In order to increase its services to students, Psychological Services has hired a new psychotherapist, Laura Sobik '00.
The new hire allows students to have up to seven free sessions with a psychotherapist each year. Students were previously limited to five visits per year.
The decision to hire a new psychotherapist came last December after a New England Association of Schools and Colleges report which noted that Brown's Psych Services resources appeared to be lower than those of its peers.
Director of Psych Services Belinda Johnson said she thinks the report was mainly referring to the limit of five free sessions with a psychotherapist per year for each student, which was in place at the time the report was released.
"I'm delighted that we have been able to make this hire," said Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn. She said hiring an additional psychotherapist was a high priority because of the recommendation by the NEASC committee to increase the number of appointments available to students on campus.
Starting this academic year, students will be allowed seven free sessions with a psychotherapist before receiving a referral to a clinician off-campus for additional sessions. Appointments with a Psych Services psychiatrist for medication purposes do not count toward the seven session limit, Johnson said.
Johnson also said she hopes the time students have to wait for appointments will decrease with Sobik joining the staff. But she pointed out that during most of the academic year, students only have to wait at most one week for a first appointment and that Psych Services will accommodate students who need immediate attention.
Last spring, a committee including Johnson and three others conducted a national search for the new psychotherapist. Candidates were interviewed by the committee members and were also brought to campus to meet students and other staff members.
"Everyone was very enthusiastic about Dr. Sobik," Johnson said.
Sobik received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and before coming to Brown on Sept. 1, she was working at the James Madison University Counseling and Student Development Center.
Sobik declined to be interviewed for this article because Psych Services prefers not to have new psychotherapists interviewed while they are settling in to their new positions and familiarizing themselves with the department, Johnson said.
"It's always nice to have a new staff member because a new person brings a new viewpoint and new energy to the staff," Johnson said.
