UHS Launches House Counseling Program

As part of an initiative aimed to provide students with more outlets to mental health services, the mental health division of University Health Services has launched a pilot program Monday evening in four of the upperclassman houses.

The program features drop-in hours with a Mental Health Services staff member, during which students can confidentially and informally talk about their mental health concerns and questions.

From depression to homesickness to financial woes, no issues are off-limits according to MHS Director Paul K. Barreira.

He led the initiative after finding that similar programs had been successful at Columbia University and Cornell.

In the process, UHS hopes to destigmatize professional mental health care and to make it more accessible to students at the College.

“All that we’ve learned from students is that, when they feel anxious or sad or depressed, the first person they turn to is another student before a professional,” Barreira said. “The more that we educate students about the resources available, the more likely we can support each other better.”

He said he would like to see the drop-in program extended to the rest of the upperclassman houses and the freshman dorms.

During the pilot program, only students in four houses—Adams, Lowell, Mather and Pforzheimer—will have access to the drop-in hours.

Sara R. Zaidi ’11, who serves as a director of Student Mental Health Liaisons, said the program could be successful because of the proximity factor.

“They are putting resources where students live and eat and spend most of their time,” she said. “If someone has a problem that might not be so intense, so they wouldn’t think to go to UHS or the Bureau of Study Council, then it’s easy for them to just drop in.”

“It’s good because people whose problems might not be full-blown will be targeted,” she added.

Although Barreira said he wants to wait for a few weeks to gauge the success of the fledgling program, he said he’d like it to continue year-round.

“We strive to have a kind of public, community mental health model which emphasizes working in the community, providing education, outreach and prevention work, besides just sitting at our office, seeing students when they want,” he said. “It’s just a matter of making us more visible, more accessible to students.”

—Staff writer Ahmed N. Mabruk can be reached at amabruk@fas.harvard.edu.