Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 7902
Submitted: June 16, 2021 at 11:57:29 PM
First Name: Brianna
Last Name: Wodehouse
Student Number: 10189482
Email: 14bjw2@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BA
Plan: GNDS
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for a minimum of three years
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D,
I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a minimum of three years.
This year has presented many challenges, and while I went into the year striving for academic success, COVID-19 proved to be detrimental to my already suffering mental health, and thus my academic performance. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with clinical depression, anxiety, and PTSD related to a sexual assault that I experienced. The extenuating circumstance that I experienced this year was not my chronic mental health issues, but rather COVID-19 and the severe impact that it had on my mental health.
My decline began late in the summer of 2020 when my sexual assault counsellor at KGH hospital informed me that I should find another counsellor to see, since she would not do phone or virtual sessions, and I was no longer in Kingston. This abrupt termination of counselling services threw me for a loop, especially because she had already helped me overcome so much, and she was one of the only people besides my doctor that knew what happened to me. I was not given a referral, so I have been without a counsellor since then.
There were many times this year where I felt that I needed to see my doctor, however, due to his hectic schedule (he began working at a long-term care home), I found myself having to wait weeks and sometimes months before getting an appointment. Unfortunately, this also affected my ability to get a medication refill at one point this winter, leaving me without medication for over a month. The darkness that I experienced at that point is something that I never want to experience again. Ontario COVID-19 lockdowns have meant further isolation from my support system, which is crucial for anyone suffering with mental health issues whether its anxiety, depression or PTSD. The decline that I experienced in my mental health due to COVID-19, and the lack of resources and support that I had throughout this pandemic made it difficult for me to do the most basic tasks like getting out of bed, brushing my teeth, remembering to eat, or showering. While I found that I was able to keep up with my readings, I had a difficult time completing and handing in my assignments and sometimes even attending virtual class; however, I believe what was even tougher for me, was reaching out to my professors to ask for help. When I¿¿m in a bad place mentally, the task of asking for help, seems impossible, and for me this year, it was. The isolation, the lack of resources, counselling services, lack of access to medical appointments and medications all due to COVID-19 led to a rapid decline in my mental health, and significantly affected my ability to function, take care of myself, and succeed academically.
With vaccinations happening, I am hopeful for the future. I want to continue living, I want to continue studying, I want to excel in school, and I want to graduate in the near future. I am pleading with you to understand the impact that this pandemic has had on the mental and physical of health of everyone, but especially on people who are suffering with chronic mental illnesses. My plan going forward is to once again meet with my doctor, discuss a plan from a medical perspective to ensure that I never have to wait weeks or months to get a doctor¿¿s appointment or a prescription refill again. I will ask my doctor for counselling recommendations, preferably something in person, and local if possible. I will take the summer to get on track with my health, ensure I have a plan and a back-up plan, should we go into another lockdown, (I can share this with you, or the faculty). In the fall, instead of taking three courses, I will retake two courses that I failed and if I am struggling in one of them, I will drop, or apply to late drop that course (If I miss the first deadline). I believe that in order to be successful I need to take baby steps, if taking one course at a time will allow me to be successful in that course, then that is what I will do. If I have the option to choose to be online or in person in the fall, I may choose to do online, and move in with my family so that I have a support system in place. If I had one in place this year, I might have not experienced the terrifying amount of loneliness and isolation that I did, that only worsened my depression. Please conder my appeal, please consider the circumstances that led to my mental health decline, and the impact it had on my academic performance.
Sincerely,
Brianna Wodehouse
I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a minimum of three years.
This year has presented many challenges, and while I went into the year striving for academic success, COVID-19 proved to be detrimental to my already suffering mental health, and thus my academic performance. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with clinical depression, anxiety, and PTSD related to a sexual assault that I experienced. The extenuating circumstance that I experienced this year was not my chronic mental health issues, but rather COVID-19 and the severe impact that it had on my mental health.
My decline began late in the summer of 2020 when my sexual assault counsellor at KGH hospital informed me that I should find another counsellor to see, since she would not do phone or virtual sessions, and I was no longer in Kingston. This abrupt termination of counselling services threw me for a loop, especially because she had already helped me overcome so much, and she was one of the only people besides my doctor that knew what happened to me. I was not given a referral, so I have been without a counsellor since then.
There were many times this year where I felt that I needed to see my doctor, however, due to his hectic schedule (he began working at a long-term care home), I found myself having to wait weeks and sometimes months before getting an appointment. Unfortunately, this also affected my ability to get a medication refill at one point this winter, leaving me without medication for over a month. The darkness that I experienced at that point is something that I never want to experience again. Ontario COVID-19 lockdowns have meant further isolation from my support system, which is crucial for anyone suffering with mental health issues whether its anxiety, depression or PTSD. The decline that I experienced in my mental health due to COVID-19, and the lack of resources and support that I had throughout this pandemic made it difficult for me to do the most basic tasks like getting out of bed, brushing my teeth, remembering to eat, or showering. While I found that I was able to keep up with my readings, I had a difficult time completing and handing in my assignments and sometimes even attending virtual class; however, I believe what was even tougher for me, was reaching out to my professors to ask for help. When I¿¿m in a bad place mentally, the task of asking for help, seems impossible, and for me this year, it was. The isolation, the lack of resources, counselling services, lack of access to medical appointments and medications all due to COVID-19 led to a rapid decline in my mental health, and significantly affected my ability to function, take care of myself, and succeed academically.
With vaccinations happening, I am hopeful for the future. I want to continue living, I want to continue studying, I want to excel in school, and I want to graduate in the near future. I am pleading with you to understand the impact that this pandemic has had on the mental and physical of health of everyone, but especially on people who are suffering with chronic mental illnesses. My plan going forward is to once again meet with my doctor, discuss a plan from a medical perspective to ensure that I never have to wait weeks or months to get a doctor¿¿s appointment or a prescription refill again. I will ask my doctor for counselling recommendations, preferably something in person, and local if possible. I will take the summer to get on track with my health, ensure I have a plan and a back-up plan, should we go into another lockdown, (I can share this with you, or the faculty). In the fall, instead of taking three courses, I will retake two courses that I failed and if I am struggling in one of them, I will drop, or apply to late drop that course (If I miss the first deadline). I believe that in order to be successful I need to take baby steps, if taking one course at a time will allow me to be successful in that course, then that is what I will do. If I have the option to choose to be online or in person in the fall, I may choose to do online, and move in with my family so that I have a support system in place. If I had one in place this year, I might have not experienced the terrifying amount of loneliness and isolation that I did, that only worsened my depression. Please conder my appeal, please consider the circumstances that led to my mental health decline, and the impact it had on my academic performance.
Sincerely,
Brianna Wodehouse
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: My plan going forward is to once again meet with my doctor, discuss a plan from a medical perspective to ensure that I never have to wait weeks or months to get a doctor¿¿s appointment or a prescription refill again. I will ask my doctor for counselling recommendations, preferably something in person, and local if possible. I will take the summer to get on track with my health, ensure I have a plan and a back-up plan, should we go into another lockdown, (I can share this with you, or the faculty). In the fall, instead of taking three courses, I will retake two courses that I failed and if I am struggling in one of them, I will drop, or apply to late drop that course (If I miss the first deadline). I believe that in order to be successful I need to take baby steps, if taking one course at a time will allow me to be successful in that course, then that is what I will do. If I have the option to choose to be online or in person in the fall, I may choose to do online, and move in with my family so that I have a support system in place. If I had one in place this year, I might have not experienced the terrifying amount of loneliness and isolation that I did, that only worsened my depression.
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: Letter from doctor