Longwood University Counseling Center

This report summarizes the success in accomplishing our 2003-2004 Strategic Plan which advances the achievement of Longwood’s Student Development Goals. Our programs and services intentionally contribute to Longwood’s commitment to student learning. We help students to utilize their personal resources in taking full advantage of the learning opportunities at Longwood University.

Students must prepare for the changes and options of a rapidly changing world. They will have to be able to find stability within themselves and find security in their ability to learn and think. New demands will be put on people’s psychological resources. An education has to help students anticipate what they will face in their lives and understand the necessity of cognitive and affective learning. In short, we help students “pay attention”. In The Good Society, the authors (1991) wrote:

… there are few things in life more important. For paying attention is how we use our psychic energy, and how we use our psychic energy determines the kind of self we are cultivating, the kind of person we are learning to be. When we are giving our full attention to something, when we are really attending, we are calling on all our resources of intelligence, feeling, and moral sensitivity (p.124).

Counseling is an educational process which produces growth and change. The goal of counseling is student learning; it often involves unlearning and relearning as well as new learning. Successful learning is experienced as changes in the students’ cognition, feeling, and behavior. Students are encouraged and empowered to act on what they have learned. They develop new ways of thinking and assessing information about themselves and their environment that will help them manage their lives.

Goal 1: Mastery of a broad body of knowledge.

1. The Counseling Center contributed to the development of a broad body of knowledge by offering the Food for Thought Program Series and the Alcohol Education courses, “First Round” and “Last Call.”

2. These efforts were assessed via student participation and completion of the processes and with evaluation surveys.

3. Results indicate that students gained self-understanding and knowledge about health and wellness issues, enabling them to better understand the impact of their personal histories and responsibly interact with their current environments.

In the Food For Thought series, 7 programs were offered; 89 students participated. During the 2003-2004, 154 students attended “First Round”; 32 students attended “Last Call”.

A. Food For Thought Evaluations
Of the students completing the evaluation, the majority responded “true” or “very true” to the following statements:

• The topic was interesting to me. (73.7%)
• The presenter provided information in a clear and understandable manner. (82.4%)
• The information was helpful to me. (64.9%)
• The information was relevant to my class work. (64.9%)

Responses to the question “What was the most helpful thing about today’s program?” can be grouped into 3 themes:

1) Self-Understanding
“Learning when I should study to stop my procrastination”
“Talking about how to set aside time for each thing I have to do.”
“Open my mind to the changes from the past”

2) Knowledge about Health and Wellness Issues.
“Realizing what alcoholism is all about.”
“Learned a lot about what it means to be a man in today’s society.”
“I really learned how important volunteering is, and how much a person can get out of it and vice versa.”

3) Resources
“That others are with you. You are not alone and there are people to help you.”
“Learning how to get involved in the community with volunteering.”
“It was interesting learning about all the volunteering options in Farmville.”

B. Alcohol Education Courses: Evaluations

First Round

Of the students evaluating “First Round”, the majority responded “agree” or “strongly agree” to the following:

This course helped me…
1. gain a better understanding of myself
2. reflect on personal pros and cons of drinking choices
3. learn to prevent or minimize the harm associated with my decisions
4. learn to be responsible for my choices and subsequent consequences

In response to the question “what have you learned from the course?” three themes emerged:

1) Decision-Making
“Make better decisions-how my choices affect my future and others-scared me”.
“How to make better choices.”
“Pros and cons of alcohol consumption.”

2) Harm Reduction
“That you can drink and still have a good time without the negatives”
“Minimize risk by amount consumed and be more aware of surroundings socially”
“I need to think before I drink.”

3) Effects
“Women get drunk faster”
“Risk factors of alcohol”
“That drinking affects your abstract memory for 3 days”

In response to the question “what two or three changes are you considering or can you identify areas of growth?”, typical responses were:

1) Changes
“Not drink as much as I do”
“Pay more attention to the decisions I make”
“Self control”

2) Areas of Growth
“Time management”
“Spiritual wellness”
“Better relationships and achieving my goals.”

When asked about change at end of course, the majority answered that they “are considering the need to change” or “decided to make a change.”

