Spring 07 Newsletter.pdf - Google Drive

SOCIETY OF COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY ~ SECTION ON COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTERS

SCUCC Newsletter Section on College and University Counseling Centers Volume 3, Issue 1

Inside this issue:

From the SCUCC Chair...

From the SCUCC 1 Chair

Karen Settle, Ph.D. Counseling and Testing Center Southern Methodist University

From the SCUCC 1 Chair-Elect Guidelines for the 3 Use of the SCUCC Listserv for Research Purposes 4 Proper Client Preparation: A Key to Successful Group Programs Dealing with Massive Campus Trauma: How Virginia Tech’s Counseling Center Responded

6

SCUCC Election Results and Officers

8

APA Conference Information

9

Upcoming National Conferences

10

SCUCC Membership Application

11

I hope everyone is having a good year and enjoying a restful summer! Thanks to all who provided feedback for Michael Duffy to take to the Committee on Karen Settle Professional Practice (CAPP) meeting earlier this winter. CAPP meets four times a year, and a portion of this meeting was devoted to discussing issues involving the practice of psychology in college and university counseling centers. Our issues were heard and APA is making more of an effort to meet our extended hand with theirs. In fact, I was able to substitute for

Spring 2007

Michael at the April, 2007 Integration Group (IG) and CAPP meetings. While there, I had the opportunity to make a presentation to the IG where part of my talk focused on the scope of care that college and university counseling centers typically provide as well as some of the ways that APA could help advocate for us. The case was also made for having Division 17 representation in their group. Finally, the opportunity arose to have some one-onone time with Russ Newman, and he was very responsive to our needs. I would appreciate feedback from our membership as to what you see as ways APA can assist us in the increasingly difficult work that we do. I mentioned at the IG meeting and informally some of the challenges we are facing following the Virginia Tech shootings (e.g., more outreach/ (Continued on page 2)

From the SCUCC Chair-Elect... Traci E. Callandrillo, Ph.D. Counseling Center American University

I hope that this newsletter finds many of you enjoying a relatively slower time at your center! For many of us, the summer is a time to reflect on our work as college mental health Traci Callandrillo professionals, and take a deeper breath before the start of the next long academic year. We also have

more energy to devote to our own learning and professional development, and, to that end, I want to especially encourage you to consider attending this year’s APA Annual Convention in San Francisco. Each year the contributions of counseling center psychologists continue to grow, and our Section’s sponsored symposium is sure to be a highlight. Entitled “Group Counseling Interventions in University Counseling Centers-Innovations and Challenges,” the program will be in room 2005 of the Moscone Center on Monday August 20, 9:00 to 9:50 am. The symposium will showcase three (Continued on page 3)

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SCUCC Chair (Continued from page 1)

consultation to our campuses, participation on threat assessment teams, receiving more training in forensic psychology). Hopefully, we can spend some time at our convention roundtable session discussing these issues. Please let me know if you are interested in becoming more involved both in our section as well as in the larger association of APA. Along that line of thought, I want to encourage everyone to come to APA in San Francisco this August. We are again sponsoring a symposium (see Traci Callandrillo’s article) and planning to have a section luncheon, roundtable discussion, and business meeting in the Division 17 suite (see details on page 9). Don’t forget to come to our section-sponsored functions to more fully participate in your profession. I continue to be impressed by the talent and warmth of individuals in the section. Also in the not too distant future is the “2008 International Counseling Psychology Conference Creating the Future: Counseling Psychology in a Changing World” which is scheduled from March 6-9, 2008, in Chicago. There will be preconference sessions on the 5th, and I’m happy to announce that our section is partnering with the Section on Positive Psychology for a half-day session that afternoon. The ideas are still developing

on the content of this session but it will include a didactic and interactive format. The outcome of this pre-conference session should be the development of best practices for strength-based approaches to clinical practice, supervision, and outreach. Finally, I want everyone in the Section to be aware of a newly published book edited and partially written by our Past Chair, Sherry Benton. The book, College Student Mental Health: Effective Services and Strategies Across Campus, is an edited book with chapters authored by professionals from different areas of student services addressing important issues in college student mental health from the perspective of their service area. Chapters cover comprehensive administrative views, legal perspectives, counseling centers, health centers, offices for students with disabilities, faculty, and issues for diverse student groups. The book is available through NASPA's web site at http://207.97.193.139/index.asp? PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=30. The NASPA web site states, “College Student Mental Health is a must-read for both administrators and faculty who seek to improve the overall success of students with mental health needs.” See you in San Francisco!! Karen Settle can be contacted at: [email protected]

