"Intake Survey"

Margaret D'Isa-Hogan

DISCLAIMER THE QR CODE LEADS TO AN INTERACTIVE PIECE OF ART- THIS DOES NOT CONNECT TO PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

Intake Survey is an interactive horror story based on my own experiences with suicidal
ideation. It was inspired by the mountains of psychiatric paperwork I’ve filled out in my life,
most of which asks the same questions. One psychiatry office made me sign a contract before I
saw a doctor that promised I would not kill myself, and that if I did, the office and it’s affiliates
were not responsible. I felt degraded by the cold, unfeeling, and sometimes menacing
bureaucracy of the mental health industry.
This piece is a hermit crab story formatted like a psychiatric intake survey. In order to
read the story, readers scan a QR code and are taken to a quiz hosting site. The reader must select
multiple choice answers in order to progress the story. The survey begins with the typical
questions you would find in an actual intake form, but they slowly become more invasive. The
questions personify suicidal thoughts as a sentient and villainous force that subtly but
persistently attempts to kill the patient. The answers illustrate the internal ups and downs of a
depressive episode. Though this story deals with the concept of suicide, the actual language is
ambiguous. The words ‘suicide’, ‘kill’, and ‘commit’ do not appear in this piece. In the end, the
patient resolves to keep living and complete the survey. The survey tries several different tactics
to change the patient’s mind, but ultimately gives up and confirms their appointment with a
psychiatrist.
I hope this piece makes other students who have struggled with their mental health feel
seen. When you’re having a health crisis, getting help is a colossal endeavor. Often, the mundane
parts of survival are the most difficult: the appointments, the phone calls, the paperwork. This
story affirms the endurance, resilience, and hope needed to find help during a dark time.