Since I was a kid, therapy has always been an important part of my life. My family went through a slew of problems when I was in middle school and high school, and my therapist Alyssa is one of the reasons I’m here today. When I came to college, I had to say goodbye to my weekly sessions with Alyssa, but I was excited that my university had free therapy sessions available at Student Health Services whenever I needed them. I quickly found that booking a therapy appointment at Washington University is not as easy as they make it seem.

First, a student has to go through the SHS website in order to book an appointment for a phone call consultation. When I saw this as a freshman, I immediately thought, “Do I have to prove that I need therapy or something? Do they want me to start listing all my trauma as reason why I should talk to someone?” The reason for the initial phone consultation is for SHS to gauge whether or not the therapy appointment is pressing or not, and if they need to bump you up before other students based on your responses over the phone.

I booked a phone call consultation and slept through it the first two times. I eventually decided that maybe therapy could sit on the back burner for a while as I sorted out my schedule and balancing my clubs during my freshman year. I never tried to book a therapy appointment at SHS again, even in times I really needed it. As a result, I have never been to a therapy session at Washington University.

Even with the phone consultation, it could take weeks for you to see a therapist, and even then you may not like them. Many students simply do not like the therapists from SHS and decide to outsource to therapists around the St. Louis area, namely at St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. They not only sacrifice the close quarters of the South 40, but pay for Ubers there and back and even have co-pays from their insurance companies, simply because SHS cannot provide them with the mental resources they seek. While mental health is a huge priority for me, I cannot set aside the time or financial resources to bring myself to a therapist off-campus. Thus, I live a life therapy-free when I wish I didn’t.

Of course there are resources at Wash. U. like Uncle Joe’s, S.A.R.A.H. and the like, but having a relationship with another person like a therapist is extremely valuable to me. I cannot help but admit that I’m disappointed in the lack of ease that comes with booking a Wash. U. therapist, and with the competitive culture on campus today. Making therapy a priority should come at the forefront of student life. Taking your mental health in your own hands should not be as hard as it seems, especially in an environment like a college campus.