INCREASING SEVERITY OF PRESENTING PROBLEMS IN COLLEGE COUNSELING CENTERS - A CLOSER LOOK

Dealing with increasing numbers of college students who present with s erious psychological problems has been identified as a significant cha llenge for counseling centers in the current decade. On the basis of t heir review of research, G. L. Stone and J. Archer (1990) concluded th at the level of psychopathology among counseling center clients increa sed during the 1980s and likely would continue to do so into the 1990s . A closer look at the research shows that there is the perception amo ng counseling center practitioners that psychopathology is on the rise but little direct evidence to support such a trend. Although not nece ssarily on the increase, there is empirical evidence that certain form s of psychological disturbance are not uncommon among clinical and non clinical college student samples. Implications for counseling center r esearch and practice based on this literature review are discussed.