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Established in 1950, the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) is an international organization comprising universities and colleges (https://www.auccc...

An interdisciplinary treatment team approach is considered the standard of care for individuals with eating disorders; however, there is limited research on the efficacy of such teams. This study used retrospective chart review to compare client characteristics and treatment utilization for college students treated with psychotherapy alone versus an interdisciplinary treatment team approach (i.e., a mental health counselor, a physician, and a dietitian). Clients with prior counseling histories, a bulimia nervosa diagnosis, or a personality disorder diagnosis were more likely to be referred to the eating disorders treatment team. Female counselors were more likely than male counselors to refer clients to the team. Overall, findings suggest that the team approach is associated with students staying in therapy longer and terminating therapy in a planned fashion.

The college years correspond with the peak onset of mental health symptoms in the general population. Half of all people with a diagnosable lifetime mental illness experience symptoms by the age of 14 years and three fourths by the age of 24 years (Kessler et al., 2005). Colleges and universities are ultimately charged with developing strategies for responding to the needs of its primary community members, including "the new diversity" (Nolan, Ford, Kress, Anderson, & Novak, 2005, p. 172), that is, students attending college with significant mental illness or poor coping skills. For the past 2 decades, college counseling center professionals have reported an increase in severe pathology among college students (Benton, Robertson, Tseng, Newton, & Benton, 2003; Cornish, Kominars, Riva, McIntosh, & Henderson, 2000), which has created many challenges for providing adequate services. Severe problems can be defined as "those cases in which the problem significantly disrupts the student's ability to adequately function within the university setting or for cases that require mental health care beyond the capabilities of the average college counseling service" (Sharkin, 2004, p. 314). Many of the studies on this subject reported anecdotal accounts or drew from counselor or college counseling center director surveys, where there may have been considerable inconsistency in how the data were gathered (Barr, Rando, Krylowicz, & Winfield, 2010; Stone & Archer, 1990). Other studies have assessed for broad categories of problems but not the level or degree of problem severity or consisted of data from a single counseling center rather than a national sample (Benton, Benton, Newton, Benton, & Robertson, 2004). In response to these concerns about relying on counselor or director impressions, Erdur-Baker, Aberson, Barrow, and Draper (2006) examined severity and chronicity as measured by students' scores on an empirically validated presenting problem inventory. The severity and chronicity that clients in a national sample reported for depression were greater in the more recent 1997 clinical sample than in the older 1991 clinical sample, providing some evidence that the severity and chronicity of college students' presenting problems are increasing over time. Using random sampling methods with over 80,000 college students as participants, the National College Health Assessment, which is sponsored by the American College Health Association (ACHA; 2008), found that 9% had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. In a national sample of over 28,000 college counseling center clients, the Center for the Study of Collegiate Mental Health (2009) found that 8% of these students had made a suicide attempt and 21% had engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury. In a National College Health Assessment survey (ACHA, 2008), approximately 15% of students indicated that they had been diagnosed with depression; this is a 50% increase since 2000 when 10% of students reported depression. In 2008, 36% of depressed students were currently prescribed medications, 24% were in therapy, and 32% had been diagnosed only within the last school year. Unfortunately, not all students with mental health problems will seek help. Eisenberg, Downs, Golberstein, and Zivin (2009) found that students who were male, younger, Asian, international, more religious, or from a poor family reported greater personal stigma surrounding mental health problems. They also found that personal stigma was significantly associated with several measures of lower help seeking, such as perceived need and use of psychotropic medication, therapy, and nonclinical sources of support. Several researchers have shown that psychological distress is correlated with academic problems, poor adaptation to college, and alcohol abuse (ACHA, 2008; DeStefano, Mellott, & Petersen, 2001; LaBrie, Kenney, Lac, Garcia, & Ferraiolo, 2009). Furthermore, student mental health problems can be detrimental not only to the individual student but also to the campus community. …

This article describes efforts to increase faculty involvement in suicide prevention and mental health promotion via curriculum infusion. The participants were faculty, staff, and 659 students enrolled in classes of a large eastern university from Fall 2007–Spring 2011. Counselors, health educators, and medical providers recruited faculty from a variety of disciplines to develop mental health promotion programs in their courses. This article describes seven such collaborations, illustrating how faculty was able to encourage students to see connections between their academic content and real world college experience, and the implications for mental health. As a result of these collaborations, faculty had a deeper understanding of mental health issues and resources on campus and an appreciation for the opportunity to collaborate in novel ways. After curriculum infusion was introduced to the campus faculty referrals to counseling did not noticeably increase, but there was increased faculty engagement in ment...

Counseling center utilization patterns during a 2-year period for 218 international and 222 U.S. college students were examined. Significant between-group differences were found with regard to age, academic status, referral source, relationship status, self-reported concerns, counselor diagnosis, disposition, hospitalization rates, prior counseling experience, and use of crisis appointments. Significant within-group differences among international students were also found. Implications for improving programs and clinical services are discussed.

