College Counseling and Student Development

Theory, Practice, and Campus Collaboration

Derrick A. Paladino, Laura M. Gonzalez, Joshua C. Watson

• Publisher: American Counseling Association
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119602255
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Desarrollo profesional

"College Counseling and Student Developmentis a much-needed text in our field. Paladino, Gonzalez, and Watson artfully bridge the gap in a growing divide between clinical and administrative skills, addressing the most pressing issues facing college and university professionals. Grounded in clinical application and student development and learning, this text promotes a helping-centric philosophy for working with today's college students."
— Matthew R. Shupp, EdD, Shippensburg University

"This text brings an essential knowledge base to the college mental health practice literature. Each chapter starts with a reflective practice that allows both new and seasoned professionals to fully engage with the material. Outstanding voices in the college counseling field have contributed pivotal chapters on upcoming trends in college mental health, which are shaped by a multicultural and social justice framework."
— Mary-Jeanne (MJ) Raleigh, PhD, Executive Director of Counseling Services, High Point University

In response to the increasing demand for mental health services on campus, this comprehensive college counseling handbook provides strategies for clinical and support services work with diverse student populations. Written from a holistic, sociocultural perspective for future and current professionals, it brings together information and resources on cultivating counseling and student affairs connections to create a climate that encourages student mental health and wellness.

Recognized experts in the field offer insight on the evolution of college counseling, counselor training, the roles and responsibilities of college counselors, crisis management, and the building of collaborative outreach services with studentaffairs partners on campus. Individual text sections cover student development theories relevant to student learning, as well as assessment and treatment interventions for frequently encountered clinical issues presented by students. Reflection exercises and student case studies in each chapter facilitate in-depth learning and classroom discussion.

*Requests for digital versions from ACA can be found on www.wiley.com

*To request print copies, please visit the ACA https://imis.counseling.org/store/detail

*Reproduction requests for material from books published by ACA should be directed to [email protected]

Part I
The College Counseling Profession

Chapter 1
History and Evolution of College Counseling

Derrick A. Paladino, Kathryn P. (Tina) Alessandria, and David J. Denino

We are not makers of history. We are made by history.

—Martin Luther King Jr.

■ ■ ■

---

Reflection Exercise

Your college experience is unique and specific to you. It is affected by many factors from both the personal and the societal levels and was indeed shaped by history. Before beginning this chapter, we would like you to reflect on your undergraduate college experience and with someone who attended college at a different time than you. Try to pick someone who is at least one generation apart from you.

Compare and discuss the following issues:

• Generally, how were your experiences different?
• Compare campus life.
• Compare classes and professor expectations.
• Compare demographics of professors, students, and staff.
• Compare family involvement.
• Compare campus resources used, knowledge of them, and their availability.
• Compare technology and communication.
• Compare cost.
• Compare community amenities (e.g., restaurants, services, development).
• Compare campus amenities (e.g., residence halls, food services, development).
• Compare political and social events and their influence on campus and on students.
• Compare course content delivery methods.
• Compare number of years spent in college.
• Compare common student concerns (e.g., adjustment issues like homesickness vs. diagnosed mental disorders).
• Compare campus climate.

---

■ ■ ■

College counseling is rooted in the traditional educational and vocational guidance movements of the 1930s. Throughout the decades, those origins have been amplified as the fundamental needs, demographics, and societal demands on college students have evolved. Marginalized and minority populations and reduced stigma associated with counseling coupled with an increased use of campus counseling services and increased levels of mental health crises all have played roles in the development of college counseling. Additionally, major events such as school shootings and evolving world events such as wars, civil rights movements, politics, and economic crises are a few of the reasons for counseling centers changing dramatically over the decades.

To gain insight into what college counseling is today, it is wise to consider the history of the profession and reflect upon its development. This chapter will begin with a focus on the early beginnings of college counseling. Throughout this journey, scholars have learned and compiled information about all that surrounds this profession. Therefore, this chapter will also discuss the development of professional associations, professional preparation standards, student definitions and generational influences, and brief mental health trends. It is our hope that this chapter will offer an increased understanding of the origins of the contemporary counseling center. We offer a similar glimpse of the origins of the student affairs context in Chapter 5.

Historical Development of College Counseling

Dean and Meadows (1995) stated that “college counseling can best be understood as the intersection of a professional activity and an environment” that has “developed from the merging of several movements: vocational guidance, mental health, and student personnel work” (p. 139). The influence of these three student-centered areas is evident when one considers the historical development of the college counseling center. Although the college counseling center progressed for the most part post–World War II, its evolvement has links to historical, political, and social situations of the more distant past (Archer & Cooper, 1998; Dean & Meadows, 1995; LaFollette, 2009; Prescott, 2008). We will begin this chapter by taking a brief look at its earlier developments.

