**images posted to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter An Open Letter To Chapman University
On behalf of myself and the student athletes of Chapman University, I urge you to acknowledge the importance of the mental health of your students and to take action to provide adequate mental health resources before it is too late. Eight months ago, I received an email highlighting the mental health resources offered to Chapman Student Athletes. As a new Freshman in the midst of swim season overloaded with anxiety about my life being completely turned upside down, I (along with many of my teammates) was majorly considering transferring schools as I was feeling that Chapman was not providing me with the support and resources that I needed. But after seeing that email, I was flooded with pride that my school so openly prioritized the mental health of its athletes and for the first time in weeks I had hope that this would be what turned my experience at Chapman around. I began seeing one of the school psychologists weekly. Unfortunately, that hope didn’t last long. It became apparent that the school psychologists were so overloaded with students seeking help, they physically could not get everyone in. Although not intentionally, my psychologist would drop hints at each meeting implying that even though I was still struggling at Chapman and had no clarity on whether or not I would be transferring, my mental health was ‘fine’ and the help that they could provide me was coming to an end. On November 8th, I was having a particularly good day and was unsure of what I wanted to discuss during my therapy session. After hearing that I had no immediate issues to discuss, my psychologist declared that I was “too self-aware” for this therapy to be of help to me and that I had improved enough to the point that it was time for our meetings to end and my file to be closed. I learned later that day that my roommate, a soccer player who had started sessions with the same psychologist around the same time, was told the exact same thing. Flash forward six months, I am hearing this same story over and over again from countless athletes who had the courage to seek help, who were put on weeks, months long waiting lists at the Chapman University Psychology Center. Those who were lucky enough to get off the waitlist were either turned away because their problems were not “severe enough”, or their files were closed after just a few short meetings because they had “remarkably improved” since beginning. None of us had improved. We were just extremely privy to the hints dropped weekly that our time being helped was coming to an end. As an athlete, you get extremely good at reading people, and even better at not questioning those who are supposed to be the “experts” that guide us. So of course, we agreed to close our files so as to not be a burden, as it was obvious that someone needed the counseling spot more than us. The following are responses from fellow Chapman student athletes when asked about their experiences dealing with mental health at Chapman and whether or not they feel that Chapman has enough mental health resources available to them. “It was difficult for me to talk to my teammates and coaches this season because I felt as if there was little support, advocacy, or resources.” “Everyone talks about mental health and how it is important but not a lot of people actually get help for it.” “While Chapman has attempted to give us resources, there are nowhere near enough to accommodate all of the athletes that need them. If they are lucky enough to get an appointment their file is closed once their issues are not considered ‘severe enough’ to be helped by Chapman any longer.” “In the fall I was seeking help from our mental health department for a while. They took forever to get back to me, and I had to cope on my own.” This letter is in no way meant to bash on the psychologists of Chapman University. They are doing the best they can with extremely limited resources. This letter is meant to be a call to action to the leaders of Chapman University. As a prestigious university with many highly esteemed donors, where are these resources going? Why are they not going towards the mental health of your students? I do recognize that this is an issue that has not already been solved because there is often not enough money to go towards funding these resources. It is no secret that in the things that Chapman does prioritize its funding for, they take great pride in it and leave no stone unturned to ensure that this funding is going to good use to make this school a better community to be a part of. If this is indeed true, why is the mental health of your students not Chapman’s top priority? Especially given the rising rate of suicides in student athletes, such as Katie Meyer’s passing in recent months, do you not see that we are in the midst of an epidemic? Actions speak louder than words, dear panthers. While I hear claims daily that mental health is the school’s top priority, I see no effective changes being made to fuel the fire behind your words. What could possibly be more important? Having a meeting once a semester for the student athletes is a great start, but it is not enough. I respect the strides you’ve taken in the wake of these events, but one meeting will not suffice. We are beyond the point of needing to simply start the conversation about mental health. We are far past that, and Chapman University is behind in this conversation. We need easily accessible resources. We need enough resources to ensure that every student can receive the support that they need, for as long as they need, without being maneuvered into believing that they are “too self-aware” to be helped. Of course we are self-aware; this is what makes us great athletes and great teammates. As student athletes that represent Chapman every time we put on our uniform, we want nothing more than to represent our school with pride, dignity, and respect. However, we cannot do this without first being provided with the proper resources that put our health and safety first. We cannot do this without being validated by our professors, coaches, and Chapman leaders that it is a statement of courage and bravery to prioritize mental health. I urge you to consider making these changes as soon as possible. I recognize that funding is a significant hurdle, but one that I imagine Chapman can overcome when it decides to prioritize the mental health of its students once and for all. While that is organized, here are some immediate changes that you can make:
I know that Chapman deeply cares for its students. However, this seems to have gotten lost in recent years. By taking action, you can show us that this is now more true than ever. Avery Hall
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