University Counseling Centers

Historical Overview

University counseling centers (UCCs) have transformed greatly since their formative years, and these transformations have often mirrored emerging mental health needs and personal growth concerns of the larger culture. During the 1940s, the role of clinical counselor was developed as an individual who could work with the specialized needs of college students. Following World War II, counselors were called on to provide vocational guidance services for returning veterans. During the 1950s through 1970s, outreach and consultation services were added to the work of university counseling centers, causing counselors to view the entire university as their “client” rather than just individual college students. In the 1980s, UCCs were faced with increasing numbers of students with serious mental health concerns (e.g., sexual violence, eating disorders, suicide) and with the need for campus education and consultation to address these issues.

From the 1990s through the beginning of the 21st century, university counseling centers have continued to work with students with serious mental health concerns, but during this time financial constraints have necessitated decreases in service provision, such as limiting counseling sessions. This limitation of counseling sessions is similar to the current therapeutic practice allowances of many third party payment plans, which has contributed to an increase in a medical model approach. This includes a reliance on diagnosis (e.g., the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition: DSM-IV), psychotropic medications, and standard of [Page 432]care approaches that involve the professional practice of reasonable and prudent mental health professionals who have specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of clinical issues.

In many ways, the field has seen a full circle that also embraces many of the emerging perspectives of the last 80 years, from counseling provided by psychiatrists from a medical model during the 1920s to counselors providing mental health treatment from a developmental and adjustment-oriented perspective and back to current practices of considering both developmental and medical models when working a college student population.

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