College Counseling Centers Lack Resources ‘as Schools Prioritize DEI and Gender-Affirming Care’
”As counselors do more triage and crisis management and less and less talk therapy, prospective clinicians are choosing to avoid counseling work altogether”
The left’s political agenda comes before everything.
Campus Reform reports:
College counselors underresourced as schools prioritize DEI and gender-affirming care
College counseling centers are facing a lack of funding and resources, yet universities are spending money on things that are likely exacerbating the mental health crisis.
Philip J. Rosenbaum, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at Haverford College, and Richard E. Webb, the former director of CAPS at Haverford write in a July 27 Inside Higher Ed article that the lack of resources inhibits the ability of schools to hire and retain mental health professionals.
“Counseling center jobs have become less desirable and increasingly, it seems, are viewed by applicants with suspicion,” they write. “Along with concerns about salary levels, which are paltry compared to what clinicians can earn in private practice or other systems, counselors have begun to describe working with college-aged students as being like working in crisis centers.”
”As counselors do more triage and crisis management and less and less talk therapy, prospective clinicians are choosing to avoid counseling work altogether,” they continue.
The lack of resources to hire and retain counselors puts pressure on staff and causes administrators to seek off-campus and third-party solutions, regardless of care quality, they write.
Counseling centers’ lack of resources also contributes to mental health workers experiencing burnout, the authors write, citing a position paper by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD).
“The impact of these factors on the systems and people that deliver mental health services is especially profound,” the AUCCCD paper states.
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Comments
Twenty-five years ago, I did psychiatric consults for a couple of colleges.
Speaking only from my own experiences:
1. Usually, the student has gotten overwhelmed with finding the right coursework/social life balance.
2. Usually the student just needs “permission” to be able to take a Temporary Leave of Absence in order to go home, regroup, and then return.
However, the priority for the schools seems to be to keep the kid enrolled no matter what, come hell or high water.
Even when a blind man in a closet with his eyes closed can see that that is not what would be best for the student. Or for the family.
So — my guess would be that if Haverford is having trouble retaining counselors, it’s got more to do with that … than wages or anything else.
Do I know this for a fact? Absolutely not.
On the other hand, I’d imagine that the pressure on the Counseling Dept at a school with a tiny enrollment like Haverford … which has fewer students than a lot of high schools ……. I’m guessing the pressure to keep every student enrolled is particularly acute.
No sane counselor/therapist would want to work under such
Again, this is just speculation on my part— based on my own experience doing this kind of work, years and years ago fwiw.
I would expect that the pressure to keep students enrolled is stronger at non-elite schools where the main task of admissions is to find enough paying customers. Haverford can always just admit one more freshman to replace anyone who leaves. Since most colleges are not very selective, maybe you worked at a college that was not very selective.
At highly selective colleges now, I’ve heard that going on leave has no guarantee that you can return. I recall that Yale didn’t let someone return, and I’ve heard the same about MIT. I think the idea is that you’ve shown mental weakness, and (they won’t come out and say it but) they’d rather replace you, for the same reason that even hinting at any mental illness (even if heroically overcome) is sure death on an application. The mental weakness was an undetected issue that the admissions office missed, but now they know.
Idk
Perhaps
But how does one explain Haverford having difficulty staffing its Counseling Center.
The Haverford, PA and surrounding environs probably has about as many licensed therapists, social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, per capita ,as any place on earth.
There are surely a host of retirees and semi-retirees who’d volunteer there or work for less-than-market rates
But evidently Haverford does not want them.
That’s a bit like a school in Rome complaining that no one is around to talk about Catholicism.
Or a school in L.A. complaining that they simply cannot find anyone locally who is qualified to talk about the television or film business.
It’s patently absurd.
Fwiw it does sound like Yale does take it more seriously — more formally — than other colleges, from what I’ve heard and read. Fwiw I don’t see anything wrong at all with such an approach. It’s probably a net-positive actually.
Regardless, ya gotta admit — it’s a little creepy, in fact it’s more than a little creepy , for anyone at Haverford to claim that they simply cannot find qualified mental health professionals. I’d suggest they simply stroll on over to any Doggy Park and ask around lolol
I don’t agree with this mindset by the way, and I think it shows a mental illness (or worse) by those who demand such conformity to social expectations. People who don’t have low lows also don’t tend to have very high highs. But as you can see, they didn’t ask my opinion. Also there’s nothing they want more than to avoid campus incidents, shootings and other things.