Interested in Contributing to the SCUCC Newsletter? We welcome your ideas and input! The topic areas are open, as long as the focus applies to college and university counseling center work. Articles should be 500-700 words in length. If you have any questions or want to submit an article, please contact Larry Marks at [email protected]. SCUCC Newsletter Editor Larry Marks, Ph.D. Counseling Center University of Central Florida

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SCUCC Chair-Elect (Continued from page 1)

cutting edge group interventions and promises to give counseling center professionals another opportunity to expand our creativity and think about group therapy interventions, always a popular topic. I would like to also take this opportunity to recognize the very hard work and wonderful leadership of our Section Chair for this past year, Dr. Karen Settle. Dr. Settle has been an integral part of the progress our section has made with respect to our goal of representation in the decision-making structures of APA. She has also facilitated the planning for our involvement in the upcoming 2008 International Counseling Psychology Conference, and the quality of our programming and depth of involvement throughout the conference planning is a reflection of her action and commitment to our section. On a personal note, she has been a great role model as Chair, and has set me up well to follow her lead. Thank you, Karen, for all that you have done for this section! I hope that the rest of the summer continues to be restorative for all of you, and I will look forward to seeing many of you in San Francisco. Traci Callandrillo can be contacted at [email protected]

Guidelines for the Use of the SCUCC Listserv for Research Purposes The Division 17 Section on College and University Counseling Centers’ listserv offers Section members a vehicle for communicating and discussing professional issues, SCUCC business and member news. Members may use the listserv informally to request information related to professional issues, general counseling center concerns and Section activities. Researchers wishing to use the SCUCC listserv for research and data-gathering must be members of the Section. Researchers will need to obtain prior approval from the SCUCC Research Committee Chair and/ or Research Review Team before using the listserv to conduct formal surveys and/or gather research data. Requests for using the listserv for these purposes should be sent to the Section Research Committee Chair and should include the following for evaluation: 1. Description of the research and its relevance to the counseling center field; 2. Copies of all research materials (correspondence, surveys, measures, informed consent forms); 3. Proof of local IRB approval of research project. Web-based research is recommended and should provide a link to a web address where interested participants can access the survey instrument and additional information about the research. For more information, please contact the SCUCC Research Committee Chair, Dr. Nikki Pritchett at [email protected]

International Counseling Psychology Conference March 6-9, 2008 Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Proper Client Preparation: A Key to Successful Group Programs Tim Davis, Ph.D.

Counseling and Psychological Services Indiana University

At IU CAPS we believe that the following points are critical in the preparation of group members:

Building a successful group psychotherapy program at a university counseling center is a challenging endeavor. At Indiana University Health Center’s Counseling and Psychological Service (IU CAPS), we have used interventions at all levels of our organization – clinical staff, administrative Tim Davis staff, and clients – to invigorate our groups program. The results so far have been exciting. In the academic year just ended our group visits are up 109% (from 818 group visits to 1712) versus 2004/05 (the year before we implemented the new program).

Instill faith in the group process. It is important that the clinician be able to convey a genuine enthusiasm about group work. If you truly believe that group work is “second class treatment,” this bias will likely come across to the client in an apologetic referral. Remember, your job is to start making the group attractive to the client. Try to convey excitement to the client about what a great experience group can be! New group clients who feel hopeful about the group are more likely to have a positive experience. We often say something like, “For many clients group therapy is actually more effective that individual therapy. I think this may be the case for you.” There is just no substitute for being able to look a client in the eyes and genuinely say “I really think that group is what’s best for you.”

We have used many strategies to enhance our groups program including addressing our biases against group treatment, streamlining the group referral process, emphasizing training (video recording groups and instituting a “group case conference”), and implementing research on group client satisfaction. We have also implemented new administrative procedures to help our front desk staff manage the increased number of group visits. However, nothing has been more important to our success than our emphasis on thorough preparation of clients for group therapy. Group therapy can be a bewildering and confusing experience if clients are not properly prepared. Groups break many social norms including giving direct feedback on sensitive topics, allowing extended silences, and expressing strong emotions. Unless clients are provided with a conceptual framework for how groups work they can be overwhelmed by the experience. This often results in premature termination or irregular attendance. The importance of group preparation is supported in the literature (France & Dugo, 1985; Furgeri, 2001; Piper & Perrault, 1989; Yalom, 1995). Our emphasis on proper preparation may be one reason behind our 92% rate of kept appointments (vs. 84% for our individual appointments).

