Public Scrutiny in a Time of Change: What Counseling Centers Need from our Organizations

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Public Scrutiny in a Time of Change What
Counseling Centers Need from our Organizations!

• Tom Seals, Emeritus, University of Illinois
• Chris Brownson, Ph.D., University of Texas at
  Austin
• Louise A. Douce, Ph.D.,The Ohio State University
• Todd Sevig, PhD., University of Michigan
• Gregory T. Eells, Ph.D., Cornell University

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Outline

• I. Introduction -Tom
• II. ACHA, HEMHA, Research Consortium-Chris
• III. APA-Louise
• IV. CCAPS/ACPA-Todd
• V. AUCCCD NASPA- Greg
• VI. Discussion
• VII. Conclusion-Tom

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The Higher Education Mental Health Alliance and
the Research Consortium

• Chris Brownson, Ph.D.,
• University of Texas at Austin
• cbrownson_at_austin.utexas.edu

The University of Texas at Austin The Division of
Student Affairs
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Background and History of Higher Education Mental
Health Alliance

• Presidential Initiative of Lesley Sacher,
  president of Am Coll Hlth Assoc
• Need for such an alliance
• First meeting in February 2008 (Baltimore)
• (backdrop of counseling center
  legislation)
• Second meeting in September 2008 (Philly)

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THE ALLIANCEAn Inter-Association Partnership

• The American College Counseling Association
  (ACCA)
• The American College Health Association (ACHA)
• The American College Personnel Association (ACPA)
  
• The American Psychiatric Association (APA)
• The American Psychiatric Nurses Association
  (APNA)
• The American Psychological Association (APA)
• The Association for University and College
  Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD)
• The Jed Foundation (JED)
• The National Association of Student Personnel
  Administrators (NASPA)

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Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA)

• MISSION
• To provide leadership through a partnership of
  organizations to advance college mental health.
• PURPOSE
• The Alliance affirms that the issue of college
  mental health is central to student success, and
  therefore is the responsibility of higher
  education.

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Accordingly, The Alliance will provide leadership
to

• Think about college mental health issues at a
  strategic level
• Identify and share mental health resources
• Promote full community engagement in the mental
  health continuum of care
• Define the role of advocacy in college mental
  health
• Support and disseminate evidenced-based practice

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ORGANIZATIONAL CONCEPT

• Leadership (chair, host, past chair)
• Member Organization Representation
• Annual Meetings of the Alliance

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Member Organization Representation

• Each member organization provides at least one
  (1), but not more than three (3) Liaisons to
  represent the member organization
• Each member organization determines its own
  internal process on how to appoint Liaison(s),
  how long they serve, etc. (3 year continuity is
  desired)
• Liaison(s) will
• Contribute their organizations perspectives to
  The Alliance
• Provide continuity in perspective over time
• In cases where there is only one (1) Liaison,
  ensure alternate/proxy representation from the
  organization when unable to attend
• Secure internal organizational or other support
  to fund their travel
• Secure internal organizational decision-making on
  issues emanating from The Alliance

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Annual Meetings of the Alliance

• Annual Meetings will rotate between the annual
  conferences of the professional organization
  members
• The next annual meeting will be May 29, 2009 in
  San Francisco, hosted by ACHA
• The second meeting in 2010 may possibly be in
  Chicago at NASPA (to be confirmed)
• Future annual meetings will not be on a
  pre-determined rotating basis, but rather
  determined by the members of The Alliance based
  on location and calendar spacing of the meetings
• Some organizations are not able to host due to
  size, finances, etc those organizations can
  partner and pool resources when it is their turn
  to host

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What Does the Research Consortium Give Us ?

• A body of research that defines college mental
  health as a specialty area
• Campus level data
• National data to help us develop new models, best
  practices, inform policy, etc.?
• Exposure to raise awareness about college mental
  health issues (we control the message)

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Media Outlets for Suicide Study
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NEXT STEPS At the conclusion of the Philadelphia
meeting, Liaisons have the following
responsibilities

• Once The Alliance approves the letterhead, logo,
  mission, purpose, and organizational concept,
  each organizations leadership must sign off to
  become a Charter Member of the Higher Education
  Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA).
• The leadership of each organization must also
  agree to the funding of yearly travel for
  Liaison(s) and to host an annual meeting at some
  point.
• Each organization must decide who to appoint as
  liaison(s) and for what term.
• Each organization must submit the next four
  annual meeting locations and dates.
• Each organization must provide the total number
  of members that it represents (for future
  aggregating purposes so as to determine the
  potential scope/breadth of The Alliance).
• Each organization must get approval from its
  organizational leadership about whether it
  supports the Durbin Legislation (S.3311 - Mental
  Health on Campus Improvement Act).
• (All information above to be submitted to the
  ACHA Executive Office pjcrone_at_acha.org
  templates to be provided.)

