Northwestern’s Health Advisory Board hosted a town hall meeting Monday allowing students to voice their concerns about Northwestern Medicine Student Health Services.
The Health Advisory Board, formed last spring, consists of student leaders from different wellness-related organizations at NU — including Active Minds, a mental health awareness group. Its main focus is to ease communication between students and staff from Health Services.
The group discussed the effectiveness of the University’s primary mental health services like Counseling and Psychological Services and the availability of long-term therapy options.
Students said CAPS is modeled as a short-term way of providing mental health services and shared their experiences being left on the waitlist for appointments without communication.
“I would say generally, the therapists are pretty good,” Weinberg senior Mia Xia said. “But they do have a lot of cases.”
NU Student Health Services offers several free services to students, including physical, mental, sexual and relational health services. However, students expressed a need for more streamlined channels of communication from each service.
Several students also spoke about the lack of focus and information on COVID-19 from Health Services this school year.
“There was such a vibe shift, and it was like ‘Oh no one cares, like whatever, we can do whatever we want now. It’s over,’” Weinberg senior Maddie Kerr said. “But just because the vaccine requirements have been lifted, it’s not over.”
Board members also talked about a lack of information from Health Services for students taking a medical leave of absence.
Kerr said students considering a medical leave of absence have to factor in changes in financial aid, how it will affect their academics, housing and more.
Weinberg sophomore and board member Aparnaa Ananthakrishnan said her friend who attends a different university faced fewer logistical questions in the process to take a semester off for her mental health.
“It was just such an easy process for her,” Ananthakrishnan said. “It’s kind of sad that it’s not as easy at our university.”
The board said they want to explore ways to provide more clear and comprehensive information about the available health services at Northwestern. Kerr said the board plans to hold another town hall in the winter.
Kerr emphasized that the board is always looking for more student engagement to accurately provide constructive feedback on health services accessible to students.
“The Student Health Service folks are really on board with trying to figure out how we can improve things and get more resources for students,” Kerr said. “It’s always exciting to have staff members who are really willing to hear from students.”
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
—Haven Youth and Family Services promotes mental health and wellness in Evanston area
— Remote Area Medical club provides free healthcare to underserved communities
— Evanston’s new “Living Room” provides mental health crisis support
