Mission
The mission of Counseling Services (CS) at UA Little Rock is to empower students to overcome barriers to their academic success by:
- Providing counseling services for university students and
- Promoting a culture of community by fostering an atmosphere of caring.
Summary Narrative
Increase access to student wellness and inclusion services
- Improved Marketing efforts on webpage, social media, etc.
- Provided programming such Movement Monday, Zoom Mindfulness Moment, Deadlift to Destress, and Campus Suicide Prevention Walk
- Increased visibility by meeting students where they are through the use of satellite counselors at strategic areas around the campus, including the Rainbow Center, Bowen School of Law, Clinton School of Public Service, Multicultural Center, and Learning Commons
- Made the office more accessible and welcoming by improving the aesthetics of the Counseling Center, adding calming music to the lounge, coloring books, updating the artwork, and improving signage of the entrance
Enhance the recruitment, service, and engagement of and for UA Little Rock’s diverse student population
- Worked on combating stigma and increasing access/visibility by setting up counselors at the Multicultural Center and Rainbow Center
Prioritize compensation, professional development, and work environment necessary to recruit and retain a diverse student affairs staff that is prepared to support a diverse student population.
- Provided numerous mental health literacy initiatives such as Movement Monday, Zoom Mindfulness Moment, and Deadlift to Destress
At A Glance
- 3,818 individual clinical appointments (19% increase YOY)
- 165 Triage/Students in distress (46% increase YOY)
- 86 CARE team referrals
- 5216 Emails (29% increase YOY)
- 733 Instagram Followers (21% increase YOY)
- 824 Facebook Followers (2% increase YOY)
- 333 TAO users (52% increase YOY)
- 264 Suicide Prevention Walk Participants (Over $2500 raised)
Assessment 1
Alignment with UA Little Rock Goal
#1 Access | Increase student access to transformative educational experiences that are affordable, versatile, and relevant.
Alignment with Student Affairs Goal
#4 Increase access to student wellness and inclusion services
Goal
Improve Internship Training process
Type of assessment
Operational
Activity or experience being assessed
The effectiveness of the Internship training and handbook
Assessment artifact
Survey
Time period assessment was done
November 2023
Results
All interns passed post-test with 100 percent. Questions centered on topics such as scheduling, completing progress notes, completing intakes, policies and procedures, resources on campus, and harm assessment
Continuous improvement process
- Added new training material
- Modified Handbook
WHEN: 6/30/2023
Continuous improvement process
- Create a pre and post-test to gauge intern’s knowledge and competencies and measure growth at the end of the semester.
- Brainstorm ways to improve training
- Use pre-test to create tailored training based on intern’s needs and interests
- Create and execute high-quality workshops for interns
WHEN: August 2023
Assessment 2
Alignment with UA Little Rock Goal
#1 Access | Increase student access to transformative educational experiences that are affordable, versatile, and relevant.
Alignment with Student Affairs Goal
#1 Improve student recruitment and yield processes
Goal
Provide effective and helpful internship meetings/trainings to develop interns
Type of assessment
Operational
Activity or experience being assessed
Internship meetings
Assessment artifact
Exit interview
Time period assessment was done
A few weeks post graduation
Results
Highlights from Intern Exit Interviews
Exit Interview Question
On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your internship experience?
Intern 1 Answer: 5
Intern 2 Answer: 5
Intern 3 Answer: 5
Exit Interview Question
Would you recommend this internship to a fellow student? Any qualifications?
Intern 1 Answer: Yes
Intern 2 Answer: Yes
Intern 3 Answer: Yes
Exit Interview Question
What suggestions do you have, if any, for improving this internship program?
Intern 1 Answer:
“Nothing (bad) sticks out.” “Would have liked more guidance and experience in working on outreach programs.” “I think it would be good to have a better referral list in order to help students find access to other resources outside the university.” “I think it would be better if there was some screening done for clients/students before being given to interns…. also, some better guidance for working with students with more severe issues.”
Intern 2 Answer:
“I really loved the training workshops, (self-care and DSM-5tr) but I would have liked to have had more training workshops to cover more, or different areas.”
Intern 3 Answer:
“I would have liked to have had more training workshops.”
“I would have liked to have had more opportunities to get hands-on experience in counseling specific areas as a lot of my hours were not able to be counted towards my grades/degree.”
Continuous improvement process
We plan to add trainings based on intern’s need and interest. The trainings and workshops will be chosen based on need and interest. Suicide prevention and trauma will also be offered.
WHEN: Fall 2023
Assessment 3
Alignment with UA Little Rock Goal
#1 Access | Increase student access to transformative educational experiences that are affordable, versatile, and relevant.
Alignment with Student Affairs Goal
#4 Increase access to student wellness and inclusion services
Goal
Provide beneficial Mental Health Literacy Workshops/Programs
Type of assessment
Learning outcome (interpersonal development
Activity or experience being assessed
Mental health literacy programming efforts
Assessment artifact
Survey after each workshop
Time period assessment was done
Same day as workshops
Results
Questions from Tara’s DSM training
What did you learn in today’s training?
Respondent 1
Got a really good refresher of DSM diagnosis!
Respondent 2
This was really my first exposure to mental health diagnosis as it pertains to college students- I had never really considered the idea that things would look different for this population. All of it was a great refresher!!
Respondent 3
I learned what diagnoses are affecting our students the most.
What could be improved for next time?
Respondent 1
Can’t think of any specific improvements. Very thorough and relevant.
Respondent 2
The information on the slides felt a little disorganized- there were a LOT of words on some of them! I think more concise info on the slides would be better, so the slides could serve more as “talking points”.
Respondent 3
I think I prefer to attend in person in the future. It’s hard for me to remain focused during online training.
Are there certain diagnoses/topics that you would want covered more next time?
Respondent 1
Greater emphasis on personality disorders and rule-outs was a great addition!
Respondent 2
I have recently become fascinated by this idea of “social anxiety” vs “rejection sensitive dysphoria.” Also, ADHD and how it is often (mis)diagnosed in AFAB people would be an interesting conversation!
Respondent 3
I want more information on how Schizophrenia affects our students
Any feedback on Tara’s presentation skills?
Respondent 1
Tara is a wonderful presenter. She always does a fantastic job.
Respondent 2
I think she did a great job!
Respondent 3
Tara did a great job.
Continuous improvement process
- Created our own Zoom Account to make offering trainings more convenient and easy to access with the help of IT Services
- Promoted MH initiatives better through the use of webpage, social media, fliers, etc.
- Increased collaborative efforts with community and campus stakeholders
WHEN: Throughout spring 2023
Continuous improvement process
- Adding more workshops for the campus community
- Adding more in-services training for Counselors, Interns, and Social Workers at UA Little Rock
- Provide more Mental Health Literacy Program based on the needs and interest of the campus
- Increase budget for mental health programming efforts
- Provide incentives such as Headspace App subscription for those who attend programming
- Research how to provide CEU’s for Nurses, Counselors, and Social Workers
WHEN: This will be an ongoing process throughout the FY23-24 year. We will aim to complete at least one to two trainings each semester.
