Counselors Find Students More Anxious, Depressed

Although the number of students using the mental health clinic at University Health Services (UHS) remained steady last year and this fall, students suffer from more serious problems than in past years, Dr. Randolph Catlin Jr., chief of clinical mental health services for UHS, said yesterday.

Catlin said he is "deeply concerned" about a trend among his undergraduate patients towards deeper and "less well defined" anxiety.

Students now attempt to "evolve some meaning in their lives," while in the past they came to UHS about "what to do with relationships in trouble, or how to get into the college scene," Catlin said.

Last year more than 20 per cent of all Radcliffe students used the mental health services, while only 10 per cent of Harvard students sought help.

Catlin said women probably "find it somewhat easier to talk about their feelings and to come and seek help." Students during the past few years have accepted psychiatric counseling more readily, and fully utilize the UHS staff, he added.

Dr. William G. Perry Jr. '35, director of the Bureau of Study Counsel, said his staff has also reached a "saturation" level in counseling. Last year about 800 undergraduates went to the bureau for help.

Perry said, "I know lots of students who are having a wonderful time," but added many students express anxiety over the tightening economy and less abundant job opportunities.

Their concern increases their difficulty in making each step of the way, Perry said. "When writing a paragraph seems to determine the rest of your life, it's pretty hard to finish the paragraph," he said.

More for the Money

Perry said the increased use of counseling may in part be "an attempt to get one's money's worth." Students appreciate the value of consultations and use the services more, he added.

Students seem "a lot more desperate" this year, Lori G. Perlman '78, director of Room 13, a student-run counseling service, said yesterday.

Room 13 received about twice as many calls as usual during the early part of the fall, she said, adding that Room 13's publicity, readiness among students to seek help, and increased academic pressures combined to increase the number of calls.

Men and women call in about equal numbers, so proportionately more women use Room 13's services, Perlman said.

Times Changes, People Don't

"People haven't changed much over 3000 years, although the manifestations of problems change," Dr. George E. Vaillant, associate professor of psychiatry, said yesterday. "Who goes to Health Services may change with fashion."

"Students may be a little more grown up than they used to be, but essentially they have the same problems," Vaillant added