Community Consultation and Intervention: Supporting Students Who Do Not Access Counseling Services

Abstract

Although the severity of psychological problems among college students and the demand for campus counseling services has increased, many students who could benefit from mental health services still do not access them. This article describes Community Consultation and Intervention, a program designed to support students who are unlikely to access professional help despite the best efforts of traditional counseling center outreach. Community Consultation and Intervention reaches into the campus community to intervene by advising faculty and staff who may be the only contact for a distressed student, taking on a nontraditional “student support” role in direct interactions with students, offering advocacy when university systems or other environmental stressors precipitate psychological problems, and providing case management and crisis intervention services on behalf of the university when troubled students are especially concerning and disruptive to their communities. The most novel element of the program—the student support role—is distinct from conventional counseling in that it privileges problem solving, support, advice, and advocacy over focusing on emotions and other traditional mental health interventions. Case studies and programmatic challenges are described.

KEYWORDS:

• outreach
• counseling
• utilization
• consultation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the members of the Cornell community who have supported the development of CCI. They would especially like to thank Mahnaz Mousavi, PhD, for her work as a CCI counselor and Gregory T. Eells, PhD, for his comments on this paper.