Psychiatrist Employs Questionnaires to Evaluate Counselling of Students

Dr. James E. Barrett, Jr. '55, research psyciatrist for the University Health Services, is trying to determine how the Health Center's psychiatric facilities might be brought more into line with students' needs.

Barrett has sent a questionnaire to all Harvard juniors to find out how extenively students use University counselling services.

There may be a significant percentage of Harvard undergraduates who don't even realize that this free counseling is available," Barrett said yesterday.

So far more than 50 per cent of the questionnaires have been completed and returned. Barrett hopes to get at least a 90 per cent response through follow-up letters.

Barrett's project is sponsored by a fellowship awarded him through the Boston University School of Medicine, and has the full sanction of Harvard administration.

Dean Monro said last week that he hopes the survey will reveal which of the University's counselling services are used most often and how coordination among these services could be improved. He did not know at that time whether the results of the survey would be used to alter substantially any of the University's counselling services.