Outreach Spans Beyond the Campus for College Counseling Centers

Across the nation, for several years, college counseling centers have been seeing a more serious escalation of students in crisis, according to Carol Yoken, director of the Counseling Center at UC. In part, that may be because educational opportunities are more available for the nation’s diverse population of college students, ranging from the traditional high school graduate to older adults re-marketing themselves into new careers, from the first-generation college student to a student coping with mental health issues through medication and support. “We have many students juggling school and taking care of their own children, as well as working full-time jobs,” says Yoken.

The Counseling Center at UC provides direct counseling and urgent care services, as well as training and consultation for faculty, staff, family and friends who could notice a student in distress. The Counseling Center at UC also provides outreach – workshops and programs that can be tailored to classroom presentations or student organizations and events. Yoken says that at UC, a large school with a large commuter population, on-line screening for mental health difficulties is proving more popular than screening in the student center on designated national screening days.

“There is a growing trend among counseling centers in gatekeeper training – particularly for faculty and staff – in approaching a student who appears to be struggling, and asking if things are going okay and pointing the student to resources to get help. Our consultations provide education about signs of distress and how to approach a student and direct the student to available resources.” Yoken says, “Gatekeeper training helps people feel more comfortable asking the ‘S’-word: ‘Are you having thoughts of suicide?’”

Yoken is also working on the state level in exploring ways for university counseling centers to collaborate with community mental health agencies to educate and train communities on delivering psychological first aid in the wake of a disaster. Yoken says the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) and the Ohio Board of Regents have actively promoted the adaptation of materials for training lay people in psychological first aid. The university linkages committee of ODMH has produced a manual, in its draft stages, titled, “Psychological First Aid: A Guide for Responding to Emergencies at Colleges and Universities.” The manual, posted on the ODMH Web site, prepares faculty, staff, students and the local community on how to assist others after a disaster such as a shooting, bus accident, earthquake or flood, Yoken says.

Yoken adds that similar training will take place at the University of Cincinnati as early as summer. The training covers core actions to connect with people, provide safety and comfort, stabilize, offer practical assistance, provide education about coping and point people to resources. It does not require a specific professional background, Yoken says.

“Previously, college counseling professionals were focused on prevention and treatment. The importance of post-vention efforts are now just being understood.

“In the aftermath of tragedies like Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, college counseling centers are expanding their services,” says Yoken. “The State of Ohio is at the forefront in promoting psychological first aid at colleges and universities, and in encouraging partnerships between institutions of higher learning and local mental health service providers.”

Columbine Tragedy Impact Still Strong 10 Years Later