Treatment for Sexual Assault Survivors at University Counseling Centers

University Counseling Centers (UCCs) provide important services for sexual assault survivors, yet little research has been conducted on interventions used by clinicians in this unique setting. As a preliminary investigation, UCC professionals were asked about services provided to survivors of sexual assault and staff perceptions of the effectiveness of these interventions. Supportive counseling was perceived to be the most effective relative to other interventions, and many participants indicated that they did not use or were not sure if other evidence-based interventions were effective with student victims. Several recommendations for future research on sexual assault services in UCCs are suggested.     

The Utility of an Efficient Outcomes Assessment System at University Counseling Centers

Due to increased demands placed on university counseling centers (UCCs) in recent years, there is a need for these centers to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their psychological services. Regularly monitoring client progress is one approach to increase the likelihood of positive clinical outcomes. This article describes the use of the Behavioral Health Measure–20 (BHM-20; Kopta & Lowry, 2002) in monitoring the progress of 13,803 clients at 23 UCCs across the United States from 2006–2011. Results show that the BHM-20, via the CelestHealth System–MH (CHS-MH), is an effective instrument for the electronic administration, scoring, and tracking of client progress. Overall, clients improved over the course of treatment and the benefit from treatment peaked between 7 to 10 sessions. Three case vignettes using the CHS-MH in patient care are presented. Implications for continuing the use of monitoring individual client change at UCCs are discussed.     

Readability of Informed Consent Documents at University Counseling Centers

The extent to which clients understand the nature and anticipated course of therapy is referred to as informed consent. Counseling psychologists often provide informed consent documents to enhance the education of services and for liability purposes. Professionals in numerous health care settings have evaluated the readability of their informed consent documents, but no such peer-reviewed research exists for university counseling centers. This study evaluated the informed consent documents for psychotherapy from university counseling centers using three readability formulas (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease Score, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook [SMOG] Grading). The findings support the authors’ exploratory hypotheses that informed consent documents in university counseling centers are rated as challenging to read for college students. Recommendations and implications for practice are discussed.     

The Comprehensive Counseling Center Model

The authors outline a four-factor model and philosophy for college mental health services that addresses the loss of comprehensiveness in some centers due to changes in organizational structure. Given research on demand for services and retention of those seen in centers, emphasis is placed in particular upon the value of consultation, outreach, and training work across the entire campus community. The model challenges some assumptions made by proponents of integrated care, including its definition, and illustrates the benefits of establishing and maintaining a fully comprehensive college counseling service.     

Small College Counseling Centers:

College counseling centers have experienced continued change and development in roles and functions since their inception in the 1930s. Recent shifts include a focus on personal counseling, the broadening of services, and an increased severity in student problems. Administrative policy, restricted staffing, and limited budgets particularly impact small college counseling centers. This article explore these issues through a case study format and discusses the concurrent philosophical and training implications as challenges for the small college counseling center of the 1990s.     

Research: Students' Perceptions of Need for Personal Counseling Services in Community Colleges

Although the need for personal counseling services is on the rise across college campuses in the United States, many community colleges do not offer personal counseling services on campus. Instead, community college counseling services focus primarily on academic and career advising. The purpose of this study was to survey community college students in North Carolina to determine their interest in and need for a personal counseling center on campus. Participants were 134 men and 202 women, 18–68 years of age. Of the participants, 70% indicated that having a personal counseling center on campus would be “very helpful” or “helpful.” Results are discussed, and recommendations are made for college counselors working in community college settings.     

Adapting Dialectical Behavior Therapy for College Counseling Centers

College counseling centers report increased student presentation with severe psychological issues (Gallagher, 2012 ). Although dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has demonstrated efficacy with multiple clinical populations, standard model DBT is not feasible for many traditional college counseling centers. This article describes the iterative development and evolution of a comprehensive DBT program adapted to fit the scope of a traditional college counseling center. Guidelines for implementing lessons learned over the 3 years of the program are provided.     

College Counseling and Student Retention: Research Findings and Implications for Counseling Centers

College counseling centers may come under increasing scrutiny by administrators regarding how their services contribute to student retention. College counselors can use data to demonstrate a positive influence of counseling on retention, but they also need to educate administrators that student retention should be a consideration among many when evaluating the efficacy of services. The author reviews findings from studies on the impact of college counseling on retention and addresses implications for counseling centers.     

