Link – BYU Student Pens Letter on Lack of Mental Health Resources on Campus

In the wake of a tragedy on campus, BYU students are pointing out the obvious. Telling people to ask for help is great, but you better have the help available, which doesn’t seem to be the case:

“By Monday night, an open letter to officials at the university as well as at the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) was taped to the doors of the CAPS and the Title IX offices. A photo of the letter was then shared on Twitter by another student who came across it. The letter was from a “struggling concerned BYU student,” who said, despite seeking resources and therapy at the counseling offices, she was not receiving the help she needed.

It wasn’t because her therapist wasn’t working out, she noted, but because she was only able to see him once a month because he had too many clients to see her more frequently.”

Look, there are people dealing with depression or anxiety who benefit from once a month sessions with their therapist. There are also people who need a lot more. At my worst, at the time my therapist was most concerned about me harming myself, I saw her every weekday. Yes, 5 time per week.

That was 20+ years ago. That was when I had a really good job and insurance to help pay for that. When I had a boss willing to accommodate that schedule for a couple of months. When my therapist wasn’t so overwhelmed with patients that she could schedule me in that often.

I was beyond lucky. My situation was a freaking mental health unicorn. No one has that now. Now, we’re lucky if we can get in to see someone a couple of time per month, lucky to have insurance to cover even that. Lucky to not just be in jail when things get really bad for disturbing the peace or something similar.

You shouldn’t have to be as lucky as I was to get help. Yet here we are, losing more and more people because when they need help, it’s not there.

Anonymous BYU Student Pens Letter on Lack of Mental Health Resources on Campus