Wednesday. Dec. 16, 1959 University Daily Kansan
Page 5
Students Offered Psychiatric Aid
(Editor's Note: This is the third article in a series on the Mental Health Clinic.)
By Jane Boyd
Students are invited to come to the Mental Health Clinic for psychiatric help at any time.
The clinic is at the south end of the third floor of Watkins Hospital
Mrs. Sandy Elliott, the clinic's secretary, will greet probable patients there. She sits at a desk stacked high with case histories, blanks to be filled out and a well-filled appointment book.
To the left and right of Mrs. Elliott's desk are doors which lead to the offices of Dr. H. G. Whittington, Mr. William A. Binns and Dr. William J. Ruzicka. These compose the clinic's staff.
Before going into a staff member's office, a student fills out a questionnaire and takes psychological tests administered by Mrs. Elliott.
Questionnaire Comes First
The next step in the process is taken within one of the offices.
Contrary to many beliefs about psychiatrists and psychologists, a patient at the mental health clinic does not lie on a long black couch with the dark eyes of a mysterious doctor peering at him.
Instead, a patient at the clinic will sit in a comfortable red leather chain and discuss his problems with the therapist like any physically ill patient would talk to his doctor.
Interviews Are Private
The patient discusses his problems openly in this office because they are assured no one but the doctor will have knowledge of his presence at the clinic. Even the walls and the doors have been sound-proofed to assure patients of privacy.
The patient also undergoes an intake interview — an introductory period for the student and the therapist—during this time.
Evaluation is the next step. Toward the end of the evaluation period the patient begins to realize why he came and the therapist and the student cooperatively agree on a
course to follow during the treatment.
Dr. H. C. Whittington, director of the clinic, listed the following agreements which are made between the student and the therapist.
The student agrees to:
1. Be responsible for the topics which are to be discussed at each appointment.
2. Be honest and say exactly what comes into his mind.
The therapist agrees to:
3. Talk over any major decision with his therapist before he goes ahead with his plans.
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1. Maintain complete confidentiality
2. Not make any decisions for the patient.
These agreements between the student and the therapist constitute the principle methods of psychotherapy which are used at the clinic.
3. Help the patient to clarify his problems, but not to judge them.
Psycho-therapy serves to make the patient understand the emotional conflicts within himself and explore possible solutions by talking out his problems.
For psycho-therapy, a staff member meets the patient for 50 minutes once or twice a week from one to six months, depending on the severity of the emotional conflict.
The problem of students at the clinic range from academic to religious.
"We focus on current problems, and how the student can cope with them." Dr. Whittington said.
The staff said one of the most common problems concerns the student's separation from their parents. In these cases the parents usually are reluctant to admit the child had grown up and was able to cope with
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his own life. The problem could be reversed. The parents could be willing and the child would not have confidence in his ability.
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Six or eight patients with problems of the same magnitude meet for an hour twice a week for this type of treatment.
Besides personal interviews with the doctors, treatment is also given through group therapy.
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The clinic helps students who are troubled with religious problems to understand what their problem is. If the problem turns out to be of a theological nature, the patient is referred to a theologian.
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Dr. Whittington commented on this type of treatment.
"This system helps to break down the individual's idea that he is so unique. Also in this treatment there comes a realization that other people have problems. By helping others one grows to have a better understanding of oneself."
Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius.—Henri Frederic Amiel.
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Will We Run Out Of College Teachers?
Possibly not. Chances are, there will always be someone around to fill classroom vacancies. But, unless drastic improvements are made in faculty salary scales, quality is bound to drop.
How can it be otherwise?
As one young Ph.D. sums it up, "We want to teach and we want to do basic research. But industry offers us twice the salary we can get as teachers. We talk it over with our wives, but it's pretty hard to turn down $10,000 to work for less than half that amount."
Would you?
Small wonder, then, that more and more qualified teachers, dedicated but discouraged, are leaving the campus each year for better paying jobs in business and industry. And, in the face of this alarming trend, college applications
are expected to double within ten years.
Just where will the teachers come from?
According to a report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, "This great flood of youngsters will be taught—taught well or badly. And the demand for teachers will somehow be at least partly met—if not with well-prepared teachers then with ill-prepared, if not with superior teachers then with inferior ones."
Not a very rosy picture, is it?
As a nation whose destiny depends on the maximum development of our human resources, we must put a stop to this nonsense. You can and must help. Support the college of your choice so that it can pay fair, competitive salaries to its teachers. Then encourage talented young people to pursue teaching careers.
If you want to know more about what the college crisis means to you, write for a free booklet to HIGHER EDUCATION, Box 36, Tissues Square Station, New York 3rd, New York.
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