With the pressures of college classes and seasonal depression rising towards its peaks during the winter season, mental health resources such as the Oakland University Counseling Center (OUCC) are important for students.
Students experiencing mental health struggles can find it difficult to reach out to counseling services for support. When a student finds the courage to seek support, it is comforting to be met with the reassuring smile of another human being. For students in crisis, the front desk receptionist is vital in facilitating access to support services.
Although the role of a university counseling center receptionist is considered integral by many academic publications, OU’s administration decided the role of receptionist at the OUCC was unnecessary in light of apparent budget constraints.
Last spring, the OU administration laid off the OUCC’s only dedicated administrative position. The receptionist had worked for the center for several years and was nearing retirement before her position was abruptly terminated.
The receptionist was replaced by a tiny bell.
For months, students arrived at the OUCC expecting to divulge their concerns and needs to a staff member immediately. Instead, visitors were instructed by a sign to ring the bell and wait alone.
The replacement of the OUCC’s receptionist with a bell shocked Cassidy Taylor, a psychology major who graduated from OU in 2022.
“I feel like the school should put their money towards that important resource, at least one person behind the front desk at all times,” Taylor said. “What if someone comes in with a crisis and they have to stand in there for 30 minutes or even 10 minutes and they say, ‘Oh, nevermind. I’m going home now.’ That’s shocking to me.”
Dr. David Schwartz, the director of the OUCC, recognizes the bell was not an ideal welcome to the center. However, the bell was the center’s only option.
The OUCC is the lowest-staffed counseling center in the state, with an average staff-to-student ratio of one full-time staff for every 3,096 students. To put this into perspective, the average staff-to-student ratio in Michigan is one full-time staff for every 1,328 students.
With heavy caseloads and a constant stream of new patients, counselors at the OUCC struggled to handle the administrative work passed along to them following the termination of the receptionist position.
Graduate students in OU’s Masters of Social Work program were incredibly helpful in alleviating some administrative burdens the office was experiencing. The graduate students who are currently working in the center to meet their field experience requirements would volunteer to sit at the front desk during their lunch breaks to meet students visiting the office.
While the altruism of the social work students is greatly appreciated by Dr. Schwartz, he would rather the students enjoy a true break from work during the day. After all, helping professionals are highly susceptible to experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue.
Ever since its inception, the “reception bell” has been a thorn in the side of the OUCC staff. However, the lack of a dedicated receptionist personnel is not a simple inconvenience — it is a danger.
At the beginning of the fall semester, a student experiencing a mental health crisis arrived at the OU Counseling Center.
“The student followed all the correct instructions [on the sign at the reception desk],” Dr. Schwartz said. “They rang the bell and waited patiently for help to arrive.”
The center was busy that day, and it took several minutes for a counselor to arrive to assist the student. It was too late. Impatient, the struggling student fled the counseling center and immediately attempted suicide.
This situation was, thankfully, an almost tragedy.
Dr. Schwartz immediately sprang to action. Dr. Schwartz prepared a detailed presentation with statistics detailing the OUCC’s abysmal staff-to-student ratio. Faculty and administrators were informed a student had almost committed suicide partly due to the termination of the receptionist position.
Faculty members were horrified upon learning about the situation. Many faculty members have called for the issue to be investigated. However, the faculty does not possess the funding nor authority to make changes at the counseling center, only the administration can do so.
If a receptionist had been at the center, the student would have immediately received help.
Thankfully, Dr. Schwartz was successful in advocating for the reinstatement of a receptionist position. However, the small win comes with its drawbacks.
The receptionist position will now be filled by a student with undoubtedly less experience than the seasoned receptionist whose job was terminated in the spring. Further, the hiring of students to staff the receptionist desk raises confidentiality and conflict-of-interest concerns.
Despite progress in hiring a student worker for the OUCC’s receptionist duties, the OU Counseling Center is still undoubtedly underfunded and understaffed.
Jolie Saul, an anthropology major who has utilized the counseling center’s services in the past, understands the frustration of being placed on the OUCC’s waitlist. However, she knows an overflow of students is inevitable with a staffing shortage.
“It does take a while when you’re put on the waiting list to go in and be able to see someone, and that is frustrating, but I understand that they’re a staff of only so many people,” Saul said. “ I hope that the problem can resolve itself, but I also understand they might be limited by budgets.”
Taylor explains how she finds the understaffing of the center to be baffling.
“That is also crazy to me because Oakland is a smaller state school,” Taylor said. “With UofM or MSU, I can understand having the huge ratios, but Oakland doesn’t put their money where it needs to go. I don’t understand how they can afford new buildings or new athletic centers and not afford to help the students.”
The OUCC staff demonstrates resilience by providing quality support services in an understaffed, underfunded environment. The OUCC staff must perform their best with the limited resources available.
Student lives depend on the support of the OUCC. It is less clear whether the OUCC can depend on the support of the OU administration.
For more information on the OUCC and the services they provide, visit the OUCC webpage. Or, visit the center, which is located in the Graham Health Center’s east wing.
