CAPS – Penn Disorientation Guide

Mental Health Hotlines

Penn offers a few confidential on-campus mental health resources, but there are also off-campus networks with a range of services to address your needs. Here are a few.

Understaffed, Underfunded, and Undersupported: Medical Services at Penn

Penn’s Student Health Services (SHS) claims to help students with both their physical and mental health, but their mission towards student wellness has come under much scrutiny due to accessibility issues, insurance policies, and poor mental health services.

The Reality of Mental Health Resources at Penn

Penn breeds a culture of toxic ambition and perfection, as a commonly held belief among Penn students is an expectation to succeed, manifesting from an endless list of LinkedIn brag posts to students’ failure to be candid about inevitable struggles with their academic, social, or personal lives.

Student Experiences with Confidential Resources at Penn

Penn Women's Center, one of the University's confidential resources, is on Locust Walk. It is a brown building, and there are fallen leaves around the building. Photo courtesy of The Daily Pennsylvanian

Many students have had traumatizing experiences when trying to speak to a confidential resource about their experience with sexual violence. Similarly, students have had negative experiences with confidential resources provided for other issues, those of which we discuss in this article.