Student leaders explain Northeastern’s mental health resources

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for mental health struggles, Northeastern offers students a variety of resources. 

The university-run institutions Find@Northeastern, We Care and University Health and Counseling Services, or UHCS, offer to help students deal with different struggles they may be facing. But the individual function of each institution is often lost as students grapple with the stressors of college life.

“We’re in kind of an odd time right now where Northeastern really does have some good resources, but there really seems to be a disconnect between the resources that are available and students actually knowing where they should go if they’re struggling,” said Casey Buttke, a fourth-year political science and criminal justice combined major and student body president.  

From Buttke’s perspective, We Care, a network of mental health support services, is an undervalued and underused organization. Buttke has personally interacted with We Care and said it was very helpful in pointing her in the right direction, even if We Care doesn’t have the power to directly change a student’s situation.  

“We Care is basically the best place to start,” Buttke said. “When you don’t know what resource you need or what resource you’re looking for they can help you decide what next steps are when you’re struggling with something at Northeastern, whether it’s mental health, physical health, housing or whatever.”

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We Care helps students who are facing unexpected challenges in their time at Northeastern, according to the website. We Care can be reached at 617-373-7591 or by email at [email protected]. 

While We Care takes a more indirect approach to help students face issues, UHCS and Find@Northeastern provide more hands-on help. 

UHCS provides clinical appointments to students. In an initial appointment, a mental health clinician will assess concerns, identify immediate needs and help make a plan for future treatment, according to the UHCS website. 

UHCS has walk-in hours Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday 5-7:30 p.m., and can be reached at 617-373-2772.

Find@Northeastern offers 24/7 mental health support to students. Services offered through Find@Northeastern are confidential and range from free counseling sessions through private practices, teletherapy such as the service BetterHelp, free access to a mindfulness program called Headspace and access to ICare, an online mental health skill-building program. 

Charlie Zhang, SGA’s incoming vice president of student services, strongly advocated for students to take advantage of these resources if they need support.

“Speaking from my personal experience, I have used the services like a few months back and it’s something I feel like would have helped me if I knew there were more resources available than before,” the second-year sociology and international business double major said. “[UHCS is] doing their best with limited resources.”

Buttke stressed that it is important that the university prioritizes the comfort level of students, as students’ trust in mental health services can impact how actively they utilize them to get necessary support. 

“Every small step that we can make towards making students feel more comfortable is huge. That’s also what I’ve been emphasizing to those offices, and they’ve all been incredibly receptive to this, even if certain steps may feel redundant,” Buttke said. “[The changes] might not help everyone, they might not even help the majority, but if they don’t hurt anyone and if they’re able to help one or two students, then that’s worth it.”

Students across the university have expressed the sentiment that the pandemic has exacerbated the challenges that come with being a student. Buttke appreciates Northeastern’s efforts toward supporting the student body, but believes there’s still more work to be done to fit the needs of as many students as possible. 

“No matter what people’s situations are, these past couple of years have been so hard,” Buttke said. “I think that while Northeastern has been really trying to keep up with that from a mental health resources standpoint, that’s also a very hard thing to do. How do we adjust to ever-changing situations and make sure that there are resources that work for everyone?”