Need Counseling? Get in Line

By: Hana El Kashef

Photographer: Habiba Ebaid

The emotional burden on students seeking mental health counseling on campus may have worsened as they face prolonged waiting periods for the care they need.

 

According to the Center of Well-being and The Psychological Training Center, there has been a pronounced demand for their services since the beginning of the semester.

 

“What we’re seeing is more demand, so for example since September 1, we’ve had more than 200 new requests for counseling appointments,” said Dr. Nabil Salibi, Senior Director of the Center for Student Well-Being (CSW).

 

This increased demand poses a significant strain on the center, which has already seen its faculty working at full capacity while meeting global standards.

 

“Each counselor can work up to 25 sessions per week, they cannot exceed 25 sessions. According to international guidelines, every counseling center should have one counselor for every 1,250 students, and we are more or less meeting that average,” he said.

 

While Salibi did acknowledge the psychological impact of prolonged isolation during the Covid pandemic, he did see a silver lining 

 

“One positive outcome of Covid was the awareness in terms of mental health. Everyone heard about how important mental health is, how important wellbeing is,” said Salibi.

 

Extensive study is still being carried out on the long-term effects of the pandemic, particularly on those between the ages of 18 and 21 – which Salibi says is a bracket susceptible to mental health disorders.

 

In the meantime, the measures taken to combat the spread of the Coronavirus – such as masking, social distancing, and sanitizing, may have contributed to the surge in the numbers grappling with mental health issues.

 

“Our peak before Covid was about 30 students on the wait-list. Post-Covid, the year we came back our wait-list reached about 300 students,” says Iman El Omary, Associate Director of Student Well-Being and Outreach. 

 

The lasting damage to the human psyche and the trauma that Covid exposed people to can play a significant role in driving students to seek counseling. 

 

“Covid had a significant impact on people’s mental health. The anxiety about this pandemic that we don’t understand may take away from us people we love, may kill us off,” said El Omary.

 

The lasting trauma suffered by some may even have come as a result of the peak in domestic abuse, “Everybody’s locked up at home with family members that they may or may not get along with,” she added.

 

El Omary highlighted the center’s effort to meet the spike in the number of students in need,  to overcome the lengthy process involved in treating each student seeking counseling. 

 

“The target for universities is what we call brief problem-focused counseling that happens in 6-8 weekly sessions. We take on a new person after the goal is met,” she said.

 

Each student case is different; some may require more time to meet their mental health goals, others less so. Therefore, the process for a faculty member to fully treat a case, and find a slot for a new one, is variable.

 

In fighting the limitations this may present, the center has looked to expand the hours of part-time faculty members and full-time positions, to provide more time slots for students to be seen and treated. 

 

“They [AUC] increased our budget to allow for these part-timers to give us more time, and  just recently a new position was approved and we will be hiring a new full-time position…we should be able to get to see these students on the wait-list,” said El Omary. 

 

While the CSW remains at the forefront of providing counseling and addressing mental health issues, many students have also resorted to the Psychological Counseling and Training Center for the same services.

 

The center addresses relational and family issues, career concerns, anxiety and depression, emotional and cognitive issues, and behavioral regulation, says Associate Professor of Practice in Psychology Dr Gurusewak Khalsa, its director.

 

“The Training Center has become more well known amongst the AUC community, so students, alumni, and staff are better able to access the Training Center intake process,” he added.

 

It also offers its services to the community at large beyond just the students of AUC, but all faculty and staff the make up the majority on the wait-lists. 

 

The center prioritizes the cases submitted on a first-come-first-serve basis; however, the urgency and severity of some cases do factor into their priority.

 

“Clients with higher needs, or immediate needs for support, are referred to the Counseling Center or other appropriate external resources,” said Khalsa.

 

In its effort to spread awareness regarding mental well-being and efforts to assist those in need on campus,  Psychology Department and The Training Center are developing plans to disseminate proactive psychoeducation about mental health topics, Khalsa says. 

 

The Training Center is also in communication with the CSW about the reference of urgent cases when needed. 

 

But the current wait times are taking their toll on students. Some who have spoken to The Caravan on the condition of anonymity say when they finally do seek help at a point of vulnerability and are told to wait, their hope diminishes.

 

“I felt I needed someone to listen to me urgently. I searched for the Well-being Office but they told me that the earliest appointment was five weeks from now. Of course, I had to cancel and abandon the thought of going back to the office again,” said Student A. 

 

In an attempt to assist every student in need of urgent help, the centers recommended alternatives outside AUC, but these may not always be affordable.

 

“At the end of the last semester, I felt extremely lonely and depressed. I contacted both the Well-being office and the Psychological Services office and was told to wait until September,” said Student B. 

 

 “They directed me to psychiatrists outside the university, but I didn’t have the financial ability for that option,” said Student B.

 

Salibi conceded that the issue regarding referrals outside campus remains a costly alternative for students, but highlighted the center’s implementation of ‘appointment reminders’ to tackle the issue of sudden cancellations and no-shows that waste the center’s resources and time.

 

The CSW’s outreach programs in collaboration with scholarship directors, and the provision of residential assistants with the tools to identify and address signs of mental health problems, are also designed to reach out to at-risk international students, he added.

 

“Dorm students have additional risk factors because they’re away from their families, but it depends on other factors as well,” Salibi said.

 

AUC’s senior administration has prioritized mental health on campus; in August 2022, President Ahmed Dallal established a task force and initiative tackling the issue, according to Dean of Students Michelle Henry. 

 

This task force is working in tandem with departments across AUC to tackle the mental health issues concerning the community at large, Henry explained.

 

“The task force receives great appreciation from students and faculty members alike who responded to the president’s initiative with full support,” said Henry.