Set meaningful interpersonal goals. At IU CAPS we give prospective clients a checklist of many potential group goals in the area of communication, openness, relationship skills, self growth, and decision making. This tool helps clients clarify what they want to work on. It is also important (especially with undergraduates) to help the client translate these goals into concrete in-group behaviors. This can empower clients to begin working in group much sooner because they know exactly what they can do during group sessions to make progress in their goals. For example, someone who wants to decrease her social anxiety might work on that in group by initiating an interaction with another group member at least once during each group meeting. Convey the importance of commitment. Irregular attendance can be toxic to the development of group cohesion. Prospective group members need to clearly understand that joining a group implies that they will be there every week except in the case of an emergency (and studying for an exam is not an emergency).

(Continued on page 5)

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Successful Group Programs (Continued from page 4)

Explain the “how to’s” of doing group. Talk about the most important guidelines for having a productive group experience. This will take some of the mystery out of the process and ease pre-group anxiety. We emphasize the following points: Be as honest as possible. In group, honesty does not mean sharing all of your secrets. It simply means trying to share your thoughts and feelings as they arise during group meetings. Say out loud when you feel excited, scared, frustrated, happy, or confused. Engage your fellow group members. Come to group ready to ask questions of your fellow group members. Say out loud when you notice that someone is withdrawn or defensive (or anything else you notice about the group). When you have a different perspective, try to state that perspective out loud. Take risks. How much you get out of your group experience will depend on how much you are willing to take risks. Group therapy is helpful, in part, because it will provide you with a safe environment in which you can say and do things that you might not be willing to say and do outside of group.

Giving and taking feedback. Sharing how you experience your fellow group members is one of the most helpful things you can do for one another. When you receive feedback from other members look for the merits in their perspective, rather than the flaws. Building a vibrant group program requires interventions at many levels of an agency. However, none of those interventions are more important than thorough preparation of clients for group therapy. References France, D. G., & Dugo, J. M. (1985). Pretherapy orientation as preparation for open psychotherapy groups. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, and Training, 22, 256–261. Furgeri, L. B. (Ed). (2001). The technique of group treatment: The collected papers of Louis R. Ormont. Madison, CT: Psychosocial Press. Piper, W. E. & Perrault, E. E. (1989). Pretherapy preparation for group members. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 39(1), 17-34. Yalom, I. D. (1995). Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy (4th ed.). New York: Basic Books. Tim Davis can be contacted at: [email protected]

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SCUCC Newsletter

Dealing with Massive Campus Trauma: How Virginia Tech’s Counseling Center Responded Bert H. Epstein, Psy.D. Psychological Counseling Services California State University, Sacramento Rita F. Klein, Ph.D. Cook Counseling Center Virginia Tech

After the horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech in April, I (B.E.) thought some of the issues presented in an article on campus crisis response that I wrote for The NASPA Journal (Epstein, 2004) might be in play at Virginia Tech. To learn more I asked Rita F. Klein, Ph.D., Assistant Director and Head of Clinical Services at Virginia Tech’s Cook Counseling Center if she would be willing to participate in an "email interview." She graciously agreed, and the following is a transcript of our email conversation. BE: Following a crisis on campus, counseling resources can be stretched. How did you reorganize your service delivery to accommodate the sudden need for additional kinds of service?

ulty regarding the best way to handle discussions in the classroom on the students’ first day back in class after the shooting. On that first day back we were lucky enough to receive the aid of 275 trained mental health volunteers to go into classrooms to help faculty work with their students. Although this took quite a bit of organizing, it allowed counseling center staff to remain in the center to deal with individual students directly. BE: You likely thought a certain amount and type of response was appropriate. Yet certainly there is pressure from others (administration, parents, community) to do huge amounts of crisis intervention. How did you handle this pressure?

Bert Epstein

Rita Klein

RK: It was a difficult process to stretch our services to all the places we were needed across campus. At all times we needed to make sure that we were available at the counseling center despite the needs across campus. It became a difficult organizational process to always count staff and make sure there were enough in-house. All of our staff were asked to work much longer hours and not take days off initially unless they had an unavoidable commitment. Outside requests needed to be prioritized to make sure we could first provide our services to the students who needed us the most. Continuing appointments were either rescheduled or cut short, depending on student need. New student contacts were triaged as well. We spent quite a bit of time meeting with fac-