Although group work is an often advocated treatment modality (Corey, 2000; Corey & Corey, 2002; Yalom, 1995), many college counseling centers are challenged with filling their groups each semester. Factors contributing to this difficulty include client resistance to participating in group treatment, staff reluctance to suggest group work as a preferred treatment modality, and ineffective group formats and marketing of groups across campus. This article addresses these factors and makes recommendations in an effort to maximize the utility of group work as a vehicle for treatment in college counseling centers.

Client sex, intake counselor sex, intake counselor experience, and client counseling history significantly predicted disclosure of violence experiences. Counselor sex, counselor experience, and client's experience with counseling predicted intake disposition. Predictors for disposition at termination were number of sessions attended, counselor sex, and counselor experience. Implications for counseling center settings are discussed. ********** Interpersonal violence victimization such as rape, childhood sexual abuse, or physical abuse can be a life-altering experience. In the college population, childhood and adolescent experiences of sexual assault have been shown to be associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and the increased likelihood of being revictimized in adulthood for women (Gidycz, Hanson, & Layman, 1995). Clients at a university counseling center who reported physical, sexual, or emotional abuse have been found to be more depressed, to be more symptomatic, and to score higher on the Borderline Personality Scale of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory than were nonabused clients (Braver, Bumberry, Green, & Rawson, 1992). In another study of university students, Duane, Stewart, and Bridgeland (1997) found that promiscuity, attempted suicide, involvement in juvenile crime, and perpetration of sexual assault were reported more frequently by participants who had been sexually abused as children than by those who had not been. Only recently have studies focused on the victimization of both college men and women. Results of this research suggest that women are more likely than men to be sexually victimized and that the prevalence of physical victimization is similar for men and women (Duane et al., 1997; Sandberg, Jackson, & Petretic-Jackson, 1987; Worth, Matthews, & Coleman, 1990). The task of responding to the needs of students who are survivors of such violence presents many challenges for university counseling centers. For the past decade, many researchers have noted increases not only in the number of students seeking assistance with serious issues but also in the severity of the concerns presented (Bishop, 1990; Gallagher, 2000; Magoon, 1989). Stone and Archer (1990) noted that physical and sexual violence are among the concerns increasingly being reported. The greater demand for counseling center services caused by these student concerns has led many centers to grapple with how best to allocate already limited resources. In a study of 42 counseling centers with internship training programs accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), 81% had adopted a policy of limiting the number of client sessions, with a median of 12 sessions (Lawe, Penick, Raskin, & Raymond, 1999). The average rate of referral for services outside the university among participating centers was 16%. Gilbert (1992) stressed the importance of counseling centers clearly articulating their mission and honoring the ethical obligation of knowing the limitations of services they can provide. With the increase both in demand for services and the severity of symptoms, it is critical that counseling centers screen for experiences of victimization among clients in order to engage in informed decision making regarding disposition of services. Previous research suggests that the sex of the counselor may be relevant to the issue of disclosure on the part of clients. However, some studies have found that male counselors felt more discomfort around, and provided significantly more avoidance responses to, the issues of sexual victimization (Courtois, 1988; Latts & Gelso, 1995). Adams and Betz (1993) also reported that male counselors held a narrower view of incest than did female counselors, were more likely to believe that incest claims may be fantasy, and were less optimistic that the survivor could overcome the problem. The purpose of this study was to explore the current impact of interpersonal violence on college counseling centers and their clients. …

This study examined college students' attitudes about group counseling and created a reliable instrument for measuring those attitudes Results indicated that perceptions of counselor behavior did affect clients' intent to learn more about group counseling but did not affect clients' attitudes about it. Contrary to expectations, clients held neutral to positive attitudes rather than negative attitudes Gender differences in attitudes about group work were also reported. Implications for more effectively addressing students' reservations about group counseling are made based on the findings.

For graduate students in counseling and clinical psychology, the predoctoral internship represents one of last opportunities to obtain extensive supervision and training. Articles concerning the predoctoral internship application process have focused a great deal on how prospective interns can evaluate and select internship sites (Grace, 1985; Kurz, Fuchs, Dabek, Kurtz, & Helfrich, 1982). Generally, a brief overview of each step in the application process is given, from gathering information about specific internship programs to what to do if the applicant receives no offers on the notification day (Belar & Orgel, 1980; Brill, Wolkin, & McKeel, 1985). Although this approach helps applicants anticipate what to expect at various stages of the process, the focus is more on style than substance. Regardless of the type of internship setting, applicants are generally required to provide basic information about their education, clinical experience, teaching, affiliation with professional organizations, and research experience (Casey Jacob, 1987). However, it is also important to focus attention on how an application can be strengthened by going beyond the basics. This article provides an in-depth discussion of how increasing the substantive information in the written application can influence how an applicant is perceived by the internship site. The absence of a thorough and informative written application may make time spent gathering information about the internship site or preparing for the interview