Confusion Surrounds Accessibility and Availability of USM’s Mental Health Resources
As the sun sets on Spirit Park, students walk to and from the Thad Cochran Center.
Going to the Fresh. To the library. Or just going back home for the night.
Sitting in the distance under an oak tree, Asim Pica sits on a picnic blanket with their friends. The only thing that seemed out of place to onlookers was their cat on a leash.
The group of freshmen found a routine of being there on Tuesday evenings. It provided a routine sense of peace. For Pica, so did signing up for Student Counseling Services.
“When I actually tried it, it was the easiest process I’ve ever been through,” Pica said.
However, it seemed like it wouldn’t be so simple for them.
“At first, I was kind of discouraged because I heard they had a waitlist, and it could take months at a time,” Pica said.
The expectation of mental health service delays was a barrier for many students on campus. It often affected the time it took many to request services, like Pica. They received correspondence from SCS within one week to schedule an appointment.
Amanda Kirtland, Assistant Director for Student Counseling Services, is adamant that there is no waitlist.
"I've been with the center for just shy of seven years, and I don't think we've been on a waitlist since 2017," Kirtland said.
Heidi Nelson, director of SCS, provided a similar response over email.
“At SCS, we have not been on a waitlist since, at least, 2018, and students who are in crisis can be seen on the same day and often within moments of checking in with the front desk,” Nelson said.
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Instructions on how to do so online, on the phone, or via email appear on USM’s website. From there, there is a Zoom screening for intake purposes to assess the student's current mental health state. After the screening, counselors often suggest different therapy options to students.
One thing that isn’t a misconception is the number of full-time counselors who work within SCS on campus: five. That number is according to USM's website.
And according to Kirtland, SCS counselors see 1,100 students yearly.
Do the math, and that is 220 students per counselor seen each year.
A constant stream of students can be a source of stress for SCS counselors. It was for Casey Johnson, a former counselor within SCS. He now has a private counseling practice within Hattiesburg.
Nelson declined an on-camera interview citing staffing issues. She replied to correspondence via email. She refused to answer if she felt the University provided her office with adequate resources.
William Clark is a senior psychology major. He started college as an engineer, but the need for more mental health professionals became apparent during the pandemic. It compelled him to change his career path.
Clark serves as President of the Psychology Club and Coordinator of Events of USM's Active Minds Chapter. Through these roles, he has worked directly with Student Counseling Services. He sees the need for more resources within SCS now.
"It could be better," Clark said. "I think obviously we could use more staff members."
But according to Kirtland, it would also be ideal for SCS to have more staff.
“The more staff we have, the more we would have a chance to serve more students,” Kirtland said. “I think that we have been able to do a lot with who we do have on staff, but certainly, I think it would be more beneficial to have more staff.”
JonBene't Kepper is a student pursuing her second bachelors in an accelerated nursing program on USM’s Gulf Park Campus. SCS was integral to her success during her first bachelor's. She feels that SCS increasing its visibility could help more people to utilize what it has to offer.
"Being out in the community more would be a thing that would help more students feel more comfortable seeking help and learning more information about what resources they have to offer," Kepper said.
The therapist she used on campus moved into private practice.
OTHER RESOURCES
Resources have often come to campus as a relief for students as well. Therapy dogs like Cash Money, Blaze, and Moo Moo have served as sources of comfort and support for those at USM.
“We often partner with some of the pet therapy dogs that we’ll bring on campus and do events with them as well,” Mel Lowrey, Cash Money’s owner, said.
Other resources on campus that include counseling services like SCS include the Center for Family Therapy and the Center for Behavioral Health. However, some issues have been associated with these services.
Patterson White is a senior biological science major. He waited for a year to see someone from CBH.
“The only explanation [they gave] for why it was taking so long is there’s a long waitlist and what they do takes time, and they didn’t have enough workers in there to really go through it,” White said.
Kristy D. McRaney, CBH Director, declined multiple requests for an interview.