Whereas mental health is a concern for public and private safety, as well as academic success; issues concerning the quality and accessibility of graduate and professional student mental healthcare have been brought to the attention of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GPSA) over the past 2 years; and

Whereas graduate and professional students whose cases the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) deems as non-urgent have been told appointments were unavailable or have been asked to wait 2 weeks or more for an appointment; and

Whereas graduate and professional students have been referred to external clinics where appointments were unavailable; and

Whereas split-care (coordinated care by Gannett and external providers) is unavailable for graduate and professional students; and

Whereas these events have discouraged graduate and professional students to seek medical attention at CAPS; and

Whereas it is unclear whether CAPS can provide graduate and professional students with long-term mental healthcare; and

Whereas there are no policies in place to follow up on graduate and professional students who have been referred to external clinics or missed appointments within CAPS; and

Whereas the primary peer counseling service at Cornell, the Office of the Dean of Students-led Empathy and Referral Service (EARS), has, until recently, been aimed at and staffed by undergraduates; and

Whereas while the President’s Council on Mental Health and Welfare (CMHW) is tasked to examine student wellness in general, there is currently no university committee tasked to assess the mental health and welfare specifically of graduate and professional students and the care provided to them; and

Whereas graduate and professional student mental healthcare needs (long term, family, stress, and academic support counseling) are distinct from those of undergraduates; and

Whereas the lack of a focus group for graduate and professional student mental health has led to concerns that graduate and professional student mental health needs greater attention and that mental health services need to be improved.

Be it therefore resolved that the above concerns regarding graduate and professional student mental healthcare need to be addressed immediately by the Cornell University administration and CAPS; and

Be it further resolved that CAPS inform the GPSA Student Advocacy Committee of their procedure for scheduling appointments for graduate and professional students; and

Be it further resolved that CAPS inform the GPSA Student Advocacy Committee of long-term mental healthcare options for graduate and professional students; and

Be it further resolved that CAPS establish a procedure with external healthcare providers to inform CAPS whether external healthcare providers are accepting new patients to ensure that all students receive care immediately; and

Be it further resolved that CAPS reexamine their policies on split-care so that graduate and professional students may receive the best care possible; and

Be it further resolved that CAPS establish a procedure to follow up on graduate or professional students that have been referred to external clinics or missed appointments within or external to CAPS; and

Be it further resolved the GPSA requests the establishment of a Working Group on Graduate and Professional Student Mental Health and Welfare as a subcommittee of the CMHW; and

Be it further resolved the members of that group shall include representatives from the Graduate School, the GPSA Student Advocacy Committee, Office of the Vice President of Student and Academic Services, the CAPS clinical administration, as well as, specifically, the GPSA appointee to the CMHW, Catherine Thrasher-Carroll, Mental Health Promotion Coordinator, and Tim Marchell, Director of Mental Health Initiatives at Gannett Health Services, and any other participants invited by the GPSA, Gannett, or the Cornell Administration; and

Be it further resolved that confirmation of the membership of the Working Group occur by March 1, 2009, and that an organizational meeting for the Working Group occur on or before April 1, 2009; and

Be it further resolved that GPSA appreciates and strongly supports the recent establishment and future growth of the Graduate Student Training Initiative for EARS, and requests attendance by a representative from EARS at a Spring 2009 GPSA meeting to discuss the program with the Council of Representatives (CoR); and

Be it finally resolved that this resolution be sent to Susan Murphy, Vice President of Student and Academic Services & Chair of CMHW, Catherine Thrasher-Carroll, Mental Health Promotion Coordinator, Tim Marchell, Director, Mental Health Initiatives at Gannett Health Services and Alison Power, Dean of the Cornell Graduate School.

Respectfully Submitted,

Briony Horgan
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Physical Sciences Representative
Student Advocacy Committee Member 2008–2009

Bethsabe Romero
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly At-Large Representative
GPSA Representative to the President’s Council on Mental Health & Welfare Committee 2008–2009
Student Advocacy Committee Member 2008–2009

Brian Michael Forster
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly At-Large Representative
Student Advocacy Committee Chair 2008–2009