The Dose-Response Relationship at a College Counseling Center

Abstract

Most college counseling centers have adopted session limits for their psychotherapy clients though little evidence exists to support such cutoff points. In the past eight years, a few studies have been published using survival analysis statistics for investigating the speed of recovery in psychotherapy. The outcome of clients at a university counseling center was studied to assess change across time, on a session-by-session basis. The analysis of these data showed that 14 sessions of psychotherapy were required for 51% of clients to meet criteria for clinically significant change. Results were interpreted as suggesting that limiting psychotherapy at college counseling centers may result in improvements that are not clinically meaningful for the majority of clients receiving services.     

College Psychotherapy at a Qatari/American Counseling Center

Abstract

The current study assessed how previous experience with therapy impacted college students' perception of a clinician displaying symptoms of burnout. One hundred forty-seven undergraduate students viewed a videotaped therapy vignette depicting segments of three consecutive psychotherapy sessions. The therapist displayed symptoms of burnout (e.g., fatigue, clock watching) in one of the sessions. Participants rated the therapist on the following variables: liking, competence, level of concern, dedication to the field, and whether the client should continue to be treated by that therapist. As predicted, participants who indicated that they had been in therapy in the past rated the therapist significantly lower on four of these dimensions compared with subjects who had no prior experience in therapy. The results suggest that students who have previously been in therapy are more critical of a fatigued and distracted therapist.     

学院级实验中心管理规范探讨

结合华南农业大学园艺学院建设实验中心多年以来的实践经验,探讨了学院级实验中心在实验室制度管理、实验经费管理、仪器设备管理、开放实验室管理、公共教学实验室管理、实验技术人员管理等方面的管理规范。     

Trainees Versus Staff: Exploring Counseling Outcomes in a College Counseling Center

Investigators compared counseling outcomes among nonpaid graduate-level trainees and professional staff at a college counseling center. Counseling outcomes for 331 college student participants were measured using the Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 (OQ45.2), employing a pretest–posttest design. The two groups of service providers did not differ significantly (p = .179; α > .05). A unique aspect of this study was the statistical control for the clients’ readiness to change. The implications for practice in college counseling centers suggest the use of graduate-level trainees as effective counseling providers and a method to cope with high demand for services.     

学院级实验中心的建设和管理

实验室管理是以学生、教师、实验技术人员和上层领导构成的系统工程,新形势下学生、实验技术人员、教师、上层领导必须更新观念,转变思想,共同建设一个规范化管理的学院级实验中心。     

College Counseling Center Clients' Expectations About Counseling: How They Relate to Depression,Hopelessness, and Actual‐Ideal Self‐Discrepancies

Clients' expectations affect many aspects of counseling. This study examined relationships between depression, hopelessness, actual‐ideal self‐discrepancies (AISDs), and clients' expectations about counseling among 80 college students. Less hopeless participants expected more improvement from and more commitment to counseling. No significant relationships were found between depression or AISDs and expectations among the original sample. Among graduate students, AISDs related to counselor nurturance expectations. Implications for college counselors are discussed.     

Investigation of Clinically Significant Change by Severity Level in College Counseling Center Clients

The authors investigated the number of sessions necessary for college counseling center clients of different levels of severity of distress at intake to achieve clinically significant change (CS) in therapy. The Outcome Questionnaire‐45 (M. J. Lambert, N. B. Hansen, et al., 1996) was used to categorize 914 clients by severity of distress. Analyses of outcome indicated that clients with less and more severe distress needed 14 and 20 sessions, respectively, for 50% in each group to achieve CS. Implications are discussed.     

Psychotherapy Services Provided by a College Counseling Center

Abstract

This study compared the delivery of psychological services at a university counseling center after an interval of almost 40 years in a partial replication of an earlier study at the same center. The results indicate that the changes that have occurred in service delivery reflect more the transitions in the culture of the university than trends in mental health treatment.     

