Title IX

Survivors of sexual violence are at an increased risk for developing severe mental health problems, and although awareness has risen, resources have not. University students, who face increasing amounts of pressure to overachieve, make up a vulnerable population.

Victims face problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, substance abuse disorders or eating disorders, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). 

“In my experience, whether or not there is a direct correlation [between sexual trauma and long-term mental health issues] other than acutely, I couldn’t say, but people in the aftermath of trauma are more likely to experience anxiety and depression symptoms,” Mira Krivoshey, assistant director of health promotion at Loyola’s Wellness Center, said. “Long-term, depending on how survivors disclose or not or what kind of support they receive, survivors may experience something called rape trauma syndrome, another version of PTSD.”

Emotional support plays a crucial role in a survivor’s mental health. On top of the trauma, needing to relive traumatic moments by going through the process of formally filing a complaint adds stress to an already vulnerable psyche. It is one of the three main reasons Krivoshey said victims do not report violations. 

“It can be difficult for survivors to report and tell their story multiple times,” Krivoshey said. “Another reason [victims don’t report] is that they don’t think anything would be done about it. The nature of the types of violations is hard to prove, so often perpetrators will go unpunished. The third reason is a lot of people don’t think or recognize it’s serious enough to do anything about.”

Krivoshey said survivors downplay what happened to them because as a coping method and because “it’s also just how we talk about sexual violence in our society.”

At Loyola, both students and faculty receive mandatory training on sexual misconduct in an attempt to combat campus sexual violence. Campus sexual harassment and assault is already an infrequently reported and recorded issue. On top of that, proper resources are sometimes stretched thin.

“I am really confident that we’ve got the right people in place and a system that is fair and equitable at its core,” Deputy Title IX Coordinator Jessica Landis said. 

There were seven reports of rape at Loyola in the 2015 – 2016 school year, according to the 2016 Security and Fire Safety Report. This number is low for a country where one in five women are raped at some point in their lives, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. 

A 2014 report by a U.S. Senate Subcommittee found that 40 percent of colleges and universities did not investigate a sexual assault case in the previous five years. Identifying the reason why the schools didn’t investigate is difficult, but the same study found that 21 percent of the nation’s largest private institutions conducted fewer investigations than the number of incidents reported to the Department of Education.

The dialogue around sexual violence is changing. When Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in 2017 rescinded Title IX guidelines and criticized the previous administration for creating victims in the accused, victim advocates criticized her for protecting attackers and discouraging victims from coming forward.

“There will be no more sweeping [sexual violence] under the rug,” DeVos said in a Department of Education press release.  “But the process must also be fair and impartial, giving everyone more confidence in its outcomes…The notion that a school must diminish due process rights to better serve the ‘victim’ only creates more victims.”

Landis said she believes the policies, processes and practices at Loyola are working well. The situation looks good on paper, but that does not mean there is no room for improvement.

“What’s important for everyone to keep in mind as we go through this period of change is that we’ve got to keep students at the center of the discussion,” Landis said. “It’s equally important – to both parties – that we have an equitable process that has due process at its center.”

Under Title IX legislation, universities are required to provide at least one Title IX coordinator, regardless of the size of the institution. 

At Loyola, Landis oversees the Lake Shore and Water Tower campuses, LUREC, Cuneo Mansion and Gardens and Loyola’s three study abroad centers. Nearby Northwestern University and DePaul University also provide one Title IX Coordinator for their students.  

Loyola’s undergraduate population is over 10,000. Northwestern has 8,000 and DePaul has 15,000. 

“I’m one person resourcing a whole lot of students, so a challenge I face is making sure I’m being attentive to students needs,” Landis said. “We have an increase in reporting, which is a good thing because more people are coming forward and more people are getting resources, but there’s only so much that I can keep up with. That’s a challenge that I have heard from a number of my colleagues, too.”

“Loyola has made a very large commitment to battling sexual violence or gender-based violence,” Jay Malcolm, deputy Title IX coordinator for athletics, said. “We have seen numbers or reports continuously go up. That shouldn’t alarm anyone.” 

Malcolm said the rise in reports is a sign that more people feel comfortable coming forward. It also means sexual violence is still a reality, even on the campus that contributed authors to the Illinois Preventing Sexual Assault in Higher Education Act, and does little to answer the question of whether survivors receive sufficient resources for their mental health. 

