MIT announces steps to promote community well-being, strengthen mental health services
Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart and MIT Medical Director William Kettyle announced today, in a letter to the MIT community, a series of immediate and long-term steps to strengthen the Institute’s mental health and well-being programs. Among other changes to enhance student wellness, the Institute will increase staffing in MIT Medical’s Mental Health and Counseling Service and in Student Support Services, and will create a centrally located drop-in center to expand access to critical mental health services — complementing the weekly walk-in hours available to students for mental health and counseling at MIT Medical. MIT Medical will also make it easier for students to seek professional services off-campus; add an online request form for appointments with its own mental health professionals; and train 32 additional students as peer advisors. “At MIT, we excel at collaborating on hard problems,” Barnhart and Kettyle wrote. “By continuing to tap our passionate community spirit and innovative problem-solving skills, we...