One suicide and several attempted suicides have brought mental health issues to the attention of the Guilford community this year. Some students, though, have concerns about Guilford’s counseling and health services. “A lot of things can combine together to make it why, on a college campus, you might have suicide attempts,” said Dean for Campus Life Anne Lundquist. She lists factors such as class and relationship stress, and the change in environment when students move to school. Some students also decide to change routines, such as therapy or medication, upon coming to school.

Though the campus Counseling Center and Health Center are available, some students are wary of going to them, citing them as impersonal or inadequate. Some, such as third-year Benjamin “Ben G” Katz have specific complaints about particular offices.

“When you try to kill yourself and you go to the counselor and are actually open about it, they make you sign a piece of paper saying that you’ll never do it again, or they’ll kick you out of school,” Katz said of a friend’s experience with the Counseling Center. “That’s the last thing you should do to a person who tries to commit suicide – give them an ultimatum.”

When asked about the policy, Lundquist said, “No, there’s no blanket way that this works … there does come a point where you’re a member of a community. When people make a suicide attempt on a campus where everyone’s living so close together, that can trigger things for other people.”

“It’s very rare that what the student wants and what the college wants are two opposite things,” Lundquist added.”Usually it’s collaborative … working with the student, working with the counseling center, working with their family – if the student has given permission to contact them – and trying to come up with the best solution for that person.”

A related office, on-campus health services, receives similar criticism. “I kind of feel like cattle, being herded through the bureaucracy of Guilford’s health system,” said first-year Amanda Szabo.

Szabo explained that, because she could not get a Friday appointment, she had vomited all of one weekend. She said that the health office should be open every day, and that medication should be easier to get. She said of other appointments with the health center, “Even when you are treated, a lot of time it’s in a very bureaucratic manner that’s very dehumanizing.”

When asked about student complaints of impersonality, Director of Student Health Helen Rice said, “I’d hate to think they felt that way.”

“We’re all trying to do the best we can,” said Health Services receptionist, first-year Mary Juravich. “If people are rushing or impersonal, it’s probably because they have 10 other people waiting.”

A physician’s assistant who can prescribe medication is on campus from 9-12 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, and Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 1:15-4:00 p.m. Students with after-hours emergencies or more serious illnesses are sent to Greensboro’s Urgent Care facility. Students must have appointments to see a physician’s assistant.

“People get frustrated, but it’s really just the school that doesn’t fund enough hours.” Juravich said. “We’re all doing the best we can.”

Health Services shares the umbrella of Campus Life with the Counseling Center. Lundquist calls each part of the counseling process individualized from the beginning. “There are a lot of different options of ways to get in the door, usually I just encourage students to go to the person that they feel most comfortable with.”

“A lot of times it’s that initial fear ‘this problem I have is so big that it’s irresolvable.’ What I do is end up breaking it down with students, (asking) ‘What’s the immediate concern?’ Let’s break it down and then try to build a plan of how to help,” Lundquist said.

Solutions differ, but the Counseling Center can make referrals to counselors in Greensboro or arrange ongoing counseling with Guilford’s staff.

“Confidentiality is the biggest thing,” Lundquist said. “I always tell students who I’m going to talk to about what they’ve told me, if anyone. It’s not a public discussion.”

Resident Advisors (R.A.s) work closely with Campus Life, and are bridges between that office and the students they live with. One Binford resident committed suicide last fall, after withdrawing from Guilford. Binford R.A. Will Johnson said that though his residents had varying degrees of association with the victim, they were all shocked and disturbed.

“Even though RAs are trained for this possibility,” Johnson said, “I don’t think that anything can really prepare you for the effect that’s going to have on you, and on the entire community.”

“I know that a lot of students have frustrations with the Campus Life office.” Johnson said, “Even though I have had complaints, on this issue they did a good and thorough job of trying to be as sensitive as possible.”

“A counseling center can always get a reputation,” Lundquist said, “because sometimes the person’s confronting you about things that you don’t want to be confronted about. When students are engaging in behaviors that are harmful to themselves and someone is helping them try to address it, that can be uncomfortable and they might be kind of angry for a while.