People Always Need Help

As a practicing psychologist, there are two things about Dr. Patti Kimbel that might surprise you. First, she’s been in therapy herself. Second, she’s quick to point out that psychotherapy is not a cure-all. 

When it comes to the study of human behavior and the treatment of mental health problems, Kimbel has seen the issues from many levels, ranging from case worker to hospital administrator to her current role as director of training for graduate students in clinical psychology at Roosevelt University in Chicago. And although the broader world of health care is facing many uncertainties, Kimbel is confident of two things – there will always be a demand for professional services, and the most expedient solutions to patients’ problems aren’t always the best.

Kimbel sees 35 to 40 clients in her private practice in suburban Gurnee, which opened in 2001. She is aware some of her colleagues believe the goal of health care providers should be to work themselves out of a job, but she doesn’t buy it.

“People will always need help,” said Kimbel, who worked her way up from postdoctoral fellow to director of behavioral health services at Vista Medical Center West, a for-profit hospital serving an underprivileged community. “I don’t think there will ever be a time when they don’t.” 

That connection is one of the reasons she pursued a career in psychology in the first place. Her father, who is also a psychologist, gifted her a copy of “The Road Less Traveled,” written by a practicing psychiatrist Scott Peck. The book prompted her to enter the mental health field.

“I was attracted to and compelled by the intimacy of the relationship between the therapist and client,” Kimbel said. 

That intimacy is being threatened on several fronts. One of the biggest challenges facing the entire medical field today is the societal desire for the quick fix, which often comes down to taking a pill instead of allowing a more meaningful treatment to run its course, Kimbel said.

“I think where the practice of medicine has gone, it’s in the direction of, ‘Just give a pill.’ Physicians are the number one prescribers of anti-anxiety and anti-depression medication in this country. Their approach is, ‘Here, take this pill.’ It’s not, ‘Why don’t you seek some counseling?’ I would even be satisfied if they said, ‘Take this pill and see a counselor.’ “

Not that counseling is the only or ultimate solution, she adds.

“Coming to therapy doesn’t cure somebody,” Kimbel said. “Part of [therapy’s success] depends on the effort the client is willing to put into therapy and work with the process. They have to take action and make changes in their lives, outside of the therapy session.”

Kimbel has experience in Veterans Affairs counseling centers, day schools, certification programs and hospital settings. At Vista, she worked her way up from postdoctoral fellow to director of behavioral health services. 

Two of Kimbel’s former colleagues described the hospital environment as disquieting. 

The job was “a good fit for someone who enjoys chaos at work, so to speak,” said Vadim Polonsky, a licensed social worker. “It’s fast-paced, it’s exciting, it’s stressful, it’s overwhelming at times [and] it’s a good time.” 

“I was attracted to and compelled by the intimacy of the relationship between the therapist and client.” 

— Patti Kimbel,  psychologist

In her role as an administrator with her finger on everything, Kimbel said she was able to keep stress under control, although she was by no means immune.

“Therapists are no different than the general public, and they can also struggle with depression or anxiety,” Kimbel said. “I’ve been in therapy before. Most therapists have at some point in their life.” 

Kimbel said she sought therapy as a graduate student for two reasons – to deal with a break-up and to understand therapy from the client’s perspective. 

For Kimbel, the majority of her stress at Vista came not from patients but from dealing with bosses she described as challenging or lacking in the knowledge to back up their decisions. 

“I’d rather deal with a patient issue than a staff issue any day,” Kimbel said. 

Jill Sanderson-Davis, a licensed social worker and Kimbel’s colleague at Vista, remembered the squeeze of the hospital’s money issues. 

“[Vista] lacked resources. They weren’t growing the program…and they didn’t always have enough staff to handle things,” Sanderson-Davis said. “I don’t blame that on Patti. It’s a for-profit hospital, and its investments were in other parts of the hospital that I think were more profitable for them.”

Through it all, Kimbel has managed to balance her work and personal life, which includes a dog, a fiancé and frequent workouts. Her cool, calm and collected demeanor helps her enjoy the relative quiet of one world, while steeling her for the pressure of the other.

Because when the doctor is in, Kimbel is all business.