RK: The administration, parents and community did expect a great deal of crisis intervention from the Cook Counseling Center at Virginia Tech after the incident. In addition to increased in-house availability, we were expected to send staff throughout the campus to meet perceived student needs. After a short period of time we were able to determine where the needs were greatest and how to best use our resources. We attempted to report back to the administration on this and were mostly able to make adjustments on how best to use our staff. The administration trusted our judgment on this. BE: Was there pressure internally- that members of staff had different ideas about amount and type of response, and if so, how did you work with this? RK: Staff were extremely motivated to help students in what ever ways they could. We attempted to maintain good communication so that all staff understood the reasons for specific responses. As long as staff understood this need and saw evidence of it, we had no difficulty with motivation and effort. Over the weeks that followed the incident staff became more fatigued because of decreased sleep, long hours and intense clinical work. Many would not go home, however, even when that option was given. When it was evident that specific services were less necessary, staff were better able to allow themselves to leave the center. We attempted to ask for volunteers from the staff for services to allow staff that preferred specific services to engage in those. (Continued on page 7)

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Virginia Tech’s Counseling Center Response (Continued from page 6)

BE: There has been controversy about “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.” What type of model did you use to help groups deal with their trauma? Was there pressure to use a CISD model? RK: We did not have any pressure to use any specific model to help groups deal with their trauma. We attempted to match our intervention to the specific needs of the students at that time. Many times we did not prepare an intervention until we were at the requested program. We used a first aid type model, attempting to not open existing wounds any deeper and containing any wounds that were already open. We provided a great deal of psycho-educational information on responses to trauma and grief which included handouts that we were able to borrow or create quickly. BE: Research has shown that only 10-30% of those impacted by a trauma develop PTSD. However, normal stress reactions and Acute Stress Disorder percentages would figure to be much higher. What was the increase in individual clients seen at the center in the month after the tragedy compared to previous years? RK: We had a 75% increase in appointments at the center for the month following the event as compared to the year before. However, we had a 376% increase in the number of walk-in appointments during the month as compared to the year before. We had adjusted the nature of our services for that month to focus more on the immediate needs of students through the use of walk-in appointments. Students expressed appreciation for this opportunity for immediate counseling. BE: During this intensely stressful time were there ways that staff specifically focused on self-care? RK: It was difficult to focus on self care during the crisis. We had volunteers from the community providing massages at our center for the staff. Local businesses donated food and drink for the staff. We ate all of our meals together using this donated food. The staff bonded through this and provided emotional support to each other. Staff checked in with each other on a daily basis and we attempted to have informal debriefing sessions at the end of each day.

BE: Given your recent experiences, are there any other suggestions you can offer to counseling centers and universities in regards to preparing for a campus crisis? RK: I think it would have been difficult to have detailed plans for the magnitude and nature of this particular crisis. It would however be helpful to have some resources and information available that could be pulled out in times of crisis. For example, it would have been useful to have handouts at our disposal related to trauma and grief that may be used with any type of trauma. In addition, having good relationships with community agencies was very helpful since we didn’t need to develop that when it was most needed. We relied on the local Community Services Board, the local chapter of the Red Cross, local mental health professionals, and academic departments in the university with mental health programs to provide trained volunteers to aid in our efforts. In addition, good communication, both within the counseling center and between the counseling center and the rest of the university was helpful. Many of the usual ways we communicated with the university were not functioning well because of the crisis. The campus phone and e-mail system and local land and cell phone systems were overwhelmed and made communication difficult. Having an alternate means of communication would be helpful. Within the counseling center having a way to convey information efficiently is very important. Frequent meetings are useful to convey information and to provide much needed support. In general, we can use what we learned from this event to help prepare for future catastrophic events. Other counseling centers may consider using this information and any information they have from their own institutional memory to develop some plans. Keep in mind that by definition catastrophic events are unpredictable and therefore we will always be engaging in some scrambling in the midst of a crisis. Reference Epstein, B. H. (2004). Crisis intervention on campus: Current and new approaches. The NASPA Journal, 41(2), Article 6. Retrieved from: http://publications.naspa.org/ naspajournal/vol41/iss2/art6 Bert Epstein can be contacted at: [email protected] Rita Klein can be contacted at: [email protected]

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SCUCC Election Results: Chair-Elect:

Treasurer:

Jill Barber

Jack Crossen

Georgia Tech Counseling Center

Oregon Health & Science University Counseling Services

Society of Counseling Psychology

Section on College and University Counseling Centers

Officers Chair Karen Settle, Ph.D. Southern Methodist University Counseling and Testing Center [email protected] Chair-Elect Traci Callandrillo, Ph.D. American University Counseling Center [email protected]

Past-Chair Sherry Benton, Ph.D., ABPP Kansas State University Counseling Services [email protected]

Communications Chair Rachel Uffelman, Ph.D. University of Missouri - Kansas City Counseling Center [email protected]

Treasurer Darryl Townes, Ph.D. Townes Consulting & Psychological Services, LLC

[email protected]

