Katiera Sordjan | Slipping through the cracks

The Melting Pot | CAPS needs to ensure that students are not left in the dark when it comes to continuing mental health care

By Katiera Sorjdan 11/06/14 1:01pm

La st week I had an appointment with a new psychiatrist, which I had made the first week of the semester back in August. Halloween was the soonest they could see me. I had to miss class to ensure I made it to the office on time, because being late would mean that I would not get seen at all and potentially have to wait weeks for a reschedule. I already had to depend on my doctor back home and SHS to fill prescriptions in the meantime.

I was referred to the practice by CAPS, where I was told that my health conditions required more qualified medical professionals, and it was no longer sufficient for me to see the counselors they had on staff. Even brief monthly appointments, such as getting a new prescription from a psychiatrist, had to be done off campus. I was told not to worry and that someone at CAPS would follow up with me to make sure I was able to find the proper treatment team. That follow-up never happened. I have yet to be matched to a therapist at the new practice, despite repeated calls and emails.

As students begin to break the silence on their mental health demons, Penn is still scrambling as a university to find a proper solution. The community is simply too big — while it is preferable to keep everyone at the university within CAPS in order to be treated, there are only about 40 staff members for a community of over 20,000. Yet, as someone who is mandated by the university to continue medical treatment as a condition of my return from leave, I often feel that I am left to navigate a broken system on my own.

There are only so many therapists and doctors that Penn can hire to tend to the issues of students. But it is problematic to be told that the care that can be acquired at CAPS is only for temporary situations, when mental health crises very rarely happen as isolated events. Students who have already been stamped with the stigma of mental disorder diagnoses are sent off without someone to guide them. Had I not been stabilized medically at home, my readjustment to student life would have been even more of a struggle.

Of course, even external resources are naturally limited. Doctors have to serve a large clientele, and there are only so many hours that they can see patients. But many people find themselves having to manage their health care on their own with medical conditions that necessitate a strong support system.

As a student, it is difficult enough constantly questioning the legitimacy of your issues. It is challenging to communicate with professors in a way that does not reveal too much personal information, but enough that they can understand that there are genuine medical circumstances involved. Most days, it feels like everyone else is managing their busy and demanding lives while something is holding you back. Talking about mental health is often accompanied with great shame, and to hold onto that shame alone is burdensome.

CAPS is actively restructuring and trying new strategies for addressing student needs. I was able to find some support in a weekly group for students returning from leaves of absence. But in order to successfully and properly address the mental health issues our school community faces, CAPS must keep as close of a watch on students who have been referred outside of their office as they do with students who are actively seeking treatment on campus. Our national health care system is flawed enough that in the crucial developmental years of college many often stop trying to get help. At Penn we have a unique opportunity to have access to a vast amount of resources within blocks of each other. When it comes to issues as challenging as thes e, a preventative rather than reactio nary approach is nece ssary.

Katiera Sordjan is a College junior from New York City studying communications. Her email address is skati@sas.upenn.edu. “The Melting Pot” appears every Thursday.

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