The biggest problem facing campus counseling groups is reaching those students who are having problems, but who will not seek help. The peer counseling services frequently act as an intermediate step for students who do not want to go see a psychologist. Marquand says that Room 13 "was founded, in part, because students were having trouble trusting established institutional arrangements."

Other organizations, like the Writing Center and the Bureau of Study Counsel, focus on other student problems, although they frequently integrate personal counseling with academic advising. "You can't strictly separate a person's learning concerns from the other parts of a student's life," says Mack I. Davis, III, the acting director of the Bureau of Study Counsel. Davis says that the bureau's nine staff members all have some type of psychological training.

Other counseling services, in addition to dorm proctors and advisors, often feed into UHS when they cannot provide adequate service. Catlin says, "We can help them sort [which cases] sound to be more ominous."

More Serious Treatment

A student will have to be taken to a psychiatric hospital in Cambridge, Catlin says, about 10 times a year. The majority of cases are less serious.

Ivy League students' high expectations often contribute to the disappointment they feel when they come to college, Catlin adds. "If their sources of self-esteem are narrowed, then you have conditions for suicide." Harvard has up to four suicides a year, according to Catlin. One student has taken his own life this year, while two committed suicide last year. Catlin says that persons who are considering suicide often give clues about their emotional state, as when "people start talking about dying, start giving away their possessions."

Other less serious cases of psychological treatment involve more common sources of anxiety. "I not infrequently see people here who feel that they're a burden to their parents," Catlin says. "The kids don't realize, they're learning a lot about life."

"I think it's very important for young people to feel involved in a community," Marquand adds. "I think if you expect of people strength, you'll find strength."