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MIT Students' Frequently Asked Questions about Mental Health Services (MHS)
FAQ Major Topics:
Demystifying the Experience
How do I make an appointment?
If you wish to make an appointment at MHS, call 3-2916. The receptionist will schedule you for an intake phone call. This is an approximately 15 min. phone call during which an intake clinician will establish the general problem and its urgency, as well as gather information that will help match you with the clinician who will be the most helpful to you. The clinician will then schedule you for an initial hour long appointment. If you don't have the privacy for a phone call, you can choose to come to MHS (3rd floor of MIT Medical, building E23) for your intake interview.
If you cannot wait, there are walk-in hours every afternoon, Monday-Friday from 2 pm to 4pm . If you come during walk-in hours, you will be seen, although there may be a wait. Appropriate follow-up will be arranged at that walk-in visit. This can include being booked for an intake appointment.
If I go to Mental Health Service, will I have to explain
my situation over and over to many different people?
No. When you call to make your first appointment,
you can just say, "I want to make an appointment." You
will usually have to explain your concerns briefly to the intake
clinician during the intake phone call. Then you'll be able
to go into more detail with your counselor when you have your
first appointment. Occasionally, if you are interested in medication
or in switching to a different clinician, then someone else
will need to have information about your situation.
What should I expect at my first visit?
During the first visit, you will talk with a clinician about the concerns that prompted you to make the appointment. The clinician will also take a history, which will involve asking some questions about your family, childhood, and substance use. Usually the session will end with some feedback and suggestions about the best treatment. Sometimes a recommendation is made for treatment outside of the medical center; sometimes a recommendation is made to consider medication.
What about the second visit?
The second visit is usually similar to the first but with more attention to current difficulties and less attention to a general history. Often the clinician will ask for your thoughts about the first session and as well as your thoughts about whatever recommendations were made during the first session.
What if I don't like the MHS clinician I'm seeing?
How can I express this to MHS?
It is important that you feel comfortable with the person that you are seeing; it is, in fact, one of the predictors of a good outcome in psychotherapy. You can always request to see a different clinician, either by asking the clinician or asking one of the people at the front desk. The staff understand that it doesn't always work out and would never take it personally.
On the other hand, you might feel uncomfortable with your clinician, especially during your first few sessions, because of assumptions you are making about what the clinician thinks or feels. These assumptions can be things such as "he's too old to understand someone like me" or "she would be upset if I talked about what I am really thinking." If these assumptions can be discussed, you may find out that you are in fact more comfortable with the clinician than you thought. So, you may want to try this kind of discussion before requesting a different provider.
What if I am seeing a counselor outside MIT but want to use MIT's services?
If you are a MIT student you can use all the mental health services available. If you have treatment outside of MIT, you can still use all these services. If you are both in outside treatment and using MHS (such as the infirmary or the after hours mental health on call system) then we would want to contact your outside counselor to make sure that we were all working together. If you want to transfer your treatment to MHS then you can schedule an intake appointment here.
What range of treatments does MHS use?
MHS offers a broad range of treatments including individual,
couples, and group psychotherapy and psychopharmacology. The
MHS staff is comprised of a diverse group of clinicians from
different disciplines and with different approaches to psychotherapy
including psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy. The
psychotherapy groups also vary from ongoing psychotherapy groups,
groups that address a specific topic (e.g., eating concerns,
substance abuse), time limited skill-building groups, and drop-in
groups. The intake clinician will discuss these various types
of treatment with you and will make appropriate recommendations.
Your clinician will try to work with you to develop an understanding
of what has caused your concerns. They will help to put the
pieces together to look at what's contributing to your stress
or problems. Cognitive behavioral work can be done in brief
sessions that provide strategies to manage stress or support
desired behaviors. Treatment involves talk, and can be very
task-oriented.
Does MHS prescribe medications?
MHS provides both psychotherapy and medication. As part of an evaluation at MHS, the clinician will review the various treatment options. If the best treatment is a kind that is not offered at MHS, then the student will be referred to a clinician who specializes in that kind of treatment.
How long does it usually take someone to get over a problem?
It
varies depending on the problem. The average number of visits
is six.
Does MIT have more depression than other schools? Are they
more prone to suicide?
Compared to other large, top-tier
schools, MIT does not have more depression or suicide. All
college campuses are becoming more aware of reducing the stigma
associated with mental health issues. The brain is just another
body part that needs support to stay in good shape.
What resources are available for someone with eating and
body image concerns?
MIT Medical has an Eating Concerns
Care Manager named Audra Bartz who can help connect students
to resources, including nutritional counseling, medical care,
and mental health support. If you have a question about yourself
or a friend, contact Audra at bara@med.mit.edu or
(617) 253-5200. For free workshops or books on this topic,
contact Health Educator Zan Barry at bars@med.mit.edu or
(617) 253-3646.
How is MHS linked to other campus support networks such as Nightline, GRTs, or Housemasters?
MHS staff are advisors to the Nightline workers, and Nightline workers may recommend that people use MHS. GRTs and Housemasters may advise students to use MHS or may contact MHS for advice about how to work with a particular student.
How do the "Counseling Deans" (Student Support Services - S3 ) relate with MHS?
If a student requires a change in
housing or needs to be excused from an exam because of a personal
difficulty, he needs to go to S3,
not MIT Medical. They can help negotiate with faculty, academic
concerns, housing changes, and a wide variety of personal concerns.
Sharing of information from MIT Medical to S3 would
require the student's permission.
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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