The 1800s

The first college health program is recognized to have begun at Amherst College in 1861. It is during this time that colleges and universities began developing student health services with a focus on physical illness and an emphasis on healthy exercise to prevent emotional problems (Kraft, 2011). The appointment of Dr. Edward Hitchcock at Amherst College is noted to have led to the concept of “leading the psychological life,” which is also believed to be the forerunner to the wellness movement (Reifler, 1990). His use of physical training for the body and mind and his philosophy of mens sana in corpore sano (a sound mind and body) resonated well with academic leaders of the time (Sweet, 2011).

From the earliest beginnings, in loco parentis (Latin for “in the place of the parent”) described the “caretaker” relationship between American universities and their students (Dungy & Gordon, 2011; Lee, 2011). In fact, Lee (2011) stated, “Until the 1960s, American universities have been deemed by courts to be acting in loco parentis with respect to their students” (p. 66). Colleges were able to exercise great discretion and discipline, without due process, in developing the “character” of their students, without respect to their students’ constitutional rights, and to regulate their personal lives (e.g., speech, association, and movement). We will discuss the end of in loco parentis later in this chapter. As you read through this chapter, we hope you hold an awareness of what was going on for college students while national and world events emerge.

The Early 1900s

The year 1910 brought a contribution to college mental health by Princeton University: the appointment of a psychiatrist, Stewart Paton, MD, to offer the first campus mental health clinic devoted to students with “personality development” problems (Barreira & Snider, 2010; Kraft, 2011). In the early 1920s, Yale University also validated the importance of mental health with the appointments of a psychologist as their president along with the first university psychiatrist (Archer & Cooper, 1998; Reifler, 1990). In addition, 1920 found the inaugural meeting of the American Student Health Association (later renamed the American College Health Association [ACHA] in 1948), where Frankwood Williams, MD, discussed the importance of a college’s position in establishing student mental health programs (Kraft, 2011). As colleges and universities began to view the student as “more than academics,” in the 1920s and 1930s, we begin to see a few dozen institutions start introducing mental health philosophies and professionals into their campuses.

In the 1930s two influential documents that supported the role of the institution in promoting college student mental health were introduced: The Student Personnel Point of View (SPPV; American Council on Education, 1937) and E. G. Williamson’s (1939) How to Counsel Students: A Manual of Techniques for Clinical Counselors. The SPPV (American Council on Education, 1937, 1949) has been a pivotal influence in the field of college counseling, student affairs, and student development theory (the latter of which you will learn about in Chapter 9). The SPPV was a foundational document for student personnel services that is still referenced today. Both the 1937 document and the later revised 1949 document speak to the importance of viewing the student as a holistic individual. The student is made up of more than academic and vocational drives. The SPPV takes the position that students are intellectual, social, and emotional beings who have aptitudes, morals, and values that have an impact on who they are. Also included in this perspective is the emotional well-being of the student. Together, these form the common ground from which college counseling and student affairs can work together today.

Throughout his How to Counsel Students: A Manual of Techniques for Clinical Counselors, Williamson (1939) differentiated counseling techniques and student personnel work from instructional endeavors. Perhaps an early philosophical departure from the in loco parentis approach of the times was his statement that the institution should recognize that counselors and educators do not share the same set of skills (e.g., clinical vs. pedagogical). This manual, which discusses and supports the role of clinical counseling in student personnel work, was written with high school and college counselors in mind. It presents information on clinical techniques, diagnosis, counselor preparation, college counselor responsibilities, and specific student population issues (e.g., scholastic achievement, study habits, reading disabilities, overachievement, problems of the superior students, occupational and vocational choices). This document serves as an important step in allowing colleges to remove the responsibility of in loco parentis from administration and faculty and allow trained college mental health professionals to step in and assist students in need.

The 1940s and 1950s: The Influence of World War II

The influx of veterans enrolling in higher education institutions after World War II had a significant impact on college mental health services. The inflow of veterans was partly due to the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (also known as the G.I. Bill), which gave veterans the opportunity to enroll in colleges, universities, junior and community colleges, and specialty schools (Hodges, 2017; Kraft, 2011; Prescott, 2008; Sharkin, 2012). The Veterans Administration lacked the resources to serve the millions of returning veterans so in turn they contracted with colleges and universities that were able to provide these services (Barreira & Snider, 2010; McCarthy, 2014; Meadows, 2000). This new student population arrived in need of vocational guidance and educational counseling. It is important to note that prior to this time the majority of students were single, White males, usually between the ages of 18 and 22, who benefited from the in loco parentis function fulfilled by higher education institutions of the day (Hodges, 2017). The emergence of the experienced adult college student pressed colleges to examine how they addressed student needs. As a result, the G.I. Bill became a catalyst for increasing campus counseling services and gave rise to a debate about the education, qualifications, and training necessary to deliver counseling services (Hodges, 2017).

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman’s Commission on Higher Education published a report that offered additional support for mental health s...