Preface

The college counseling landscape has evolved quite a bit. Over the past decade, we have witnessed 2-year and 4-year colleges being shaped by increased attention to mental health issues, crisis response and triage procedures, and students coming to campus already taking prescribed psychotropic medication. In addition, social media and electronic communication have changed our society in important and indelible ways that we have only started to describe and respond to as scholars and practitioners. Also, greater access to college by a more diverse student population is an important gain that requires greater understanding of students working part-time or full-time while in school, having dependents themselves, being first-generation students, seeking online education, and being returning and/or nontraditional-age students. Indeed, in data drawn from 2016, the National Center for Education Statistics (2018) reflected that one in five college students is at least 30 years old, two in five attend a community college, and almost half attend college part-time at some juncture. Adding to this list of considerations is the context of community, national, global, and political events, which are experienced by students in ways that are both personal and career oriented. This list is by no means exhaustive but rather a dusting of the contemporary college student's ecology. We contend that these changes necessitate a greater understanding of college student mental health and well-being across campus support offices to facilitate the academic, social, and personal/emotional success of all students.

So, who are the key players in this important task of supporting college student development, well-being, and success? We have written this text for all individuals who are preparing themselves to serve students in the web of clinical and support services on a college campus. Thus, our audience could include graduate students in counseling programs who wish to work with college students and need perspective on what makes this clientele and this setting unique. Our audience could also include graduate students in student affairs who want to supplement their training with a greater understanding of mental health issues. We are also aware that some professional staff find their way to working on campus without a background in either of those training programs and thus find that they need some additional resources to fill in gaps in their preparation. We would like to speak with all of you, future and current professionals who care about and want to support today's college students. Too often, the work of college counselors occurs in silos and lacks perspective on how others on campus are approaching their work to promote college student wellness. In fact, we believe that promoting greater understanding and exchange between the worlds of college counseling and student development will lead to greater teamwork and collaboration. We welcome all readers who want to promote college student development in a holistic way.

This is important because today's students need support in some critically important ways. In recent years, college counseling center staff have experienced increases in the following:

• counseling center provision of direct services over indirect services
• counseling center utilization (i.e., increased by an average of 30%-40%, whereas enrollment increased by only 5%)
• the frequency of students with a lifetime prevalence of threat-to-self (TTS) indicators (TTS includes nonsuicidal self-injury, serious suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts)
• students with TTS indicators using more services than students without TTS indicators (i.e., 20%-30% more services)
• depression, general anxiety, and social anxiety as clinical issues
• resources being diverted to crisis and triage appointments rather than traditional individual counseling services
• the student rate of prior counseling
• the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college (i.e., 2- and 4-year colleges and universities)
• students graduating in 6 years (Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors [AUCCCD], 2017; Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2019; Musu-Gillette et al., 2017).

These changes are important to reflect on as they bring light to the experiences that shape a student's development, academic success, and campus climate. In addition, when thinking about the college as an ecological system, one must recognize the implications of this environment for clients with the abovementioned experiences who have just visited the counseling center and are now walking back to their residence halls and classes. The interaction of clinical issues, personal and social development, and academic progress makes for a very interesting community of which college counselors and student affairs professionals must gain a stronger understanding.

Research does inform us that college counseling services are working for students in some spaces. There are reports of counseling having a positive impact on academic performance and retention of students who take advantage of the services (e.g., counseling services have helped students stay in school; AUCCCD, 2017). In addition, college counseling was shown to be effective in reducing mental health distress (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2019). With the knowledge that clients utilizing services overall has increased approximately 46% from the 2010-2011 (82, 611) to the 2017-2018 (179, 964) academic years, it is great to see that the passion and work are helping student wellness (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2019). However, we, as counselors, must not lose sight of the students for whom utilization of counseling centers calls up stigma and shame or students who fear they will be misunderstood by counselors who "don't look like me" or "don't share my lived experience." Where will these students go to seek assistance? Each campus needs to keep a careful eye on the data that reflect students for whom counseling is working, students for whom it is less effective, and students who are not opting to engage with the counseling center. In some ways, these data can also encourage us to think outside the box as we consider the best ways to deliver services to today's college population. Counseling centers need to partner with student affairs in our common goal to support students, now more than ever.

The International Association of Counseling Services (IACS), the accrediting body for university, 4-year college, and 2-year community college counseling services, suggests four essential roles in serving the university and college community:

1) provide counseling to students experiencing personal adjustment, vocational, developmental and/or psychological problems that require professional attention; 2) play a preventive role assisting students in identifying and learning skills which will assist them to effectively meet their educational and life goals; 3) support and enhance the healthy growth and development of students through consultation and outreach to the campus community; and 4) play a role in contributing to campus safety. (IACS, 2016, p. 4)

More than ever, we find these roles increasingly important. There have been several college counseling scholars before us (Archer & Cooper, 1998; Davis & Humphrey, 2000; Sharkin, 2012) who have done wonderful work in these areas. Their accomplishments provide a platform of knowledge that inspired us to focus our work on better serving the campus community. We also hope that you, the reader, will continue to consider innovative ways that all campus service providers can work together to address new and emerging health and wellness issues in contemporary college students. Recent developments such as behavioral intervention teams and satellite counseling are examples of how college counseling and student affairs will need to adapt and respond to changing needs.

Throughout this text you will see the professional terms: college counselor, counselor, therapist, mental health professional, student affairs professional, and student development professional. These terms are used throughout the literature and across campuses nationwide when referencing the individuals often tasked with addressing student mental health and wellness. Although there are some similarities among terms, they are not completely interchangeable. First, college counselor, counselor, therapist, and mental health professional will refer to those professionals who are providing mental health services through direct service in the counseling center or outreach and prevention from the center. Second, student affairs professional, student support services, and student development professional refer to college staff who work in functional units on a college campus (e.g., the office of multicultural affairs, career services, accessibility services, residential life, Title IX, community standards, community engagement). This interchange and mention of both college counseling and student affairs is an important aspect of the intersecting audience of this text. We want readers to fully understand that college work should emerge from a rich collaboration between both mental health and student development camps. It's wise to combine efforts for the betterment of campus climate and student experience.

Thus, our purpose is to add college counseling and student development perspective to what you are learning in existing training programs; we are not trying to replicate or replace core courses (e.g., diagnosis and treatment) in preprofessional master's programs.

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