For mental health resources, please refer to this page.
Exploring Mental Health Resources at Princeton 2022 Report
We invite you to share your feedback in this form.
The downloadable PDF is available here, and a downloadable accessible PDF if available here.
Dear Princeton University Community,
At the start of the 2022 Undergraduate Student Government (USG) administration, we committed to pursuing mental health and wellbeing as a core priority.
That commitment came at a pivotal time. The University was resuming a range of fully in-person activities, but we as students continued to navigate various pandemic impacts, including grief from personal and community losses and extended disruptions to academic, social, and co-curricular opportunities. Recognizing this, the USG took this moment as an opportunity to spark dialogue and action to improve support for student mental health.
We knew that USG lacks the power to unilaterally bring about the changes in mental health resources that students wanted to see. To advocate for these changes, we convened a University working group consisting of USG representatives, the Vice President of Campus Life, and the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services. Together, we present this final report; here are just a few examples of recommendations that the University plans to implement by the end of this academic year:
Identify and implement ways to offer 24/7 on-demand counseling through CPS
Identify funding to support transportation to off-campus care
Build out a robust system for well-being checks that does not rely entirely on the Department of Public Safety
Pursue fundraising to expand the number and diversity of CPS counselors, particularly through the Outreach Counselor program
The launch of this report is still only the beginning. The University has committed to delivering quarterly updates on the report’s recommendations, and we invite you to join a broader discussion about mental health resources at Princeton: What have we missed, and what would you like to see? Please share your honest feedback with us at usg@princeton.edu.
We acknowledge that increased mental health resources are only one part of what’s needed to improve student mental health. Across USG, the Campus and Community Affairs Committee is continuing to develop Tigers in Town opportunities to foster meaningful social connections and breaks during academically stressful times; the Mental Health Initiative is convening campuswide conversations about the campus climate around mental health; and the Academics Committee is working to address stressors such as concerns around examinations, leaves of absence, and the disciplinary process. All of this work and more comprise the USG’s continued commitment to student mental health and wellbeing as a core priority.
We express our gratitude to our administrative partners and their willingness to listen to student perspectives, examine existing systems, and consider new solutions. We believe these efforts demonstrate the importance of students being directly in conversation with University decision-makers, and we hope this working group will serve as a model for meaningful change across our campus.
Sincerely,
Stephen Daniels ‘24, USG Mental Health Resources Task Force Co-Chair
Anna Sivaraj ‘23, USG Mental Health Resources Task Force Co-Chair
Hannah Kapoor ‘23, USG Vice-President
Mayu Takeuchi ‘23, USG President
Special thanks to River Reynolds '24, Mindy Yu '23, and Hang Pham '26 of the USG Communications Committee for designing this report.
Update: August 2022
The USG Senate calls for the mental health crisis to be addressed as an institutional priority at Princeton and has submitted to the University the following recommendations:
The Office of Campus Life, in collaboration with USG, should conduct a comprehensive assessment investigating gaps and unmet needs in University-provided mental health care and publish a report of findings no later than September 6, 2022, while providing regular public progress updates.
After unmet needs are identified, the Office of Campus Life should work with the Office of the Provost to allocate the necessary financial resources to make the identified investments in students’ psychological well-being in a timely manner.
This summer, there will be a series of six collaborative meetings between USG members and relevant campus partners, with each meeting focusing on one particular area of mental health resources on campus. Those focus areas are: residential colleges; the transition for incoming first-years; outreach counselors and liaisons; counselors at CPS; off-campus mental health care; and telehealth. Each of these focus areas will be assessed for gaps both in resources and in the visibility and awareness of these resources. We invite you to read more about each of these focus areas in the full Position Paper.
July 29, 2022, on telehealth; meeting on academics & mental health, date TBD.
We invite you to share your feedback or ideas via this anonymous form; we will be reviewing responses frequently throughout the summer, and your input will inform our ongoing advocacy.
Update: July 17, 2022
In the June 29 meeting, the Mental Health Resources Working Group discussed mental health resources with respect to their sharing/communication with incoming first-year students and the student body more generally. We discussed topics including: the sharing of an intro video walkthrough for CPS developed by USG and CPS, the revamping of CPS communications including social media, the publication of staff photos on the CPS directory, the publication of faculty/staff/admin entities that have received training via CPS, and the re-establishment of an advisory board for ongoing admin-student dialogue. We also discussed, more broadly, the relationship between and the responsibilities of students and administrators on issues of mental health.
Full meeting notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hG1hKRZqble4pBIAfiDj116OivozMiV_PvXs1F6798w/edit?usp=sharing
During the July 1 meeting, the Mental Health Resources Working Group discussed issues and ideas relating to CPS counselors (including outreach counselors) and off-campus care. In particular, we discussed items including but not limited to: future plans for expanding the outreach counselor program as a source of specialized care for students of diverse or marginalized backgrounds and identities; the need to improve and expand communications from CPS regarding its variety of services (e.g. support groups and outreach counselors); and potential ways to provide transportation for off-campus care free of cost.
Full meeting notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tv2Lg0nob6q8XRXhH1-xwN_qKrIAaZSBovHIlABCl64/edit?usp=sharing
Participants: VP Rochelle Calhoun, Dr. Calvin Chin, Stephen Daniels, Hannah Kapoor, Charlotte Selover, Mayu Takeuchi
Next meeting: July 29, on telehealth; meeting on academics & mental health, date TBD
We invite you to share your feedback or ideas via this anonymous form.
We will be reviewing responses frequently throughout the summer, and your input will inform our ongoing advocacy. We appreciate your continued input!
Update: June 13, 2022
Where we’re at in the process:
In this first meeting on June 2, the Mental Health Resources Working Group established core principles and discussed issues pertaining to mental health care through residential colleges, among other items. This Working Group will build on ongoing work to: examine both awareness and resource gaps in mental health care, engage health and well-being as institutional priorities, recognize issues affecting the campus community as a whole as well as the unique experiences and challenges affecting students of diverse student identities, and address both proactive/preventive care and crisis response resources.
On crisis response, we discussed the importance of having systems not reliant on Public Safety, and the training and positioning of Residential Life Coordinators (new positions starting Fall 2022) necessary to help fill these needs. We also discussed several approaches to proactive, preventive care—including regular communication of underutilized resources, built-in alert systems, and integrated support regarding academic stresses—as well as targeted support for students returning from leaves of absence. We will continue discussing academic dimensions of mental health care resources in a separate meeting, including representatives from ODOS and SEAS.
Please find the meeting notes here; they have been revised for clarity.
Next meeting: June 20, on CPS Counselors (including Outreach Counselors for identity-based care), and off-campus care time permitting.
Subsequent meetings:
June 29, on off-campus care and mental health resources for first-year students
July 1, on resources relating to academics (including advising and stressors)*
July 27, on telehealth
*We have added academics as a focus area for review, in response to your input and other factors.
We invite you to share your feedback or ideas via this anonymous form.
We will be reviewing responses frequently throughout the summer, and your input will inform our ongoing advocacy. We appreciate your continued input!
Update: May 26, 2022
On May 27, 2022, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) delivered an announcement to the student body titled Mental Health Resources Advocacy and Referendum Updates; see Summary for a summary of the contents of the announcement.
We invite you to share your feedback or ideas via this anonymous form; we will be reviewing responses frequently throughout the summer, and your input will inform our ongoing advocacy. We appreciate your continued input—through your votes, comments, emails, and conversations.