MIT Students' Frequently Asked Questions about Mental Health Services (MHS)

FAQ Major Topics:

• Who Should Use Mental Health Services
• Demystifying the Experience
• Costs and Insurance
• Confidentiality
• Mental Health Hospitalization
• Medical Withdrawals

Who should use mental health services?

Who should use mental health services? How do you know when you need counseling?
Any student is welcome to come to Mental Health Service at MIT Medical, even if he or she is dealing with a typical amount of stress. In fact, this kind of "check-up" may prevent things from feeling really overwhelming later on. Any student who is having troubles with stress, substance abuse, or mental health issues, should feel free to come to MIT Medical Mental Health Service. It is a sign of strength to recognize life concerns and make a plan to deal with them constructively.

Typical mental health issues include difficulties with relationships, family stresses, school stresses, break-ups, anxiety or worry, questions about sexual identity, eating issues and depression. Often these things are affecting the student's ability to do his or her school work or enjoy things that usually are a source of pleasure.

What should I do if I am worried about a friend? How can I help a friend who is depressed, especially if he or she has reason to be unhappy? What if I think he or she may want to harm himself or herself?
There is a difference between "unhappy" and "depressed." Being depressed is a more constant state and harder to break out of, but either way, it's a good idea to get help. It is not your responsibility to diagnose a friend's depression. Your first step is to listen to your friend and let him know your observations - if he seems to have withdrawn from activities, let him know that you've noticed. Even if he says nothing is wrong, you are letting him hear that you care about him.

Second, you should never keep this kind of worry to yourself. You can try on your own to get your friend to come into the mental heath services, or you can involve a housemaster, GRT or RA. The staff at the MHS are available to help you think how best to approach the situation; you can either call them or come into walk-in hours to talk to them. Often friends will bring someone that they are worried about to walk-in hours or urgent care. If the situation looks really urgent, you or the housemaster, GRT or RA can contact the campus police and have your friend brought into the health service or a hospital emergency room.

Studies of people who have committed suicide have found that many told someone else about their thoughts, although the people they told were often not mental health professionals. One of the goals of many suicide prevention programs is to ensure that all people who are thinking about suicide have an opportunity to speak with mental health professionals.

Is it normal for a student to be talking about suicide?
Thinking in an existential way about the meaning of life and whether it is worth living is a normal part of many young people's lives. However, most people do not sincerely wish that they were dead, or think about actively taking their own lives. On the other hand, some people go through difficult periods of their lives when this kind of thought is a constant presence.

Depression plays a significant role in the kind of hopelessness that leads people to think of suicide as a way out of a situation. A recent study¹ of college students in the United States , found that 10% of students surveyed had thought about suicide in the last year. Another study² found that only about 4% of 18-19 year olds had thought of suicide in the last year when excluding people in that group who were depressed. In the same age group, 32% of depressed subjects thought about suicide.

Anyone who finds themselves thinking of suicide should talk to a mental health professional. Thoughts of suicide are frequently driven by a sense that there is no way out of a situation. Talking about the situation can often reveal more options. Most of the time, people feel that talking in a private way to a professional helps to reduce their sense of despair and isolation. If it turns out that the person has a depression, there are several tried and true modalities of treatment.

¹ Brener, N.D., Hassan, S.S.& Barrios, L.C., 1999, Suicide Ideation Among College Students in the United States, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, V67, No.6, 1004-8

² Fergusson, D.M., Beautrais, A.L., Horwood, L.J. 2003, Vulnerability and Resiliency to Suicidal Behaviours in Young People , Psychological Medicine, v33, 61-73

Sometimes I feel sad, other times overwhelmed but usually I get over it. Would going to MHS be helpful to me?
Should you feel sad or overwhelmed, if talking to your friends or parents doesn't help and you are finding it hard to get your work done, then you should definitely come to MHS to review the situation. If talking to your friends helps, but they are getting burnt out and can no longer offer you much help, then you should come to MHS. If you are having trouble sleeping or concentrating, then you should come to MHS. If you are not sure whether to come in, consider making an appointment to talk to someone about what services are available and whether you could benefit from it.

Does talking really help?
Sometimes. Talking helps a lot of people, and it certainly never hurts. It can depend on the person and whom he or she talks to. If you're more comfortable talking with a parent, GRT, housemaster, or one of the MIT chaplains, that is a good place to start.

The above was prepared by the mental health work group of the MIT Student Health Advisory Council with input from the staff of the mental health service at MIT Medical. This source should be acknowledged if the material is used.

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