Any students who want to book an appointment with Cal State Long Beach’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) program will have to wait, since all counselors available for on-campus sessions are booked with clients for the remainder of the semester, according to CAPS director Brad Compliment.
CSULB is not the only college campus experiencing such a high demand for psychological services.
According to the 2010 annual report published by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), more than one-third of the 424 counseling centers that responded to the survey reported they had a list of clients waiting to receive ongoing treatment. The average maximum number of clients on the waitlist during the year was 28 students.
Additionally, 77 percent of directors reported they believed the number of students with “severe psychological problems” had increased in the past year. Not surprisingly, most directors indicated a need for more psychiatric services.
“There’s always a need for more,” said Compliment, member of the AUCCCD and one of the directors who responded to the 2010 survey. “That’s not going to go away.”
The program has eight licensed psychologists, a case manager, a board-certified adult psychiatrist and three doctoral interns.
The International Association of Counseling Services (IACS) recommends a ratio of one counselor to every 1,000-1,500 students. The ratio at Cal State Long Beach is about one counselor to every 4,000 students.
“I’d love to be able to hire more permanent counselors,” said Compliment, who explained that Student Services helps to maintain the CAPS program’s budget so that they don’t have to let any counselors go.
Compliment said CAPS was able to hire a few additional therapists for this semester and next, due to funding from the Student Excellence Fee.
Luckily, the quality of counseling services doesn’t seem to be affected by the small quantity of counselors available. Clients are surveyed twice a year to gage the CAPS program’s effectiveness, and 90-93 percent of students report significant improvement after completing their counseling sessions, according to Compliment.
The counselors take turns being on-call for students with emergency situations, according to Sandra Arana, front office coordinator for CAPS. For students who need assistance after hours, there is a crisis hotline that can be called 24 hours a day and offers immediate phone counseling.
Programs developed by CSULB’s Division of Student Services provide the student body with a holistic approach to well being, emphasizing lifestyle choices that benefit both physical and mental health.
Workshops addressing common issues are offered throughout each semester.
The main goal of these workshops is to minimize the need for individual counseling services. The problem is, many students don’t know about these workshops.
“I’ve heard of them,” senior psychology major Gabriel Cohen said. “But there are other things I need to focus on.”
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