OATdb Archive

2010 - 2011

Counseling Services

Goal
CC-Service Provision
Attend to the mental health needs of the SHSU student population through counseling and psychoeducational outreach.

Objective
CC-Brief Therapy
Provide time limited counseling and psychological services to the SHSU student population, which meet the mental health needs of those students.

Indicator
CC-Clinical Effectiveness
Results from client outcome survey.

Criterion
CC-Client Satisfaction
1) Clients will indicate a 60% decrease in overall distress from the time they started counseling to the time they stopped counseling.

2) Clients will indicate a 60% increase in their ability to manage thoughts as a result of counseling.

3) Clients will indicate a 60% increase in their ability to control behaviors as a result of counseling.

4) Clients will indicate a 60% increase in their ability to regulate emotions as a result of counseling.

Finding
Survey Results
1) Client Distress - Approximately 62% of clients who described their initial level of distress as "A Great Deal" or "Considerable" indicated that this level had decreased as a result of time spent in counseling.

2) Managing Thoughts - Approximately 58% of clients indicated that they had learned to manage their thoughts "A Great Deal" or "Considerably" as a result of time spent in counseling.

3) Controlling Behaviors - Approximately 49% of clients indicated that they had learned to control their behaviors "A Great Deal" or "Considerably" as a result of time spent in counseling. An additional 30% indicated a "Moderate" level of improved behavioral control.

4) Regulating Emotions - Approximately 66% of clients indicated that they had learned to regulate their emotions as a result of time spent in counseling.

Action
Additional Training Opportunities
Counseling Center staff will be provided with continuing education opportunities related to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy interventions to bolster the strong skills that they already possess. Results from learning outcomes will be used to develop promotional and marketing materials used to decrease stigma and educate students on impact that counseling can have on overall functioning. 

Goal
CC-Multicultural Awareness
Use values of diversity and inclusiveness to guide delivery of services to the student population.

Objective
CC-Diversity/Inclusiveness
The population of students served will reflect the diversity of the SHSU student body to demonstrate the inclusiveness of the agency, and the importance of providing services to underserved and/or marginalized populations.

Indicator
CC-Racial/Ethnic Demographics
Data reflecting racial/ethnic demographics to be compared with the general student population.

Criterion
CC-Racial/Ethnic Representation
Racial/ethnic demographics of students receiving clinical services will be comparable to those of the broader campus population.

Finding
Demographic Data Results
Demographic data from the Student Data Set, the Counseling Center's standardized demographic information form, show that for FY11, approximately 38.7% of clients identified as members of a racial/ethnic minority. SHSU enrollment data from the Fall semester of '11 shows that the racial/ethnic minority enrollment for SHSU was approximately 25%.

Action
Strategies For Underserved Populations
Counseling Center staff will develop liaison relationships with various offices and student organizations that serve underserved populations in an effort to continue to reach out to these populations. Of particular interest is the international student population. Additional diversity related programming will also be offered throughout the year.

Goal
SSD - Service Provision
Support the educational needs of SHSU students who have a diagnosed and documented disability through the development and implementation of support programs and accommodations.

Objective
SSD - Program Evaluation
Assess the effectiveness of the Services for Students with Disability program.

Indicator
SSD - Program Evaluation Survey
Data reflecting various program facets of the Services for Students with Disabilities area; including testing and interpreting services, and service effectiveness/satisfaction.

Criterion
SSD - Client Satisfaction
A satisfaction rate of 80% on items assessing service provision.

Finding
SSD - Survey Results
86.36% of respondents indicated that SSD services contributed to their academic success. 87.5% of respondents indicated that the department's testing facilities met their needs. 85.71% of respondents rated their overall experience with SSD as "Good" or "Excellent".

Action
SSD - Assessment Plan
Based on the findings of this survey, students are generally satisfied with SSD services and other aspects of office functioning. It was determined that the survey could be more beneficial if it incorporated learning outcomes related to self-advocacy and support resource acquisition. In addition, a new sampling strategy will be developed to obtain a more representative sample of SSD clients. Follow up research will also be conducted to determine ways in which SSD can reach out to students from underserved or underrepresented populations.


Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

Plan for continuous improvement In order to provide effective therapeutic support, the Counseling Center offers a variety of therapreutic treatment modalities. Throughout the current fiscal year clients completed an assessment of various therapy-related learning outcomes at their last session or the end of the semester, whichever came first. All criteria related to the core treatment factors of managing thoughts, regulating emotions, controlling behaviors, and reducing overall distress levels were successfully achieved. As a result of this data, new treatment options for clients who enter the system with lower levels of distress are being developed (e.g. a skills based workshop series to manage sub-clinical stress reactions). Changes in the Counseling Center's records management system will allow for measures of client distress to be administered throughout the treatment process. Data from this measure will be incorporated into the FY12 assessment plan to further gauge clinical outcome and learned behavior change.

The data on Counseling Center utilization rates by members of ethnic/racial minorities suggest that efforts to reach out to members of these populations throughout FY11 were successful. Support programs such as "Sister to Sister" will be continued for FY12, and creating similar programs for members of other groups will be investigated. Assessment efforts during FY12 will focus on whether therapy/programmatic outcomes are similar for ethnic minority students when compared to their majority culture peers in an effort to ensure the most effective delivery of services possible.

The program evaluation conducted by Services for Students with Disabilities represents an important step for this area. At the start of FY12, Services for Students with Disabilities will become an independent department. An assessment plan for this new office will be developed at that time, based in part on the program evaluation that was completed during the current fiscal year. Feedback from this evaluation will be used to develop new measures of performance, campus climate, and student development; the results of which will be useful in guiding the development of this new area.