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How Does APA Support Us ?

• Louise A. Douce, Ph.D.
• The Ohio State University

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APA Mission Draft

• The mission of the APA is to advance the
  creation, communication, and application of
  psychological knowledge to benefit society and
  improve peoples lives.

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APA Structure

• Four Directorates
• Practice
• Education
• Public Interest
• Science
• Council of Representatives
• Boards and Committees

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Practice Directorate

• The Practice Directorate engages in a broad range
  of activities on behalf of practicing
  psychologists and health care consumers
• Virtually every Practice Directorate activity is
  intended to deal with issues, problems and
  opportunities regarding the fast changing
• health care delivery system.
• four interrelated initiativeslegislative
  advocacy, legal and regulatory strategies,
  marketplace activities, and public education

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Education Directorate

• To advance education and training in psychology
  and the application of psychology to education
  and training.
• Enhancing the quality of teaching and learning
  outcomes at all levels of education and training,
  
• Meeting the demands of the changing demographics
  in a multicultural society through education and
  training, and
• Increasing the level and availability of
  financial and public policy support for education
  and training.

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Public Interest Directorate

• supports and promotes efforts to apply the
  science and profession of psychology to the
  advancement of health, education and human
  welfare
• solutions to the fundamental problems of human
  justice and equitable and fair treatment of all
  segments of society
• advance equal opportunity and to foster
  empowerment of those who do not share equitably
  in society's resources

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Society of Counseling Psychology APA Division 17

• founded in 1946 to promote personal, educational,
  vocational, and group adjustment in a variety of
  settings.
• Twelve Sections including Section on University
  College Counseling Centers
• Traci Callandrillo, PhD Counseling and Testing
  American University

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Section on University and College Counseling
Centers

• goals address a variety of domains, including
  counseling center research, training of future
  psychologists, individual and group treatment of
  students, assessment in student populations,
  consulting with faculty and staff, outreach
  programming to campus communities, and
  administrative issues.

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Biggest Voice on Public Scene

• Campus Care Act Emil Rodolfa
• Senate Testimony
• FERPA Consultation
• VA Law Consultation

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How Have We Gained ?

• SAMHSA Grants
• Durbin Bill
• GPE Grants
• Powerful support for ethical climate issues

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Hot Button Issues

• Practice Assessment
• What do we get ?
• Education Trust
• Why should we give more ?
• Federal Advocacy
• Should we be in this game ?

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The Value and Role of The Commission for
Counseling Psychological Services within the
American College Personnel Association

• Todd Sevig
• University of Michigan

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What is CCAPS?

• ACPA'S Commission for Counseling and
  Psychological Services provides a home for
  professionals and graduate students who are
  interested and involved in counseling and
  psychological services in higher education.
• Membership in ACPA provides a subscription to
  the Journal of College Student Development, an
  invitation to participate in annual conventions
  and placement opportunities, and representation
  on legislative matters that affect our
  profession.

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Mission Goals of Commission

• Mission
• Our mission is to maintain the voice of helping
  professionals focused on serving college and
  university students in a mental health setting.
• Goals
• Promoting the aims and values of human
  development in community colleges, colleges, and
  universities.
• Providing a forum and place for the
  exchange of ideas, innovations, research, and
  standards.
• Increasing the representative voice of
  those traditionally underserved and ignored in
  society.
• Encouraging interaction, support, and
  networking among all student affairs
  professionals .
• Providing an opportunity for mental health
  professionals to become involved in participatory
  leadership.

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Mentoring

• The goal of the mentoring program is to match
  seasoned professionals in college and university
  counseling centers with graduate students and new
  professionals making their way in the field of
  higher education and counseling.
• Our aim is to provide ongoing service to members
  by assisting graduate students and new
  professionals in their growth and development,
  and offering a way for veterans to provide
  service to their profession.
• One of the primary initiatives is to attract and
  retain graduate students and new professionals in
  the field of counseling and psychological
  services on college and university campuses.

