Students cite differences between CPS, Furman

Ask Mary Commerford, director of the Rosemary Furman Counseling Center at Barnard, to compare her organization to Columbia’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), and she’ll say the two are “apples and oranges.”

But some students say that the two mental health services cannot be equated in this way.

Furman coordinates mental health services for 2300 undergraduate students while CPS must cater to approximately 10 times as many students. This disparity in volume is a central reason for many of the differences between the two organizations’ services, according to Commerford. Still, some students argue that the services differ more than they should.

CPS has a total of 33 professionals on staff, including 24 psychologists/social workers, six psychiatrists, and three residents. While Furman has a smaller total of 16 professionals on staff, including psychologists, social workers, interns, and one part-time psychiatrist, Commerford said that the smaller office meets student demands.

But one important difference between the two services, students said, is their locations.

Located on the first floor of the Barnard quad in Hewitt Hall, Furman is in an area heavily trafficked by Barnard students. Recent graduate Kira Goldenberg, BC ’07, recalled the accessibility of the location when she first visited.

“It helped that, at the time, the entrance to my freshman dorm, Brooks, required going in through Hewitt, and I lived on the third floor and took the stairs, so every time I went back to my room I was walking past the counseling center.” She said that constantly seeing the office made it seem less intimidating, and being able to just walk downstairs made it easy to visit.

One student, Anna, BC ’10, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, said of Furman, “I felt the environment to be pretty neutral. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t super, super friendly.” Another student, Alexandra, BC ’10, whose name has also been changed for the same reason, recalled, “The ambiance is really nice, it feels like a typical doctor’s office.” Both students agreed that the office is beautiful—thanks to a generous donation from Rosemary Furman’s estate—and that the comfortable furniture creates a relaxing environment.

The primary offices for CPS are located on the highest floor of Lerner Hall, which some students say makes it difficult to want to visit. The elevator doors open directly onto the office’s waiting room.

“You press that button on the elevator, and it’s like, everybody knows where you’re going,” said Josh, SEAS ’11, who said he did not wish to use his last name because he did not want his friends to know he went to CPS. “I’m sure it’s hard to find space on campus, but the lack of discretion can be a difficult hurdle to cross for someone who isn’t set on going to begin with.”

Two years ago, Columbia’s space-deprived Health Services had planned a big move to McVickar Hall, located on 113th Street between Broadway and Riverside. This new space would have provided brand new offices for CPS. When residents of Riverside challenged the move, however, the plan fell through. The Alice! Heath Promotion Program and other administrative offices moved to Wien, allowing CPS to expand in its current location. To make visits to Lerner less foreboding, CPS has continued to add more residence hall offices, including the newest one in Nussbaum that caters to General Studies students.

Providing services to graduate students presents additional challenges.

“There’s no easy way to do the same thing for graduate and professional students because they tend to live in very scattered areas. However, in order to try to bring this form of access to professional students, we now opened an office in the law school,” Richard Eichler, director of CPS, said. Eichler confirmed that use of both the law school office and the four residence hall offices has been high. He added that other graduate schools have expressed interest in hosting their own satellite office.

Both departments also offer support groups in such topics as body image, bereavement, and chronic medical illness. Though there are several overlaps between schools, students who wish to attend a group offered only at the other school may often do so, according to Commerford.

Commerford said that despite students’ perceptions, both services follow national guidelines for short-term college clinics. As such, the two departments will often co-sponsor events together and maintain a “casual back-and-forth,” she said.

And when campus tragedies strike, as in Eric Harms’s death this year, both departments communicate frequently to discuss trends they’re seeing.
“Most student organizations have both Barnard and Columbia students, so it’s important to us to partner up when it’s appropriate,” said Calvin Chin, associate director of outreach and community clinical services at CPS.