A bulletin board outside of American University’s Counseling Center with a suicide prevention lifeline.
Yi Lin said her friends were concerned about her mental health during middle school and told her counselor who called her mother for questions.
Her mother told the counselor not to waste her time and hung up.
“I just think there’s bigger priorities,” said Lin when asked why she didn’t seek out mental health services after that.
Lin is among many who said they grew up with a cultural taboo on mental health. The taboo averts some from seeking mental services, according to the Handbook of Multicultural Mental Health. The third-year American University student has never sought counseling services from the university despite having eight free sessions every year like any student in the school, according to the American University website.
Some students of color like Lin say that mental health is “white people’s problem” and grew up in cultures where mental health issues are considered “slumps” that you eventually get over. These messages that have been taught since they were young are also difficult to unlearn and some who were interviewed are still unable to unlink the taboo with mental health.
“I just have to be strong,” said Lin after being asked how she handles what she calls her “sad episodes.”
According to a 2017 study by the National Institutes of Health, factors like depression, family dynamics, and academic struggles increase the likelihood of suicide in college.
Lin said that students of color find issues that pertain to their racial or ethnic background are difficult to discuss with white counselors since they do not want to perpetuate stereotypes others may have about their community. The fear of being seen as “crazy” or having their problems “revealed” also impede students from sharing their problems.
American University, like all federally funded educational institutions in the country, must abide by Title IX regulations since almost all colleges and universities receive federal funding through federal financial aid programs used by their students, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Under Title IX, most staff like faculty, staff, coaches, and academic advisors are required to report any Title IX related issues to their supervisor who will then report to the Title IX office that will reach out to the source of the report, asking if they would like to have the incident further investigated, according to the American University website.
Students who were unaware of the rule and had their incidents reported have said they were “traumatized” and have not been able to return to counseling.
Some universities like American University have resources like the Office of Advocacy Services for Interpersonal and Sexual Violence (OASIS) and ordained clergy where students can seek confidential advice.
Students who have expressed desire in seeking mental health services from their schools face other barriers in acquiring them. They say other priorities inhibit them from being able to go to counseling in addition to the limited hours that are offered by schools.
Hoang Tong, a senior at Howard University, does not agree with the “just a slump” mentality that her culture has on mental health. But, she said she is still unable to utilize the counseling services offered in her school because of her obligations.
“Universities don’t understand how overwhelmed students can be,” said Tong. “I have my class and work everyday – I can’t just wait for hours.”
Tong is referring to the drop-in hours at Howard, where she said the wait time can be as long as hours.
Many students in university take 15 to 17 credits worth of classes per semester, along with multiple jobs and internships.
In addition to some cultures not prioritizing mental health and other life obligations, students say they hesitate to seek out help because of the seeming lack of importance that schools give to mental health.
Martha Omotosho, a Public Health major at East Carolina University, is among thousands of students who have had student suicides happen in their schools. The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention reported suicide as the second highest cause of death among individuals between the ages 10 to 24.
Omotosho said she experienced two of her peers dying by suicide in a year and said the school did not do a satisfactory job of making sure the rest of the students are okay after the incidents.
“It was like it never happened,” said Omotosho on her school moving forward from the deaths “pretty quickly” and not offering elevated mental health services after.
Misunderstandings with schools also cause a discouragement from seeking help from them, according to students. In an email sent by Vice President of Campus Life & Inclusive Excellence Fanta Aw to American University students, statistics on late cancellations on appointments and no-shows were given followed by a statement saying that “there is no reason to think that clients were failing to show up because they were frustrated at waiting.”
The email was in response to students saying appointments were inaccessible because of long waits, which many felt like the school was blaming students for not attending appointments when there are many mental health-related reasons they may not do so.
When asked for comment about the barriers that students face in accessing mental health services, staff clinician at the American University Counseling Center Daniel Birichi said the center’s main focus is on providing clinical services to students and is therefore unable to take time to grant an interview.
In the future, students said they would like schools to have a higher level of understanding about the inflexible schedules that they have that would make them unable to attend counseling sessions. In addition, they said a higher diversity of staff of not only race but also gender, nationality, and sexual orientation would make more students feel they would be understood by those they are sharing with.
Some students also believe regular assessments of students’ mental health would also be helpful for schools to get a better sense of their students’ well-being.
Advanced Reporting Times, Spring 2020 