PRESENTING PROBLEMS OF UNIVERSITY COUNSELING-CENTER CLIENTS - A SNAPSHOT AND MULTIVARIATE CLASSIFICATION SCHEME

A multivariate categorization scheme for classifying clients' presenti ng problems was empirically developed. Six hundred and eleven clients who sought services at a university counseling center completed the Co mputerized Assessment System for Psychotherapy Evaluation and Research (L. McCullough & A. D. Farrell, 1983). Descriptive statistics, cluste r analysis, cluster differentiation by external variables, and stabili ty of cluster solutions across subsamples are presented. Nine clusters of clients with different types of presenting problems that were stab le across subsamples were identified. This multivariate approach provi des a more complex assessment of clients' presenting problems that may have implications for case disposition, therapeutic interventions, pr evention interventions, and research pertaining to coping, help seekin g, and therapeutic outcomes.