Yale Falls Short Addressing Students' Mental Health Issues — Letters that should have been in the new york times

9.6.23

Sir:

As a clinician of years of experience I have worked with individuals and families who have struggled and often conquered serious mental health illnesses. It is a privilege to possess the skill to help individuals reclaim their health and lead lives of resilience. Discouraging relapses can occur, but we redouble our efforts to help such individuals get back on track. A number of years back psychiatry recognized that many young people with medication and treatment can leave home and attend college, and mental health services have been expanded in many institutions. I was thus so dismayed and disheartened that Yale needed a lawsuit to modify archaic responses to students with mental health challenges. I am accustomed to battling stigma, insurance constraints, and a paucity of resources. But an elite sophisticated university should not be included in those obstacles. I would be curious if Yale takes such a non compassionate ill informed approach to a student who needed time out for leukemia treatment, or for one who suffered a cardiac event.

Sue Matorin
Social Work Faculty
Department of Psychiatry
Weill Cornell