Crimson opinion writer
Suhaas M. Bhat
Latest Content
Towards a Mentally Healthier Harvard
The mental health crisis on campus rages on, and it is still not clear what to do to address the depression and anxiety that plague the student body. There are two approaches which may improve the mental health of this community: a top down approach, where the existing medical care is made accessible to everyone, and a bottom up approach, where a culture of care and support is allowed to bloom.
There Is No Mental Health Care Shortage at Harvard
The mental health crisis at Harvard is not a crisis of a lack of resources, but rather a crisis of culture: the inevitable collision between our drive for ceaseless achievement and the painful fact that we are mere mortals. Despite the difficulty of self-care here, however, we remain free to take better care of ourselves. Now, more than ever, we have the resources to do so — if only we reach out and take advantage of them.
Depressed? Ask Your Doctor if a Placebo is Right for You
It isn’t that therapy is no better than a placebo. It’s that relationships of care and support are the most fundamental component of psychological well-being, whether or not they’re embedded within a medical system.
If You Can’t Hire More Therapists, Make Them
The effectiveness of layperson therapists hints at a deeper truth about psychotherapy: Therapy is not an arcane art, passed down through the hallowed guilds of Freud and Beck, but rather a structured human relationship.