Last Call

Of the students evaluating “Last Call,” the majority responded “agree” or strongly agree” to the following:

The course helped me…
1. understand addiction
2. understand the harmful effects of alcohol and marijuana on the body
3. explore the pros and cons of high and low risk behavior
4. understand the effects alcohol has on the college/university experience
5. become aware of the treatment options

In response to the questions “what have you learned from this course?”, two themes emerged:

1) Effects-Consequences
“All the harmful effects of alcohol on the body.”
“That alcohol affects my body in more ways than I knew”
“I have learned about the affects of alcohol and marijuana and that drinking on college campuses is a more serious problem that I anticipated it would be.”

2) Responsibility
“Be responsible about drinking”
“Too much alcohol can lead to dependency”
“You don’t have to stop drinking you just need to be responsible.”

In response to question “what two or three changes are you considering or can you identify areas of growth?”, typical answers were:

1) Changes
“Limit drinks-limit nights out drinking-don’t drink on campus.”
“Better work policies to get better grades”
“I am currently quitting, this course will help me maintain that.”

2) Areas of Growth
“Making smarter decisions about why I drink.”
“Better decision making”
“Working on grades, less drinking-more responsible when I do drink.”

When asked about change on the evaluation, the majority of participants responded that they “are considering the need to change” or “decided to make a change.”

4. Both programs will be combined in a manner that address current issues relevant to the student population and necessary adjustments will be made.

“Last Call” will be made more interactive. Students will be asked “what have you done to address the problem since you were written up?” In “First Round”, a video and more activities will be added to the course.

Goal 2: Mastery of a specialized body of knowledge

1. The Counseling Center contributed to the development of specialized knowledge by co-sponsoring the Peer Helper Program, providing supervised internship and practicum experiences, and providing training to student groups (RA’s, Peer Mentors, Orientation Leaders, Honor and Judicial Boards).

2. These efforts were assessed via student feedback, evaluation forms, competency assessments, and evaluations from academic departments (Psychology).

3. Results demonstrated increased knowledge, skills, and competency in the relevant areas.

A. Ashley Dillard successfully completed a graduate-level practicum during the Spring Semester 2004.

Ashley maintained a steady caseload of individual clients. In addition to her caseload, she attended the Student Affairs staff meetings, presented to the RA class on the issue of eating disorders, coordinated the informational and interactive booth for the Longwood University Wellness Fair, prepared an article on the topic of anxiety, sorted survey data, prepared and presented a program on the effect of the media on body image, and assisted with the annual depression Screening Day. She earned an A for the course.

Ashley shared what she learned during the practicum experience course:
• Gained Insight – how to listen to what is happening inside and act on it.
• Gave self permission to ask for help – always be willing to get a colleague/supervisor’s take when you are stuck or just need to throw ideas around.
• (I learned to) work hard – put all of yourself into what you do and you get all of yourself back.
• (I learned to) leave work at work – keeping my time to myself and not second-guessing my ability or worrying about a client’s well-being in spite of my own.
• (I learned to) Look, Listen, Learn – key steps to help me get to know my clients. Being able to shut up and watch, to seek answers and not just ask questions.

4. The Counseling Center will continue to respond to future training needs (RAs, Peer Mentors, etc.). The Certified Peer Education program will continue to be offered. We will continue to provide supervised training to undergraduate and graduate students; and target additional departments for internship and practicum opportunities.

Goal 3: A sense of personal direction, so students can plan their future wisely and with honor, acquiring self-understanding, self-confidence, and a meaningful philosophy of life.

1. The Counseling Center contributed to the development of personal direction by providing professional counseling services (individual counseling and crisis intervention), offering a supervised internship and practicum experience, offering the Food For Thought program series, and providing Alcohol Education courses.

2. These efforts were assessed with evaluations, case notes, and clinical observations of problems, learning, and changes.

3. We saw 211 students for individual counseling; these students were seen for 699 hourly sessions. We helped 25 students deal with emergency/crisis situations. Results indicate that students gain self-knowledge, self-esteem, greater sense of purpose, and increased personal meaning. Three themes emerged from the assessment:

1) Self-Understanding
“I am discovering myself.”
Discovered “who I am.”
”Experimenting with who I didn’t want to be allowed me to determine who I want to be.”
“Know yourself and the rest will follow.”