Quality Improvement in University Counseling Centers

University Counseling Centers (UCCs) experience high clinical demands and severe client presentations leaving counselors with limited time and resources to evaluate delivery of services. In this article, we present clinician-friendly quality improvement (QI) strategies used at a large Midwestern university and provide recommendations for implementing QI programs at other UCCs even as their resources may vary. With counselor-led efforts examining and evaluating services, UCCs can use QI programs to inform and improve counseling practices as well as advise university administrators about the positive outcomes of the center’s work.     

Changing Demands on Counseling Centers:

Mounting pressure on campus administrators to cope with students who disrupt the campus living/learning environment has resulted in counseling centers being increasingly drawn into the management of student behavior. Underlying this trend are the naive assumptions that counselors have the ability to predict future behavior and control disruptive students through psychotherapy. These myths not only fail to produce expected results, but threaten to undermine college counseling as an effective resource for behavior change. Counselors must not only work to dispel these myths, but help faculty/staff find more effective ways to work with problem students. This process requires a clear statement of the expectations of student behavior and a broader acceptance among faculty/staff of the responsibility for confronting disruptive students with the consequences of their behavior.     

Unrealistic Expectations for Suicide Prevention: Implications for Counseling Centers

Counseling centers are under intense pressure to prevent student suicide. When a student dies by suicide, the counseling center practitioner may be held liable as though all such deaths are ultimately preventable. Expectations that suicide can be prevented 100% of the time conflict with the actual capabilities of treatment providers and disregard their limited power to control the behavior of others. These expectations also fail to recognize that mental health professionals’ ability to accurately predict suicide is no better than chance. Nonetheless, the unattainable demands placed on clinicians do not originate with higher education but from the treatment community itself. Some of the consequences of these high expectations regarding the behavior of clinicians are reviewed. A plea is made for the treatment community to adopt more reasonable expectations internally and to promote them outwardly among stakeholders.     

Clinical Assessment at College Counseling Centers: The Consultant‐on‐Duty Model

The consultant‐on‐duty (COD) clinical consultation model maximizes efficient use of services, is distinct from other university counseling center (UCC) services, and precedes therapy. This model enables clinicians to ensure optimal fit between client need and type of UCC services provided, including brief therapy. The 4 objectives of the COD model include quick access to initial consultation, management of treatment expectations, collaborative treatment decisions, and planning for client assistance.     

Benefits of Brief Counseling Training for Master's‐Level Trainees in University Counseling Centers

Little has been addressed in the literature about the advantages of brief counseling training for master's‐level trainees working in university counseling centers. This article discusses the benefits that time‐limited treatment affords trainees and offers implications for training and research.     

Walk-In Triage Systems in University Counseling Centers

To meet the complex mental health needs of students, some university counseling centers (UCCs) have implemented walk-in triage intake systems, which have not yet been empirically investigated. This study compared client and clinician differences (N = 5564) between a traditional scheduled intake system (Year 1) and a walk-in triage system (Year 2) at a large, southeastern UCC. Results showed a significant increase in clients’ attendance rates and clinicians’ caseloads, a significant decrease in no-show rates, and no change in students’ symptom severity at intake between Years 1 and 2. Clinicians’ number of scheduled appointments were unchanged, indicating that clinicians were already at maximum capacity for appointments in Year 1. Results are discussed in terms of the benefits and challenges that walk-in triage systems present to students, universities, and UCCs.     

生涯咨询案例分析

通过对丁一进行咨询,确定其属于生涯未决定者,而且是双重选择的未定向,通过“我喜欢的生活方式问卷”、《人格特质检核表》、“生活馅饼”图,对丁一的生涯进行分析,解决其困惑。     

Providing Psychological Counseling in Community Colleges: Even Greater Challenges and Fewer Resources

Community college counseling is often not well understood in the “university-centric” higher education community. In fact, work at community college counseling centers typically involves an exaggerated version of the challenges found at university counseling centers. At a community college, there are usually vastly fewer resources from the college (number of staff, facilities, and overall financial support), and the student clients often face many more struggles (economic, academic, and psychological). Recently, various professional counseling organizations have begun including community college counselors, and expanded collaboration between those who work at community colleges and at universities benefits all.