. We are almost at one hundred signatures so please send this link to anyone you know who understands how desperate this situation has become.
64 Comments
Quality and training of the professionals is what really matters. If you have 80 professionals but they can’t recognize and respond appropriately when someone needs help these additional staff are useless.
Currently on day #7 of an involuntary withdrawal from the anxiety medication that this office put me on because, as I was told on the phone, “there’s a lot of student...sometimes it just doesn’t work out nicely like that.”
Last semester I was going through a dark depression and finally had the willpower to book an appointment. I called to schedule one and they didn’t have availability for three + weeks. If I didn’t have friends there to listen/comfort/etc then 3 weeks would’ve been too long. This needs to change.
Many of my friends throughout college have suffered from some mental challenges that would benefit from counseling at some point in time during their college career. Part of reducing the stigma against mental health is having the resources available to utilize them.
The counseling center here is useless. I scheduled a 45 minute triage appointment 2 weeks in advance to be seen for my worsening anxiety and panic attacks. My appointment only lasted 12 minutes in which I was told to attend an anxiety workshop happening an entire week later. Thanks for nothing USC.
Go lexa
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The Board finally agreed to increase our staffing levels and commit to the new office space. It has been a long and draining road but we held our ground until they had to listen. I will be watching closely to ensure they keep these promises now that the fight is …
June 27, 2019
Final supporters
To: The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees
We would like to bring awareness to an issue that has been brought to light on the campus of the University of South Carolina. There is currently a shortage of efficient and timely mental health care available to students through Student Health Services on our campus. This problem is overwhelmingly due to a shortage of staff and resources available for counseling use within the University. On average, approximately 30% of students will suffer from anxiety and/or depression at some point during their time at USC. With a student body population of around 35,000, that means that over 10,000 students may be in a situation where they might need counseling services. However, most therapists can only see about 150 students per year; this means we would need 70 therapists to provide mental health support for all students who need it. Currently, there are only 20 therapists working at USC, so the staffing cannot come close to meeting these needs. As a result, many students report receiving underwhelming care. For this reason, we ask the Board of Trustees to consider the following:
A. Adding an additional 7-10 licensed mental health professionals to the existing service.
B. Facilitating the re-introduction of an effective peer-led mental health counseling program.
C. Including additional space within residence halls for counseling offices in the University’s long term master plan.
While we recognize these changes are difficult to balance with the many demands of a growing university, we hope that they will be given consideration. These changes reflect the importance of addressing college mental health by making access to services more readily available.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
April 13, 2019
Reached 100 supporters
April 8, 2019
April 7, 2019
The feedback coming back from the administration is quiet and my patience is wearing thin. We are almost at one hundred signatures so please send this link to anyone you know who understands how desperate this situation has become.
64 Comments
I wanted to see my therapist while having a panic attack, but wasn't able to get an appointment for another month. Needless to say, I suffered. I like her and don't feel comfortable talking to anyone else. Hiring more mental health care professionals would ease the load and help those like me who require more aid.
Quality and training of the professionals is what really matters. If you have 80 professionals but they can’t recognize and respond appropriately when someone needs help these additional staff are useless.
Currently on day #7 of an involuntary withdrawal from the anxiety medication that this office put me on because, as I was told on the phone, “there’s a lot of student...sometimes it just doesn’t work out nicely like that.”
Last semester I was going through a dark depression and finally had the willpower to book an appointment. I called to schedule one and they didn’t have availability for three + weeks. If I didn’t have friends there to listen/comfort/etc then 3 weeks would’ve been too long. This needs to change.
Many of my friends throughout college have suffered from some mental challenges that would benefit from counseling at some point in time during their college career. Part of reducing the stigma against mental health is having the resources available to utilize them.
The counseling center here is useless. I scheduled a 45 minute triage appointment 2 weeks in advance to be seen for my worsening anxiety and panic attacks. My appointment only lasted 12 minutes in which I was told to attend an anxiety workshop happening an entire week later. Thanks for nothing USC.
Go lexa
This is good.
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I wanted to see my therapist while having a panic attack, but wasn't able to get an appointment for another month. Needless to say, I suffered. I like her and don't feel comfortable talking to anyone else. Hiring more mental health care professionals would ease the load and help those like me who require more aid.