ABSTRACT Retention continues to be a point of concern for academic institutions, and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled growing concerns for institutions ranging from community colleges to universities. Past research has identified various psychological factors significant to the discussion of academic success and retention. Recent scholarship has illustrated that participation in college and university counseling can positively contribute to academic outcomes and retention. Results demonstrated students participating in counseling were more likely to be retained, more likely to graduate, and spent more time at the university prior to graduation (Study 1). Results also demonstrated, for students in counseling, women were more likely to graduate than men, and White students graduated in significantly less time compared to African American and Asian American students. The impact of campus climate and institutional racism are discussed.

ABSTRACT Black American collegiate women encounter microaggressions. The need to constantly regulate intense emotions in a sanctioned way to avoid further gendered-racial ramifications may increase emotional distress and lead to the use of high effort coping, such as the Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema. This anonymous online mixed-data study explored the relationships among discrimination, the superwoman schema, and emotional eating for college enrolled self-identified Black American women. Further, this study also examined the advice these women recalled receiving about how to navigate discrimination from their maternal figures. A hierarchical linear regression was run on 102 women (F (6, 94) = 6.24, p = .001) and revealed that the SBW was the most impactful predictor of emotional eating (R2 = 0.29, p = .001). The women concurrently recounted receiving messages from their mothers urging them to persist through discrimination and racism while being strong Black women.

ABSTRACT Millions of college students across the United States experience anxiety disorders, evidencing a high need for evidence-based counseling techniques. At the same time, impairment resulting from anxiety often necessitates classroom accommodations at the postsecondary level. Cognitive-behavioral therapy with exposure (CBT ERP) involves a thorough assessment of the function of a client’s behaviors and a personalized treatment plan that gradually exposes them to feared stimuli. Yet students often underutilize classroom accommodations, and accommodations may conflict with the theoretical underpinnings of CBT ERP. We present a brief and accessible explanation of CBT ERP, discuss common classroom accommodations, and suggest methods for successfully integrating accommodations into cognitive-behavioral interventions.

ABSTRACT This study sought to develop the College Mental Health Scale (CMHS) as a screening instrument among Iranian college students. In total, the nationally representative sample (N = 74,571) was selected to match the Iranian college student population throughout the country. In the first study, a conceptual framework was developed and a pool of items based on the most prevalent mental disorders in Iranian college students were devised. In the second study, psychometric properties of CMHS was examined (n = 600). The third study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase (n = 2,750), explanatory factor analysis was used for reaching a better factor structure and in the second phase (n = 2,750) the invariability of factor structure and correlation of CMHS with related measure was examined. The result revealed a 56-item measurement scale consisting of seven dimensions as the most prevalent mental disorders. In the fourth study (n = 68,471), male and female norms were developed. The CMHS has adequate reliability and validity and can be used for assessment of college students’ mental health problems in Iran.

ABSTRACT Many studies and reports, both governmental and academic, plus legislation, have suggested and some mandated the establishment of threat assessment teams to protect campuses. These teams have proliferated across university, college and community college campuses nationally. Despite these efforts, targeted violence continues in our communities and on our campuses. The community in and around Salem, Oregon has instituted a community-based approach, the Willamette Valley Adult Threat Advisory Team, that is seen by many as the future of targeted mass violence prevention. We examine the advantages and benefits of incorporating a community-based approach to threat assessment. and explore the role higher education can play in those efforts.

ABSTRACT The unprecedented magnitude and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have rendered it a highly disruptive and traumatic phenomenon. This paper considers the impact of Covid-19 on South African students and Student Counseling Services in Higher Education. The paper specifically reflects on shifts in student mental health and psycho-social vulnerability as a consequence of the pandemic, and the increased demand for the student counselor advocacy role. The inevitable need for technological shifts to traditional student counseling practice is considered, as well as the transformational dilemma or “double-edged sword” inherent in such change, given the historical, psycho-social, and economic complexities of South African society which impact on student access and participation in Higher Education. The paper lastly considers the adoption of a customized or “blended” student counseling approach that incorporates traditional and technological-based elements, and that can accommodate student personal and mental health needs, preferences as well as contextual peculiarities and challenges.

ABSTRACT Evidence supports the use of brief psychosis-spectrum screening tools for identifying individuals at an increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder. Screening has not been well studied in general mental health settings that serve young adults in the age range associated with highest risk for psychosis. This study explored the feasibility of psychosis-risk screening and assessment among help-seeking students at a university counseling center. The PRIME Screen-Revised was administered to students at clinic intake. Participants who screened positively were offered a follow-up assessment using the Structured Interview for Psychosis-risk Syndromes (SIPS). At intake, 510 students completed the PRIME Screen-Revised, with 132 (25.9%) screening positive. Comprehensive psychosis-spectrum evaluations were completed with 38 participants, and 22 met criteria for a psychosis-spectrum disorder, representing 57.9% of this subsample. Findings suggest that psychosis-risk screening in a college clinic is a promising approach to identifying those at high risk for or in the early stages of psychosis.

ABSTRACT Transition from regimented military life to a less structured college life can pose considerable challenges for student veterans. However, student veterans may be reluctant to seek psychological help because of the help-seeking stigma in the military culture. The present study investigated the measurement structure, reliability, and validity of the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale in a sample of student veterans in the United States. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor measurement structure: (a) feeling of inadequacy, and (b) threat to self-confidence with relevant internal consistency reliability and construct validity. In the present study, feeling of inadequacy was found to be associated with interpersonal relationship problems, alcohol, and drug use problems, and depression, while threat to self-confidence was found to be associated with alcohol and drug use problems only. Implications for outreach services and the use of positive psychology interventions to lessen the stigma associated with seeking help are discussed.

ABSTRACT Counseling centers are part of a national practice environment that arguably encourages expedience rather than thoroughness in working with psychological difficulties. In this landscape, diagnosis is a process where symptom identification is preferred over a more complex understanding of clients. The predominant diagnostic tool used by mental health professionals is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) which has the main purpose of identifying symptom clusters. A less known competitor to the DSM is the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM). Purposefully developed as an alternative to the DSM, the PDM has many unique features and differences that distinguish it from the DSM. Compared to the DSM, the PDM requires a more labor-intensive and thorough assessment process. That process assists clinicians in arriving at a multifaceted diagnosis, including case conceptualization, that provides valuable information on how to approach therapy. In this was the PDM may be more valuable for University and College counselors. This is because the PDM, in addition to identifying symptoms, also provides a wholistic portrait of the person who has them. The usefulness of the holistic view of a person, that the PDM provides, is discussed and illustrated through a case study.