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College Shrinks: One Report, Two Takes

The Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors has just released its annual survey of members.

Here?s how the Chronicle of Higher Education begins its report:

Ratio of College Psychological Counselors to Students Improves
By Ashley Marchand
The ratio of paid psychological counselors to students improved for the 2008-9 academic year, according to the results of a survey released by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors.

By contrast, here?s the lede of Inside Higher Ed?s report on the same survey:

Stability in Student Mental Health

The alarming spike in demand for mental health services on college campuses that began about a decade ago appears to be leveling off, a just-released survey of counseling center directors suggests.

The findings of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors? 2008-9 poll of hundreds of member institutions point to a new stasis, where the number of students arriving on campuses in need of counseling or psychotropic medications is remaining constant from year to year, though still likely to keep counseling centers strained.

I wonder if the ratio of counselors to students increased even though the number of students needing help remained constant had anything to do with needing more counselors to counsel other, ?strained? counselors.

Whatever the reason, Inside Higher Ed helpfully tells us, in a somewhat backhanded manner, that the net number of counseling positions increased despite bad economic times, etc.

Despite the onslaught of national and local economic problems during the survey year, fewer counseling jobs were cut than were added. Respondents reported a total of 82 new professional clinical positions created, while 34 were lost.

Here?s another fascinating observation from the IHE article:

Perhaps related to the stable proportion of students seeking counseling was a decline in the perception by counseling center directors that mental health problems were on the rise at their institutions.

In other words (I think), the ?perception? by counseling center directors that mental health problems on campus were not on the rise was only ?perhaps? related to the fact that the proportion of students seeking help had not increased? Why was that only a ?perception?? Are college counseling center directors unable to draw firm conclusions from facts? Also, why ?perhaps?? What else could their ?perception? have been related to?

In any event, even though the numbers of students seeking help remained stable, the ?perception? of the counseling center directors that severe problems were ?on the rise? did not decline very much:

In this year?s survey, 94 percent of respondents said ?the number of students with severe psychological problems is [a] growing concern on their campuses.? In the 2007-8 survey, it was 96 percent. In 2006-7, it was 97 percent.

Imagine that! Counseling center directors year in and year out see (or perceive) an overwhelming demand for the services provided by counseling centers! Perhaps they should all schedule a session or two with the Lafayette College Counseling Center, which advises:

Perception Is Not Reality

Students often overestimate the amount that their peers use alcohol and other drugs.
....
Why do we misperceive?

• 1/3 of Lafayette students drink 3/4 of the alcohol consumed on campus*. These heavy drinkers more often shape our perception than do the 2/3 majority.

• Also, we are more likely to remember extreme behaviors at parties than the majority of students who are in their GREEN ZONE....
  

Counselors, counsel thyselves.

Full post as published by Discriminations on May 04, 2010 (boomark / email).