Expanding Mental Health Resources

Yale College Community Care is a new collaboration between Yale Health’s Mental Health and Counseling unit and the residential colleges.

Yale’s residential colleges are the conduit for the many resources available to undergraduates, from social functions to extracurricular activities to academic advising. Now that list includes direct access to mental health clinicians and wellness coordinators.

“The pressures of modern society are driving more students than ever to seek out mental health care, and we aim to make it easier for our students by providing support closer to where they live,” says Marvin Chun, dean of Yale College. “With our residential college system, Yale is in a great position to become a national leader in how we embed mental health services and wellness programming into the undergraduate community.”

Yale College Community Care, or YC3, does just that. A new collaboration between Yale Health’s Mental Health and Counseling unit and the residential colleges, YC3 brings resources to students where they are. Generous donors funded a three-year pilot of this model, and now Carla Solomon ’75 and Antonio “Nino” Magliocco, Jr. ’74 have created an endowed fund to help Yale build on that successful foundation.

Students working and socializing on a campus lawn

Opening avenues of support

The YC3 initiative connects four new full-time mental health providers, known as college care clinicians, with the residential college system. This will shorten wait times for appointments and make it easier for students to engage one-on-one with clinicians.

In addition, four new community wellness specialists will hold offices in the residential colleges, where they will develop programming to help students build skills for sustaining their overall wellbeing. In coordination with college deans and in partnership with the Good Life Center, Yale’s student wellness center, these professionals will help address and anticipate student concerns, foster resilience, create community, manage stress, and prevent crises.

“We are always looking for ways to improve the delivery of mental health services to our students,” says Paul Hoffman, chief of Mental Health and Counseling at Yale Health. “About 60 percent of our Yale College students seek such care at some point during their time here. This expansion of our staff will provide new avenues of support, both with scheduled appointments and drop-in visits. We are very thankful to Carla, Nino, and all the other donors who are helping to make this happen.”

Helping students thrive

A psychoanalyst, documentary film producer, and Yale parent, Solomon is familiar with the challenges today’s students face. “We love Yale’s stimulating, welcoming atmosphere. But this unique undergraduate life—with a high-performance academic culture and huge array of extracurriculars that bring their own pressures—can lead to students losing their footing, even briefly. This program helps ensure that students can thrive.”

“It seems especially timely as students are dealing with the additional stress and economic uncertainties the pandemic has brought,” adds Magliocco. “And we love that providers will be located within the residential colleges, preserving privacy and convenience for students.”

Yale is known for providing robust resources to its students. Heads of college, residential college deans, faculty, and administrators all support students in times of crisis. Students can also access formal services through Yale Health’s Mental Health and Counseling department. New staff and program support will further benefit students who need help. To secure comprehensive mental health resources for students well into the future, Yale seeks additional donor support.

“YC3 will be a great resource for both our students and our residential college deans,” says Chun. “Deans are often the first point of contact when students run into everyday challenges that do not rise to the level of a clinical emergency. With this new team in the colleges, our deans will be able to direct a student to timely help before a situation becomes critical. I am so grateful to all of our alumni and friends who are supporting this important effort.”

 

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