2) Self-Confidence
Learned to “trust myself more.”
Increased expression of self.
“I want to be me.”
Increased confidence – trust abilities and decisions.

3) Meaningful Philosophy of Life
Make decisions based on true self rather than false self and external expectations.
To develop an inner sense of self.
Make choices consistent with values and goals.
“I want to know what I need instead of what I want or instead of what others need for me.”

4. The Counseling Center will continue to provide professional counseling services to Longwood University students. Additional professional staff is needed to meet the demands and expectations for services.

Goal 4: A balanced and healthy lifestyle, which means making responsible choices related to values, friends, family, work, recreation, and life-long education.

1. The Counseling Center contributes to the development of a balanced and healthy lifestyle by providing professional counseling services (individual counseling, crisis intervention, consultation with parents and faculty) and by serving on the Professional Development Committee and Wellness Team.

2. These efforts are assessed based on clinical observations regarding motivation to change, commitment to the therapeutic process, and increased ability for insight.

3. Results indicate that students make more informed and responsible decisions and aim to live a more healthy and congruent life. Observations were focused on four major themes.

1) Informed and Responsible Decisions
Insight into self-medication via drug and alcohol abuse
Learned to create distance from drama (among friends)
Understand that alcohol abuse interferes with progress toward goals
“Being more true to myself.”

2) Overcome or Eliminate Self-Defeating Behaviors
Reduce and manage anger
Eliminate panic attacks
Decreased self-motivation
Reduce over involvement

3) Function Better and Feel Better About Self
Learn to seek and accept support from others
Overcome burnout
Set clearer and healthier boundaries
Increase self-care

4) Reduce Problematic Symptoms
Discontinued hair-pulling (trichotillomania)
Decrease levels of anxiety
Decreased symptoms of depression
Less stress

4. The Counseling Center will continue to provide professional counseling services to Longwood University students. Additional professional staff is needed to meet the increasing demands for services. Men’s issues are being explored and a program will be developed.

Goal 5: Interpersonal effectiveness and appreciation of diversity and differences, so that students can establish genuine, trusting, and honorable relationships within the broad family of humanity.

1. The Counseling Center contributes to interpersonal effectiveness and appreciation of diversity by providing professional counseling services and collaborating with the Office of Multicultural Affairs (Internationals Student Orientation, training of Honor and Judicial Board members, Food for Thought Program on Brown vs. Board of Education).

2. These efforts are assessed via case notes, clinical observations, and evaluations.

3. Observations indicate that students gain amore open-minded perspective and become more open to areas outside their natural comfort zone. In addition, student’s ability to develop satisfying, healthy relationships improved

Below are some of the learning and changes related to Goal 5.
Increase assertiveness in relationships
Understand and overcome fear of abandonment
Love myself before I love another person
More accepting of self and others
Overcome fear of intimacy and commitment

41 students attended the Food for Thought Program: “Reconciling the Past; Moving Forward.” Student wrote comments about what they learned.
Hearing things from a variety of people from different backgrounds and cultures
Learning about the racial history of Farmville
Discussed moral situations and what happened here with Brown vs. Board of Education
Hearing from two different people from two different backgrounds talk about similar things.

4. Men’s issues will continue to be explored and the Food for Thought Program series will continue to address issues of diversity and difference.

Goal 6: Responsible citizenship, so that students can do their best in ways uniquely their own and have motivation to contribute to a better life through community participation and leadership.

1. The Counseling Center contributes to the development of responsible citizenship by co-sponsoring the Peer Helper program, training student groups (RAs, Peer Mentors, Honor and Judicial Board), providing professional counseling services, offering the Food for Thought program series, and providing the Alcohol Education courses.

2. These efforts are evaluated via observations, evaluations, peer education efforts, and the annual Angel Tree project.

3. Results demonstrate increased awareness of a life/mean bigger than the self and connection with the Farmville community (Angel Tree Project).

4. The Counseling Center will continue to respond to training needs and will continue to provide services and programs.

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