Universities have a responsibility to provide services to help students succeed. This may include mental health services as college students are more likely to develop mental health issues due to the pressures and stresses of being a college student. Counseling services have been shown to have a positive impact on a student's mental health and increase their likelihood of academic success. Past studies have found relationships between participation in counseling and demographic characteristics that point towards underutilization and disparity based on race and sexual orientation. A total of 289 undergraduate students completed an online survey that assessed their use and perceptions of the services offered by the Center for Health and Wellness. Participants were asked questions about their demographic characteristics, their perception of counseling in general and the university’s counseling services specifically, their usage of counseling services, and opinions on potential services offered at the university. It was found that 42% of students currently use or have used the free counseling services at some point, but 30% no longer utilize the services. Underutilization by students who could benefit from counseling was found, but disparity of use within social minorities was not. The results indicated that participants thought counseling could be beneficial for others, but few thought it could be beneficial for themselves. The university’s counseling services were found to be beneficial with only 11% of students reporting that services were not beneficial at all. Some of the suggested ways the services could improve were adding more counselors and having more availability for appointments. Based on the results, universities should consider adding counselors to increase appointment availability, improve communication, and add other services and events to benefit a wider range of students, while continuing to monitor for inequities in usage and outcomes based on race and sexual orientation.
Participation in and Perception of a University’s Counseling Services
Category
Student Abstract Submission