Research: Evaluating Therapy Outcome at a University Counseling Center With the College Adjustment Scales

To assess the effectiveness of time-limited therapy in a university counseling center, 333 clients' precounseling and post-sixth-session College Adjustment Scales (CAS; Anton & Reed, 1991) scores were compared. Statistically significant decreases in reported symptomatology were found on all CAS scales. Notably distressed students reported moderate to large decreases in symptomatology.     

#Socialmedia: A Preliminary Report of Social Networking Use Among University and College Counseling Center Mental Health Providers

The social networking use of university and college counseling center (UCCC) mental health providers has not been widely researched. Most of the 20 providers surveyed in this preliminary study reported engaging in social networking despite identifying pros and cons to its use. Participants’ reported use of social media may indicate that social networking sites are used primarily to glean information. Risks associated with social networking for UCCC practitioners are discussed and implications for training and social media use are provided.     

Time‐Limited Counseling Outcome in a Nationwide College Counseling Center Sample

This study examined the dose‐effect relationship between the number of sessions and therapeutic outcome in a large, nationwide counseling center research consortium. A positive relationship was found between the outcome of counseling and the number of sessions attended. The results of this study support the effectiveness of brief psychotherapy.     

The Development of a Scale on Assessing Peer Mentoring at the College Level

The purpose of my study was to develop and validate a scale to assess peer mentoring practices that aim to enhance learning. In the development process, 4 focus group interviews were conducted with 10 mentors and 12 mentees who participated in 8 weeks of peer mentoring. In addition to the literature, the findings from interviews were used to develop items. The 11-item form was administered to 126 college students. After the confirmatory factor analysis, the scale took on its final form with 10 items in 3 factors as Contribution to Mentee, Mentor Characteristics, and Peer Relationships. The results of confirmatory analysis were: GFI .92, CFI .99, NNFI .98, RMSEA .080, and Cronbach α coefficient was found to be .954.     

Applying a Social Justice Framework to College Counseling Center Practice

Counselors are often challenged to address issues of social justice in the counseling context, and they must be deliberate and innovative in their attempts to respond. Counselors will be required to relate social justice considerations to their practices and to the theoretical foundations of these practices; they must then operationalize an approach that suits their particular practice setting. The authors present the early results of their attempt to meet this challenge.     

The Impact of Prior Counseling on Predictors of College Counseling Center Use

Path analyses revealed that one's tendency to conceal distressing information, social support, psychological distress, and attitudes toward seeking help predicted intended use of counseling services for college students who had and had not previously been in counseling. Prospective analyses revealed that attitudes toward seeking help predicted actual use of the campus counseling center. These findings have implications for campus outreach programs and in‐session work with clients.     

国内外大学生就业指导工作比较研究

我国大学生就业指导工作处于起步阶段，与毕业生的需求仍存在一定的距离、国外大学的就业指导体系完备，内容丰富，形式多样。借鉴他们的成功经验，我们的就业指导工作应从丰富就业指导内容、改进就业指导方式、建立高效的信息网络、提高就业指导人员的业务素质等几方面入手，使就业指导工作科学化、专业化、规范化。     

The Successful Treatment of Specific Phobia in a College Counseling Center

Specific phobias are highly prevalent among college students and can be quite debilitating. However, students often do not present for treatment for phobias and, when they do, often do not receive effective treatment. This article will present a case study of the effective treatment of specific phobia using cognitive-behavioral therapy with an emphasis on in vivo exposure. It will provide a template for how to conduct this efficient and effective therapy and suggest several benefits of incorporating this treatment into the repertoire offered by a college counseling center.     

Beyond Borderline Personality Disorder: Dialectical Behavior Therapy in a College Counseling Center

The study investigated the efficacy of a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) program with a general college counseling center population, not limited to students diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. A review of records of 64 students found that obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, paranoia, somatization, psychoticism, and phobic anxiety decreased, as did overall distress. All four target areas of DBT, namely confusion about self, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, and interpersonal chaos, also significantly decreased. Limitations and implications for college counseling centers are discussed.