Our campus needs more psychological resources, and “streamlining” existing ones is not the solution.

In an attempt to streamline services, Northwestern plans to eliminate counseling from the Women’s Center and move mental health resources to the Counseling and Psychological Services facility. This move has the potential to hinder options for students with long-term needs.

According to its website, the Women’s Center allots 52 sessions for survivors and those seeking support. Support previously offered by the Women’s Center will be funneled into the logistical confines of CAPS, which highlights and relies on “short term counseling.” These issues are not short term. At the Women’s Center, one simply makes a phone call to schedule an appointment, and a member of the counseling team will see them. CAPS differs greatly. Before an individual makes an appointment, they must consult with a member at CAPS via phone call, who will decide whether or not the services at CAPS suffice for the student. Here is where things get tumultuous: As a survivor myself, it can be daunting, taxing and triggering to prove my case. This interview, in and of itself, insinuates victimization with questions like “Why should you be seen at CAPS?” or “How serious is your situation?”

There is something inherently intimidating in consulting with someone over the phone and pleading my case in order to be seen by a counselor. There is something different between scheduling an appointment and proving that I need an appointment. NU needs to create more environments in which survivors are welcome to come as they please and speak freely without an initial screening.

If an individual is allowed to access the resources at CAPS, the problems don’t disappear. As mentioned, the counseling center prides itself on effective “short term counseling,” making it seem like it wishes to fix students’ issues effective immediately and send them off to continue their NU careers. Some individuals simply need more time, which might prove difficult to manage should there be an influx of new students who once sought such support from the Women’s Center. To add more counselors at CAPS would certainly help alleviate the lack of resources and personnel, but this may also not be enough. Some individuals need other forms of treatment. Our campus is desperately in need of more forms of support for sexual assault survivors who do not require some form of interview.

Although the Center for Awareness, Response and Education doesn’t require an interview-like process and allows for more personalized experiences and online resources, it only has three staff members. CARE will have more on its plate after the closing of counseling at the Women’s Center. How many people can both CARE and CAPS accommodate simultaneously? The University should invest in expanding both services, while looking into creating new ones. More specialized forms of trauma support on our campus –– a more robust trauma center, for example –– could focus more comprehensively on those who need counseling for sexual assault, rape and other longer term issues. One or two floors of a building, a handful of counselors and a short-term focus do not suffice.

Streamlining resources should not cause more inconveniences for students attempting to seek support. If NU proceeds with the decision to halt counseling at the Women’s Center, the University must invest in and improve other counseling services on campus.

Edson Montenegro is a Communication sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.