Students report a range of mental health concerns during counseling center sessions. The table below shows the mean,
median, mode, and maximum and minimum percentage of center clients with specific issues.
Percentages of Client Issues Encountered at Counseling Centers
Issue Mean
Had extensive or significant prior treatment histories 15. 2
Taking psychotropic medications 24.0
Engaging in self-injury 7. 1
Depression 39.4
Learning disability 8. 7
ADD or ADHD 9. 1
Suicidal thoughts or behaviors 13. 8
Anxiety 36. 7
Substance abuse/dependence other than alcohol 7. 6
Alcohol abuse/dependence 11. 4
Oppression 4. 1
Eating disorders 8.0
Relationship issues 35. 7
Sexual/physical assault/acquaintance rape 6. 3
Stalked 1. 6
Median
10
24
5
36
5
5. 5
10
34
5
8
2
6
33
4
1
Mode
10
20
5
40
5
5
10
40
1
5
1
5
40
3
1
Max
65
69
40
94
40
35
65
90
70
73
29
55
91
52
8
Min
1
1
1
9
0
1
1
5
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
students, depending on services offered and other campus
mental health agencies.” Of the centers that cite a change
in staff levels, 149 report gaining from . 2 to 7 FTE. Thirty
centers report losing from . 4 to 4 FTE. The data indicate
a large number of centers have received additional support
and resources.
Administrative Issues
While most counseling centers are fully supported by institutional resources (53 percent), the rest are supported, at least in
part, by mandatory fees. Twenty percent are supported by
such fees, including a student health fee ( 20. 4 percent), a
general student activities fee ( 16 percent), and a counseling
center-specific fee ( 2. 8 percent). Only three percent of
centers report that they collect third-party payments from
insurance companies.
Twenty-two percent of surveyed centers receive funding
from grants and/or contracts. The monies received from these
awards range from $300 to $180,000, with a mean of
$37,915. Sixty-two percent of centers report that their operating budgets remained the same or decreased during the
2006–2007 academic year. Thirty-three percent of centers
report increases in salaries beyond 3 percent. Few centers
charge for their counseling services. The most frequently
charged-for services are psychiatry ( 17. 4 percent) and psychological testing ( 16. 8 percent).
Another key issue is the relationship of counseling centers
to health services. Of responding centers, 15. 9 percent
report full integration with the health center. Most centers
report having no degree of integration (65.2 percent) with
the health service. Fifteen percent report sharing the same
building without an administrative merger. Counseling and
health services can, and often do, work together on issues
like depression screening, substance abuse problems, and
eating disorders.
A frequently cited administrative concern is potential
lawsuits against counseling centers. In the survey, only two
lawsuits were reported by respondents, and neither of these
suits was related to the provision of clinical services.
Clinical Issues
The surveyed counseling centers cumulatively deliver slightly
more than one million sessions annually, with the average
number of sessions ranging from 190 to 29,450 sessions.
Across all reporting centers, 10. 1 percent of students receive
counseling. Private institutions reported a higher utilization
rate than public institution ( 12. 2 percent versus 8. 3 percent).
In general, the utilization of counseling center services
decreases as institution size increases. The number of total
sessions provided is related to the size of the institution and
the size of the center staff. Paid staff members and/or interns
provide an average of 464 sessions to clients. Paid staff
