More than occasionally, being alive is a difficult process. Students have problems that range from being too depressed to get out of bed, grieving the loss of loved ones, or feeling alienated in a new environment. Luckily for them, Henderson Student Counseling service is there to help — but only if students can make it through the series of phone holds while making an appointment and then another month on a waiting list for that appointment. If they make it that long, they’ll be blessed with 10 — that’s right 10 — whole sessions in one calendar year to somehow resolve their struggle with chronic depression, a miscarriage, an eating disorder, the fallout of abuse or various other pervasive problems.
Henderson claims individual therapy “focuses on the exploration and resolution of the student’s personal problems or issues according to his/her needs,” but how can it when a quarter of the sessions a student is merited should be spent establishing trust between the client and therapist? Only at the point that a student trusts their counseling will they be able to be fully open with them. By then, they only have a few hours to explore something like deep-seated trauma or intensely low self-esteem.
Possibly more concerning than the quantity of sessions is their quality. Although all professionals at Henderson are licensed, they may not be the most effective professionals. Myself and others have experienced approaching Henderson with serious issues and ultimately being left with mental health worksheets that only scrape the surface of what we were going through. Nothing is more discouraging than being brave enough to reach out and ask for help only to get nowhere. These homeworks assignments might be useful in some cases, but if a therapist is unable to empathize and understand their client beyond basic psychological principles, they are no more help than a search engine.
Not to mention, a student has to work fairly hard to get to the point of deciding whether 10 lackluster sessions will help them or not. Henderson’s phone is always busy, and calling for an appointment will likely lead to being put on hold several times. I have called before and been put on hold only to be forgotten. Beyond that inconvenience, Henderson’s waiting list for a first appointment is about a month. If a student really needs help, they’ll have no option but to suffer without professional help as weeks drag by. When poor mental health is often associated with low energy and social deficiency, making calls and keeping appointments can be extremely difficult for someone depressed or grieving.
Henderson needs to do more than show up to tabling events and hand out pretty business cards. It needs to take its clients seriously, or it risks worsening already-exhausting situations for those it should be helping.
