The Health Center changes its triage system and hires a new mental health specialist
Psychologist Will Meek joined the Health Center Oct. 22 to help students with mental health concerns. (Stephanie Matusiefsky | THE BEACON)
By Kelsey Thomas, Staff Writer thomask15@up.edu
Depression. Anxiety. Eating disorders. Substance abuse. Self-injury. According to the American Psychological Association, these are some of the most common mental issues college students face. In response to growing concerns, the Health Center enacted several measures so that University of Portland students are now able to see a mental health counselor at the Health Center within a matter of minutes, rather than a matter of weeks.
Last September, ASUP passed a resolution requesting that the Health Center decrease wait times for students counseling appointments. ASUP Secretary Julie Balistreri said they were concerned that the increasing numbers of students seeking mental health care had to wait weeks to speak to a counselor.
The Health Center responded with several measures.
One was the replacement of the pastoral care position with an assistant director position. Psychologist Will Meek began work in that role on Oct. 22.
Meek runs the counseling program and is excited to counsel students.
"Having someone come in and work on stuff getting in their way and end up on graduation day in something they're passionate about is very fun and moving to experience," Meek said.
Balistreri, a senior, said hiring Meek was an important step for the Health Center.
"[The Health Center] definitely addressed the problem where it needed to be addressed," Balistreri said. "Our greatest concern was the hiring of a mental health specialist."
The Health Center also established a new triage system where a counselor is on duty six hours a day during the week and available to meet with students for 15-minute assessments.
"If you want counseling today, right now, you can just go to the front desk or call and meet with a counselor right away to sort out what it is you need," Director of the University Health Center Paul Myers said.
Myers said many students who come in for counseling only need a short consultation. During the triage appointment, the counselor determines if the student needs a long consultation, a more complete psychological assessment, psychotherapy, a referral to an off-campus resource, or if the brief consultation is adequate.
According to Myers, if the counselor determines that the student needs further attention, the student can usually get a full appointment about a week later.
Students with regular counseling appointments who are having a crisis can also use the triage time to check in and get help between appointments.
To further expand the counseling capacity, the Health Center also added a second practicum student counselor from Pacific University.
Balistreri and Myers still agree that the situation is not perfect, but Myers said he is pleased with their progress. In the last week of September of 2011, counselors in the Health Center met with students 75 times. With the introduction of the triage system and other changes, this increased to 91 appointments in the last of week of September of 2012. With the hiring of Meek, this number may increase further.
"We're still going to have capacity complaints over time because it's just a nature of college counseling centers," Myers said. "But I think we are in a much better place to make sure students are receiving more acute care and attention."