Non-Elected Positions Newsletter Editor Larry Marks, Ph.D. University of Central Florida Counseling Center [email protected]

Research Committee Nikki Fulks Pritchett, Ph.D. Florida State University University Counseling Center [email protected]

Practicum/Training Committee Jeff Brooks-Harris University of Hawai’i at Manoa Counseling & Student Development Center

Membership Chair Bai-Yin Chen, Ph.D. Bowling Green State University Counseling Center

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SCUCC Newsletter

American Psychological Association Convention - San Francisco, CA August 17-20, 2007 Section on College and University Counseling Center Events SCUCC Sponsored Symposium: Group Counseling Interventions in University Counseling Centers: Innovations and Challenges Monday, August 20, 9:00am-9:50am, Moscone Center, Room 2005 Presenters: David Peterson, University of Maryland, College Park; Shu-Ping Lin, University of Alaska, Fairbanks; Hung-Bin Sheu, University of Maryland, College Park Chris Brownson, The University of Texas at Austin Nikki Pritchett, Florida State University

SCP/CCPTP Social and Student Poster Session Friday, August 17, 4:00pm - 5:50pm, San Francisco Marriott Yerba Buena Salons

SCUCC Luncheon (free) Saturday, August 18th, 12:00pm-12:50pm, Division 17 Hospitality Suite (Palace Hotel)

SCUCC Round Table Discussion Saturday, August 18th, 1:00pm-1:50pm, Division 17 Hospitality Suite (Palace Hotel)

SCUCC Business Meeting Saturday, August 18th, 3:00pm-4:00pm, Division 17 Hospitality Suite (Palace Hotel)

APA Convention SCP/CCPTP Section on College and University Counseling Centered Student Posters: Student Poster Session Dominick A. Scalise & Rico J. Drake, University of Missouri-Kansas City. Analyzing premature termination: Who is coming to therapy? Tania G. Bayne & Jamie D. Aten, University of Southern Mississippi. Perceived benefits of yoga: An exploratory study. Amanda Macht Jantzer & Mary Louise Cashel, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Retrospective bullying victimization, college adjustment, and coping. Arunya Tuicomepee, Maki Obana, & Alicia del Prado, Washington State University. Ethnic group differences and presenting concerns of students at a university counseling center.

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Upcoming National Conferences International Interdisciplinary Conference on Clinical Supervision June 7-9, 2007, Amherst, NY www.socialwork.buffalo.edu/csconference

Gallup International Positive Psychology Summit October 4-6, 2007, Washington, DC www.gallupippi.com

Psychology-Ecology-Sustainability Conference June 8-10, 2007, Portland, OR www.earthleadershipcenter.org/psf/pes

Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors November 3-7, 2007, Indianapolis, IN www.aucccd.org

National Wellness Conference July 14-21, 2007, Stevens Point, WI www.nationalwellness.org Association for the Development of the Person-Centered Approach July 25-29, 2007, New York, NY www.adpca.org American Mental Health Counselors Association July 26-28, 2007, New Orleans, LA www.amhca.org Association of Black Psychologists August 1-5, 2007, Houston, TX www.abpsi.org Humanistic Psychotherapies for the 21st Century August 14-16, 2007, San Francisco, CA www.apa.org/divisions/div32 Asian American Psychological Association August 16-17, 2007, San Francisco, CA www.aapaonline.org American Psychological Association August 17-20, 2007, San Francisco, CA www.apa.org Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies September 29-October 3, 2007, Atlanta, GA www.accta.net

International Career Development Conference November 7-11, 2007, Sacramento, CA www.careerccc.com NASPA Mental Health Conference January 17-19, 2008, Tampa, FL www.naspa.org/events/detail.cfm?id=258 American College Counseling Association February 6-9, 2007, Savannah, GA www.collegecounseling.org International Counseling Psychology Conference March 5-9, 2008, Chicago, IL www.div17.org National Association of Student Personnel Administrators March 8-12, 2008, Boston, MA www.naspa.org Depression on College Campuses March 18-19, 2008, Ann Arbor, MI www.med.umich.edu/depression American College Personnel Association March 29-April 2, 2008, Atlanta, GA www.myacpa.org American Counseling Association March 26-30, 2008, Honolulu, HI www.counseling.org American Association of Suicidology April 16-19, 2008, Boston, MA

SCUCC Newsletter

Spring 2007

Membership Application Section on College and University Counseling Centers A Section of the Society of Counseling Psychology Division 17 American Psychological Association Name: Name of College or University: Highest Degree Awarded: Work Setting:

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