ABSTRACT

University counseling centers (UCCs) are tasked with delivering effective mental health interventions amidst increasing enrollment and declining resources. A growing number of UCCs have implemented session limits to meet demand with limited resources. To further understand the impact of this trend, we examined data obtained from a nationwide sample of 15,802 clients seeking treatment from 580 therapists at 32 UCCs utilizing the Behavioral Health Measure-20 (BHM-20). We compared psychotherapy outcomes to the number of clinical staff at UCCs utilizing either explicitly defined session limits or ambiguously defined session limits. There was a significant interaction between the way the sample of UCCs defined annual session limits, number of staff, and therapy outcomes. Specifically, higher therapy outcomes were observed at UCCs with explicitly defined session limits and fewer available staff. The ratio of enrolled students to clinical staff was not a predictor of outcome. Implications for clinical practice and agency session limits policy are discussed.

摘要

大学咨询中心（UCC）的任务是在入学人数增加和资源减少的情况下提供有效的心理健康干预措施。越来越多的UCC已实施会话限制，以利用有限的资源满足需求。为了进一步了解这种趋势的影响，我们检查了从15802名客户的全国样本中获得的数据，这些客户使用行为健康措施20（BHM-20）向32个UCC的580名治疗师寻求治疗。我们将心理治疗结果与使用明确定义的活动时限或模糊定义的活动时限的UCC临床人员数量进行了比较。UCC样本定义年度会议限制的方式，工作人员数量和治疗结果之间存在显着的相互作用。具体来说，在UCC中观察到更高的治疗结果，明确定义了疗程限制，可用人员更少。在校学生与临床工作人员的比例并不是结局的预测指标。讨论了对临床实践和机构会议限制政策的影响。