Updated April 8 at 5:12 p.m. EST.
This semester, Temple has faced multiple challenges and tragedies that have impacted the people who make up the university community.
On Jan. 28, a student passed away during celebrations at City Hall following the Eagles’ NFC Championship win. And on Feb. 7, another student was fatally shot on Carlisle Street near Oxford.
A recent alumnus was also stabbed in Temple’s off-campus housing in February, and two students were arrested for impersonating United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in January. On April 2, the university announced that a student’s visa was revoked by the Secretary of State, causing further anxiety in the Temple community.
These incidents, alongside broader global and political issues, disproportionately affect students from marginalized groups and can negatively impact mental health.
As students navigate these difficult times, Temple administration has responded by offering condolences, addressing concerns and reminding students that support services, including Tuttleman Counseling, are available to those in need.
As Temple keeps referring students to Tuttleman during tumultuous times, the university must ensure that Tuttleman has the resources necessary to care for the entire student body without delays and make students aware of the mental health services available to them.
Students must juggle usual college responsibilities while navigating unprecedented political turmoil and other extenuating circumstances, so they should feel comfortable contacting Tuttleman Counseling. However, Tuttleman has only 16 full-time clinical staff members, one part-time and 12 current trainees for more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
The number of clinical staff has increased since Temple raised funding for health and wellness by 3.3% in the 2024 budget. This should effectively be conveyed to students so they know that they are receiving proper help, and eliminate the feeling of long wait times or a lack of consistent care due to understaffing.
Quinn Doyle was referred to Tuttleman Counseling during her freshman year. Following a consultation, she was informed she would only be provided with three 30-minute sessions with a staff member, which felt like a limited amount of time to address a traumatic experience, Doyle said.
“The services that people require in therapy or counseling are always going to be interwoven,” said Doyle, a junior public policy major. “[Patients] are going to bring up issues, old struggles, old traumas that are going to need to be addressed in that room while discussing current traumas, and that was something that they were not able to offer me because of their limited time and capacity.”
Temple’s funding for health and wellness went up 3.3% from 2023 to 2024, but Temple should prioritize mental health resources for students by continuing to increase funding for Tuttleman, which would allow for an increase in staffing to better accommodate the student population.
Students shouldn’t let their concerns about individualized therapy discourage them from reaching out and accessing the services they need. Tuttleman offers a variety of other services students should be aware of, including individual counseling, psychiatric services and consultation.
Dr. Andrew Lee, director of Tuttleman Counseling, says that although students may be aware of individual counseling services, they should also seek out the other services available.
“We have groups for things like social anxiety, we have anxiety classes, we have classes to deal with depression, we have interpersonal process groups to understand how you relate to others and how others relate to you,” Lee said. “We have a wide variety of different group offerings to serve different populations that might need them.”
Beyond Tuttleman’s core services, students also have access to group therapy, skill classes, therapeutic yoga and meditation programs designed to help manage stress and improve overall well-being.
Despite these offerings, many students still remain unaware of the full range of services due to unclear outreach efforts. Temple must provide as much information about the resources available to face the onslaught of university and national events.
Kayla Roumie says that although she was aware of Tuttleman Counseling, she wasn’t exactly sure of what they offered.
“I know there are signs in bathrooms about Tuttleman Counseling,” said Roumie, a senior environmental studies and English major, “But it’s a little less specific about the different resources they have. I feel those signs in the restrooms are more so advertising that Tuttleman is there, less so about what they can offer.”
Tuttleman and Temple could increase outreach by putting up posters with QR codes linking to Tuttleman’s list of services and expanding campus events. Further, Tuttleman counseling can work more with student organizations or clubs across campus to create greater public awareness.
Mental health support should be a priority, considering the number of crises students are facing. While Tuttleman Counseling provides crucial resources, more can be done to ensure students know about and can access them.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story inaccurately stated the number of staff members at Tuttleman Counseling Services. It has since been corrected.
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