Opinion
Health and Counseling Center donations show growing awareness of mental health
By Maddy Maher ’18
October 8, 2015
Upon reading last week’s Spectator and the email they sent out earlier this week, I was overwhelmed with excitement about the donations to Hamilton’s Health and Counseling Centers from both alumni and the senior class. To me, health treatment of any kind, whether mental or physical, is a no-brainer; a school, or for that matter any community, needs adequate facilities, employees and resources to accommodate their people’s needs.
Mental health is currently a hotbed topic in the United States. In the wake of the tragic school shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, which left ten people dead, our nation is revisiting a conversation that, in my opinion, should not even have to happen. When tragedies like the Umpqua shooting strike, we immediately point the finger at the mentally ill community. We credit the shooter’s horrific actions to their emotional disturbance and leave it at that. Though we may demand a conversation about mental health in the context of mass shootings, it should not and, for the safety of our country, cannot end there. As a nation, we claim to feel the intense repercussions of untreated mental illness from coast to coast. Rather than shouldering the blame onto the mentally ill, why not take steps to prevent their illness from reaching a level at which they are a danger to themselves and others? If we choose to blame tragedy on mental illness, then we must take proactive steps toward improving mental healthcare in our country.
In the Oct. 6 episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Oliver points to the incredibly broken and misguided nature of our current mental healthcare system. After pointing out that there are “ten times as many people behind bars as there are in psychiatric hospitals,” he states that “finding out jails are our largest provider of mental health treatment is like finding out Lil Wayne lyrics are our greatest source of sexual education.” It is just absurd, and clearly the incorrect method of treatment. As he says, the only redeeming aspect of discussing mental health issues in the context of heinous crimes is the fact that it forces discussion at all. Nonetheless, these conversations are absolutely vital in the establishment of sufficient mental health treatment.
While significant improvements to the actual health care system will take time, funding and many more difficult conversations, small communities can start taking steps to create healthier environments by eliminating the stigma around discussing and admitting to mental illness.
I see the seniors’ donation as a definite victory for the mental health movement. Not only will future students requiring mental health treatment receive higher quality on-campus care, but current students now have an opportunity to speak more freely about mental health and about what they need to improve their treatment experience. While mental health is still considered a “taboo” topic, no one can deny the facts. One in four American adults experience mental illness every year. 82 percent of Hamilton students seek treatment from the Counseling Center during their time here. 54 percent of the students on the senior gift committee voted in favor of the donation to the Health and Counseling Center over three other possible gift ideas. Reporting these facts and starting the conversation about mental health care and treatment resources helps begin to eliminate the stigma around mental health, because they allow students to stand in solidarity. These facts make clear that if you are suffering, you are not alone.
Like hundreds of other Hamilton students, I have used the Counseling Center in times of need, and my visits there always prove helpful. Last year, however, I struggled with illness, both physical and mental, that resulted in a medical leave of absence for a majority of the school year. I wanted nothing more than to stay at Hamilton, but discovered quickly upon my return in August 2014 that the Health and Counseling Centers simply did not have the resources to accommodate my needs. To no fault of their own and due to no lack of effort on their part; there was just not enough time, space or staff to allow me to stay. While the pledge of the seniors and the alumni to help improve the Health and Counseling Center comes a bit too late for me, it gives me immense hope for future generations of students who may find themselves in similar situations.
As an educational institution, the pledge to improve any aspect of our health care system illustrates the progressive nature of our college. This does not mean that the stigma against mental illness has been lifted entirely, but it sure is a good place to start.