@Matilda, that is HORRIBLE!!! Even our least-funded public university provides student insurance (mandatory or proof of being insured otherwise), and a counseling center, a substance abuse treatment center, a hotline, and a psychology clinic for students with family members also in need. That, and we're still cheaper than any private college in our state.
The insurance is provided because there's no sense taking on college debt if one bad fall down a step can saddle a student with a six-figure medical debt. That seems like a no-brainer ensuring our college students can get the care they need and deserve. Gosh, I didn't realize there were schools that cared so little for their student's physical and financial health needs. That's truly appalling.
Pastors can be fine for some people, but unfortunately my experience (personally and professionally) is that they are too focused on maintaining the patriarchal structure even when there is blatant abuse. Someone who is being abused cannot change their abuser. We simply do not have that power. Waiting for prayers to be answered while being abused is a recipe for PTSD.
I'm so glad I broke free from the religious advisors to kept telling me to pray for a solution. I have such gratitude in my hear for the pragmatic people who saw I was drowning in that abusive environment, and they took action to throw me a lifesaver and worked with me to help me get OUT of the water...and stop from getting right back into that situation.
I can't imagine credentialed, qualified mental health counselor ever advising an abused person to leave (safe, helpful) higher education if there was any chance at them succeeding in getting through. I was really struggling but with lots of services I made it, and it has been the basis of my overall great life (now.) Maybe things are very different now. But I would be willing to be homeless before I let my kids enter life without a college education, if only for the opportunity to see how different many people's lives are. I needed that.
I hope you'll give a public school a try. You can always see Christian counseling nearby if that is your preference, but you'll have far more secular resources available to you as well.
If there is a university nearby, you might try calling their hotline and asking for help transferring, or asking for a referral to counseling agencies which are on a sliding fee scale. If you were in our area, and were a student here, you'd qualify for the free services and medication under the affordable care act due to your income. Or, just being a student alone in our community allows the local hospital to give a hardship grant where you don't pay anything.