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Other Resources Functions

• Counseling Center Village
• Job Search Support
• Networking

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Strategic Task Force Report

• At the end of the 2004 National Convention,
  Commission Chair Stacey Pearson charged a
  taskforce to help the Commission move forward and
  to think about recommendations to help the
  Commission move forward. This charge involved
  the following goals
•  
• To increase stability
• To develop a long term vision
• To increase presence and voice
• To understand better the growth edges
• To develop recommendations to address the growth
  edges

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Results Satisfaction

• Networking opportunities/Collegiality/Connection
  with profession
• Like the programs offered at convention
• Newsletter/listserve
• Professional home
• CE credits

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Results Dissatisfaction

• Commission has not represented counseling centers
  at a national level
• Attendance is dwindling
• Programming is largely this is what we do at our
  center vs. empirically based programs
• Feel I have outgrown commission
• Lack of diversity
• At times, it feels there is an inner circle
• Inconsistent visibility within ACPA
• Other groups are more relevant to my worklife
• Would like to see more time devoted to discuss
  pertinent counseling center issues

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Results Barriers to Membership

• Cost of being member of several organizations
• Dont know how to join
• Not aware of this organization
• Dont know much about it
• Unsure what the benefits are of being a member
• Member of other national organizations due to my
  role in counseling center

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Results Activities Desired

• Venue in which research, publications could be
  presented
• More programs within ACPA convention
• Regional workshops with specific focus
• Monographs on timely issues
• Increased frequency of newsletter
• Better malpractice insurance policy

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Results Overlap

• lack of clarity when comparing with other
  national organizations -- not sure why it's a
  good thing compared to other organizations
• competition from other national organizations
  not enough time/energy/money to attend all
• establishing a clear identity (or niche) within
  the array of professional organizations

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Recommendations from Report

• Increase our efforts at linking with other
  national organizations. Increase efforts at
  establishing a national presence regarding
  college student mental health and counseling
  center professional issues.
• Establish more of a research presence, both
  within the ACPA convention (poster sessions
  symposium), and throughout the year via
  publications.
• Identify the uniqueness of commission strengths
  and implement a massive PR campaign. Many
  respondents communicated they didnt really know
  what the commission is all about. These efforts
  will also help situate the commission in
  relation to other counseling center professional
  organizations.

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Challenges/Hot Button issues

• ACPA/Commission has a reputation of largely being
  for young professionals
• The Commission changed when placement dropped off
• The Commission continues to refine what its
  unique role is within higher education
• The Commission continues to refine what its
  unique role is within college student mental
  health

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Strengths

• ACPA/Commission is very diverse and focuses on
  diversity intentionally
• ACPA is a strong voice within higher education
• Commission is a strong partner in the counseling
  center profession and has renewed emphasis on
  establishing strategic partnerships
• Commission provides a venue for exposure to the
  wide range of student affairs work/functions

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Mission of AUCCCD and Relationships with NASPA

• Gregory T. Eells, Ph.D.
• Cornell University

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Who are we as AUCCCD?
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Who are we as AUCCCD?

• We are the only professional organization focused
  solely on four year college and university
  student mental health and counseling services.
• All other organizations are larger, have other
  emphases and various focuses.

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Mission

• Assist directors of counseling services in
  providing effective leadership and management of
  their centers, in accord with the professional
  principles and standards.
• Promotes the awareness of college student mental
  health through research, treatment, education,
  and training.
• Special attention to issues of diversity and
  multiculturalism.

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Mission

• Approximately 650 member institutions
• Member staff size ranges from 1 to 45 mental
  health professionals
• Member institutions provide counseling to
  approximately 10 of students at respective
  institutions.
• Provided over one million therapy sessions last
  year.

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Tensions

• To continue to grow as a dynamic international
  organization while not losing our core mission.
• To continue to meet members needs while asking
  for more involvement and participation from
  members.
• To be an organization with connections to other
  organizations with similar interests while
  continuing to provide a sacred space for
  directors.
• Appointed Board liaisons to many of these groups.

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NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators)

• 11,000 members (many if not most of our bosses)
• 1,400 campuses, and representing 29 countries

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NASPA Initiatives

• All AUCCCD members were sent a copy of the
  September Issue Leadership Exchange.
• AUCCCD members telling their stories. Articles on
  outreach, working with difficult students, the
  AUCCCD survey, college students and technology
  etc..
• Joint Mental Health Conference-5th annual
  conference.
• AUCCCD is a co-sponsor involved in planning and
  program selection. Our membership has been
  well-represented at this conference.

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NASPA Initiatives

• Enough is Enough Campaign- Campaign co-chaired by
  VPs at NIU and Va. Tech to reduce violence on
  campus and in our society. Just participated in
  October 1st.
• AUCCCD Board Presentations at NASPA in March- One
  presentation will discuss legal and ethical
  issues with a focus on the importance of
  confidentiality. The other will summarize
  highlights from the recent AUCCCD survey.

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Conclusion

• We are at the table
• We have been represented on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS,
  before Congress and about every print media you
  can think of.
• How do we want to proceed and use this time to
  meet our needs as an organization?