On-Site Counselling & College Student Mental Health

Context: Our Students and Their Challenges

CMHA Statistics

• 20% of Canadians will suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives

• Mental/psychological disability is the most commonly reported disability for Canadians aged 15 to 24

• Suicide accounts for 24% of deaths for individuals 15-24 years of age, and 16% of deaths for those 25-44 years of age(Canadian Mental Health Association, 2014).

• Half of all lifetime cases of diagnosable mental illness start by 14 years of and 75% by 24 years of age.

• 17% of Canadians, 15 years of age and older, expressed a need for mental health care in the preceding 12 months. Counselling was the most common need cited by this group.

(Statistics Canada, 2012).

Economic Impact of Mental Illness

• Mood and anxiety disorders are most common – affecting 12% of the Canadian population – the highest rates are among 20-30 year olds.

• Cost of at least $50 billion per year in providing treatment, care and support services

• It is estimated that with prevention and early intervention efforts, incidence of mental illness could be reduced by 10% resulting in a $4 billion cost savings.

Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada” Mental Health Commission of Canada Report.(2013) http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/system/files/private/document/Investing_in_Mental_Health_FINAL_Version_ENG.pdf

Research related to College Students and Mental health

• Student emotional health is related to academic performance and

retention. (Gerdes, H. & Mallinckrodt, B.., 1994; Pritchard, & Wilson, 2003; Van Brunt, 2008).

• Students with mental health issues and disabilities are at greater risk for non-completion of their studies. (O’Keefe, P., 2013)

• Perception of an institutions ability to support the emotional and mental health needs of students impacts enrollment (O’Keefe, P., 2013)

• Counselling offers students professional assistance with the various issues that, if left unaddressed, might lead them to withdraw from school. (Van Brunt, 2008).

Canadian Post-Secondary Student Survey: Student Responses regarding the Preceding 12 months

• “Felt things were hopeless” = 53.8%

• “Felt so depressed that it was difficult to function” = 37.5%

• “Felt overwhelming anxiety” = 56.5%

• “Felt overwhelming anger” = 42.2%

• “Seriously considered suicide” = 9.55

• “Attempted suicide” = 1.3%

• “Intentionally cut, burned bruised or otherwise injured yourself” = 6.6%

(American College Health Association, Spring 2013)

Canadian Post-Secondary Student Survey: Traumatic or “Difficult to Handle” events in the Preceding 12 months

Types of Issues indicated:

• Academics

• Career-related issue

• Death of Family Member or Friend

• Family Problems

• Intimate Relationships

• Other Social Relationships

• Finances

• Health problem of family member or partner

• Personal Appearance

• Personal Health Issue

• Sleep Difficulties

• Other

80.8% of students indicated they were dealing with one or more of these issues

(American College Health Association, Spring 2013)

Reasons Students Withdraw

55%

20%

15%

10%

Personal ProblemsChange of ProgramEconomic/Health Other

Source: James D.A. Parker, Canada Research Chair in Emotion and Health, Trent University

On-Site Counselling Services

Functions of College Counselling Services

• To offer direct counselling interventions to students who are facing challenges (i.e., personal, academic, career, disability-related) that are interfering with their academic functioning

• Additionally services may include some or all of the following:• Providing outreach and consultation services to students, faculty, support staff and specific

incoming student groups (e.g., Crown Wards, First Gen, Aboriginal Students, International, 2nd Career, WSIB etc.)

• Crisis response and assessment

• Guest lecturing

• Supervising counselling interns

• Conducting research and implementing evidence based strategies to support student success

Post-Secondary Counselling Centres Provide Students Access to Mental

Health Professionals Who:• Have at minimum Master’s level

credentials in counselling, psychotherapy or a related field

• Belong to or will belong to* a regulated health profession that allows access to the controlled act of psychotherapy (e.g.,., psychotherapists, social workers, psychologists)

• Participate in ongoing professional development

• Adhere to OCC Ethics and Standards of Practice as well as those of their regulated health professions and professional associations

• Provide seamless and timely access to one-stop counselling regarding personal, mental health, academic, disability, learning and career issues

• Are knowledgeable about internal college systems and are able to effectively advocate and work with faculty, Financial Aid, Registrar’s Office, etc. for the best interests of the student

• Are familiar with community resources and make referrals where appropriate

The Research on College Counselling

Services and Retention

• Students who received counselling for psychosocial issues demonstrated a 14% higher retention rate than non-counselled students (Wilson, Mason, & Ewing, 1997)

• The graduation rate of college counselling centre clients exceeded non-client rates by 10%-28% per year with an aggregate difference of 19%. (Jenkins, 1996).

