Ashley Parker: Current CAPS program needs more funding

A Philadelphia and Penn staple, especially for those on a budget, SEPTA offers an option holding limited appeal. In fact, several years ago, SEPTA launched an advertising slogan: "We're getting there." Not only a pun, the slogan also underscored the truth that while yes, SEPTA could use some major improvements, but they're doing just that, and improving. They're getting there.

SEPTA, however, is not the only Philadelphia organization in need of improvement. Penn's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) comes to mind but, unlike SEPTA, they're still far from "getting there."

I have experienced CAPS both first and second hand, each time with unsatisfying results. Considering that, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 19 million American adults suffer from depressive disorders, CAPS' often sub-par performance is troubling. College is a large landmark in nearly every student's life, and poses even larger challenges and adjustments. As the National Mental Health Association states, ten percent of college students have been diagnosed with depression, and anxiety levels among college students have been rising for the past five decades. Penn must make every possible effort to ensure the psychological well-being of their students. That means not just offering a resource such as CAPS, but also ensuring that it is just that: a resource.

Recently, I watched one of my housemates sit at her desk for dozens of hours with the phone pressed against her ear, struggling to find a psychiatrist who accepted her insurance plan. It seems that very few psychiatrists in Center City -- at least those accepting new patients -- also accepted her particular plan. But her time at CAPS had run out, and she had no other choice. By the time she finally found an empathetic psychiatrist agreed to take her on, she was in tears, several times over. And I think she was lucky. I can't imagine someone suffering from more severe depression, someone who barely has the energy to get out of bed, let alone hunt down elusive therapists, going through a similar process.

My friend's stories at first seemed unrealistic, but after heading to CAPS myself this past year, they seemed far more believable. When I returned from studying abroad, I had trouble readjusting (yes, reverse culture shock does exist), so I went to CAPS to discuss the anxiety problems I was having. What worried me the most was that the anxiety seemed to have sprung up from nowhere, yet was invading my daily life. Speaking in even small classes made me light-headed, and sweaty became the standard for my palms. After discussing my case, they referred my to an anxiety clinic near campus, and assured me the doctors there knew I was calling. But when I finally managed to get an intake interview there after several days of phone-tag, I never heard back from the clinic.

To be honest, my problems were not terribly severe. However, I happened to be especially anxious and nervous the day when I received a follow-up e-mail from CAPS. I responded, explaining that although I felt generally fine, I had been having trouble sleeping because my heart wouldn't stop pounding and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. Then I waited. And waited. I didn't hear back from CAPS for several days. I was fine, but not everyone is.

I understand that CAPS is busy. After all, there are a lot of students in need of counseling. But as such, one of their loose tenets is to offer free counseling sessions at the CAPS facility for a limited time only. If it looks like a student might need long-term help, CAPS generally helps them find a doctor downtown and more or less sends them on their way.

This practice distresses me for several reasons. First, admitting something is wrong and then baring all to a complete stranger is a difficult process in itself. It seems counterintuitive that a depressed student should then have to re-start this entire process with another complete stranger somewhere else.

Not only that, but many students who find themselves at CAPS are overwhelmed and overstressed to begin with. Having to switch therapists, or even having to make a two-hour trip off-campus every week, can be a daunting task. And, they'd probably have to take SEPTA.

As mentioned above, one in 10 college students suffer from depression. Adjusting to college life isn't easy, and a resource like CAPS is absolutely necessary for the well-being of the Penn community. However, CAPS truly must be a resource. I don't know the intricacies of CAPS, but some basics changes are clearly needed. Hire more workers. Create longer hours. Expand. Offer long-term, on-campus support. For free. If this means the University must pour more money into CAPS, so be it; the health of its students must be a top priority.

With an issue like mental health, there's very little room for error. Penn's resource center can't just be getting there. They already need to be there. But at this point, unfortunately, CAPS can't boast even SEPTA's most self-deprecating slogan.

Ashley Parker is a senior English and communications major from Bethesda, Md.

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