Can someone explain to me why it is SO hard to find a therapist? This is not a complain to BC as I know UCS & The Dean of Students Office provides good referrals & follow-up.

A research simulate patients calling psychiatrist in Boston area found only 18% success rate in booking an appointment. doi.org/110.1176/appi.ps,201400051. Another research shows students of color are less likely to connect with off campus referrals when referred by counseling. doi.org/10.1300/J035vZZn02_03. Another research shows that generally SES & race difference correlates with appointment offer rates - certain SES/identity are less likely to get therapy appointment doi.org/10.1177/0022146516647o98. Just trying to show intersectional factors + effect on seeking mental health resource & How Hard it is to find. And some community center has a 5 month waitlist...can someone explain to me wy it is SO hard to find a therapist? This is not a complain to BC as I know UCS & The Dean of Students Office provides good referrals & follow-up. — A research simulate patients calling psychiatrist in Boston area found only 18% success rate in booking an appointment. doi.org/110.1176/appi.ps,201400051. Another research shows students of color are less likely to connect with off campus referrals when referred by counseling. doi.org/10.1300/J035vZZn02_03. Another research shows that generally SES & race difference correlates with appointment offer rates – certain SES/identity are less likely to get therapy appointment doi.org/10.1177/0022146516647o98. Just trying to show intersectional factors + effect on seeking mental health resource & How Hard it is to find. And some community center has a 5 month waitlist…can someone explain to me why it is SO hard to find a therapist? This is not a complain to BC as I know UCS & The Dean of Students Office provides good referrals & follow-up.

Thank you for sharing those articles! I’m sure many people would welcome an answer to this question. Finding a good therapist can be very difficult. To be honest, finding all kinds of medical specialists can be very difficult. But because of the complexity of mental health issues and the wide variety of approaches to mental health treatment, it can be very hard to find a specialist who is a) a good match for one’s needs, b) available, and c) covered “in-network” in one’s insurance plan. Layer cultural differences on top of these complexities, and it’s clear that making productive appointments is what engineers would call a non-trivial problem.

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.