• The retention rate for students who received college counselling services was 75% versus a rate of 65% for those who did not receive the service. (Illovsky, 1997)

Research continued…

• Over a 6 years period the average retention rate for college students who received counselling was 85.2% compared to a rate of 73.8% for students who did not use the service. (Turner & Berry, 2000)

• Having a counselling experience in college was significantly related to student retention as measured by registration in the third semester. (Donghyuck, Olson, Locke, Michelson, & Odes, 2011)

Research…from Fanshawe College

• First-year students who engaged in personal counselling regarding psychosocial, career, and/or academic issues had a 6.2% higher retention rate than that of the first-year student population as a whole.

• Among this group of college counselling clients, who obtained personal counselling for psychosocial issues specifically, a 7.6% higher retention rate was observed, when compared to that of the first year student population.

(Porter, 2011).

With that Said…the Best Interests of the Student Always Comes First

• “Retention data should not be the sole means of evaluating counseling services… not all retention is desirable, and there may be instances when it is best for students to withdraw… effective college counseling entails not only ensuring the well-being of students so they can remain in school but also assisting some students with emotional problems to leave school.” (Sharkin, 2004)

Other factors to consider…

College counselling centres play a key role in:Recruitment

• More students are coming to college with a history of mental illness and the adjustment stressors associated with beginning post-secondary can exacerbate these challenges. Thus when choosing a post-secondary institution, students and their families are more attuned to the availability of on-site counselling services

Risk-Management• College counsellors are often involved as the front line immediate response to students who are

experiencing crises that could place the student themselves and/or others at risk.• At an institutional level, college counsellors are a valuable resource for assisting with threat

assessment, institutional critical incident planning and as a mobile team for addressing localized and large scale tragedies that might impact our students

(Bishop, 2010).

In Summary

College counselling centres:

• Play a key role in student success and retention.

• Provide access to mental health professionals who not only can provide counselling, but also have an in-depth knowledge of college and community systems/processes and can assist students in accessing (and/or can advocate for) a variety of other supports and services (e.g., financial, academic, disability related, medical, program-specific) to help students remain safe and work towards wellness and academic success. In addition, college counsellors have specialized knowledge of issues dealt with by specific student populations such as International students, Second Career, WSIB, Crown Wards, etc.

Discussion

• Ideas for future research projects...

References

• American College Health Association. (2013). American College Health Association- National College Health Assessment II: Canadian Reference Group Executive Summary Spring 2013. Hanover, MD: American College Health Association.

• Bishop, J.B., (2010). The Counseling Center: An undervalued resource in recruitment, retention, and risk management. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 24: 248-260.

• Canadian Mental Health Association. (2014). Fast facts about mental illness. Retrieved May 30, 2014, from http://www.cmha.ca/media/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/

• Donghyuck, L., Olson, E.A., Locke, B., Michelson, S. T. & Odes, E. (2011) The effects of college counseling services on academic performance and retention. Journal of College Student Development, 50(3), 305-319.

• Gerdes, H., Mallinckrodt, B. (1994) Emotional, social, and academic adjustment of college students: a longitudinal study of retention. Journal of Counseling & Development, 72, 281-288.

• Illovsky, M.E. (1997). Effects of counseling on grades and retention. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 12(1), 29-44.

• Jenkins, J. M. (1996). Retention and the College Counseling Center: Good news for Berry College. Visions 4(2), 12-13.

• Kessler, R.C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R. & Walters, E.E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age of onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 593-602.

• O’Keeffe, P. (2013) A sense of belonging: Improving student retention. College Student Journal, 47(4), 605-613.

• Porter, S. (2011). Personal counselling at an Ontario Community College: Client groups, service usage and retention. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 45(3), 208-219.

• Pritchard, M.E. & Wilson, G.S. (2003). Using emotional and social factors to predict student success. Journal of College Student Development, 44(1), 18-28

• Sharkin, B. (2004). College counseling and student retention: Research findings and implications for counseling centers. Journal of College Counselling, 7, 99-108.

• Statistics Canada (2012). Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2014 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130918/dq130918a-eng.htm

• Turner, A.L. & Berry, T.R. (2000). Counseling center contributions to student retention and graduation: A longitudinal assessment. Journal of College Student Development, 41(6), 627-636.

• Van Brunt, B. (2008). Retention can college counseling centers. Recruitment and Retention in Higher Education, 22(5), 1-3.

• Wilson, S.B., Mason, T.W. & Ewing, M. J. (1997). Evaluating the impact of receiving university-based counseling on student retention. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44(3), 316-320