By Elizabeth Wanersten and Tony W. Cawthon
Student affairs professionals are tasked with job responsibilities well beyond those functions listed in their position description. With these student-facing roles, they sometimes find themelves in positions where students feel comfortable coming to them for difficult conversations about what is happening in their lives. One resource that can aid in this effort is Rebekah Schulze and Maureen Kenny’s book Basic Counseling Skills for Higher Education Professionals: Identifying and Addressing Mental Health Concerns (2023). The authors provide crucial information about the basic counseling skills needed to address common challenges for students – particularly mental health concerns, which have risen steadily on college and university campuses, as revealed by a 2019 study conducted by the American College Health Association.
The book is organized into 14 chapters and concludes with an exceptional list of mental health resources. Chapter 1 provides introductory information about the skills and knowledge needed to intervene effectively when students are struggling with mental health issues. Chapter 2 introduces the basic counseling skills that can best be utilized by higher education professionals: from establishing rapport, active listening, and understanding the use of probing questions to paraphrasing, managing triggers, and using confrontation appropriately. An additional section addresses how to act and react when working with groups that challenge one’s personal values. In a discussion of guidelines for the field, the authors introduce NASPA and ACPA’s Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators. Under the competency area of personal and ethical foundations, higher education professionals are encouraged to “articulate awareness and understanding of one’s attitudes, values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and identify how they affect one’s integrity and work with others.” In this way, professionals can listen carefully to student concerns in an objective way, without being influenced by their own perspectives.
Chapter 3 discusses the importance of setting boundaries and understanding how confidentiality laws work on campus. Student affairs professionals must be intentional when creating boundaries with students, even in the most challenging of situations. The chapter also covers two of the most widely known confidentiality laws that affect a campus: FERPA and the Clery Act.
Chapter 4 presents a model of the stages of change that can be utilized in the attempt to modify or disrupt unhealthy habits and risky behaviors and provides useful advice about identifying and making appropriate referrals for students in crisis. This supportive role can cause what is often referred to as secondary trauma for the helper, and Chapter 5 emphasizes the need for professionals to prioritize self-care. Newer professionals are leaving the field for many reasons, including stress and burnout, but prioritizing self-care and personal wellness can combat these negative effects. The chapter includes a helpful table that presents the several dimensions of wellness and provides examples of how to engage in activities that promote self-care, such as practicing yoga or exercising. Chapter 6, one of the most significant chapters, discusses the importance of cultural awareness in professionals’ relationships with specific demographics and identity groups. In addition to providing statistics and examples of specific behaviors, the authors provide helpful guidelines about when it is best to intervene.
The final section (Chapter 7–13) identifies common mental health concerns among students, including anxiety and stress (Chapter 7), depression and suicide (Chapter 8), eating disorders (Chapter 9), sexual assault and victimization (Chapter 10), interpersonal violence (Chapter 11), substance abuse (Chapter 12), and grief and loss (Chapter 13). Each chapter is organized by introducing the reader to the basic signs and symptoms of the mental health problem followed by a case study or further definitions and advice about approaching the student and making an appropriate referral.
Chapter 7 focuses on how anxiety and stress affect college students differently. After identifying the various forms of anxiety, ranging from phobias to panic attacks and test anxiety, the authors discuss stress as a universal experience for college students, one that can be countered by developing time management skills and creating an effective work/life balance. Chapter 8 deals specifically with the rising rates of students struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts and offers a number of tools for supporting these students. One tool is a mnemonic device that can be used to determine if a student is at risk for suicidal behaviors: the acronym “IS PATH WARM” (ideation, substance abuse, purposelessness, anxiety, trapped, hopelessness, withdrawal, anger, recklessness, and mood change).
Chapter 9 includes detailed definitions of the different types of eating disorders and discusses how students may be more susceptible to unhealthy or disordered eating habits while in a new environment. Chapter 10 centers on a case study illustrating the signs of sexual assault and victimization and provides a list of what to do or not do when supporting victims. Professionals must listen carefully, be supportive and empathetic, and be prepared to offer resources both on and off campus. Chapter 11 focuses on interpersonal violence (stalking, emotional abuse, and different forms of emotional and physical violence) and how it is exhibited on a college or university campus. The chapter includes a table providing details about healthy and unhealthy relationships, revealing that physical safety and equality are components of a healthy relationship, while physical abuse and control are associated with an unhealthy one. To best support students who are victims of interpersonal violence, it is vital that higher education professionals be knowledgeable about campus resources and legal options.
Chapter 12 focuses on substance abuse and how it affects student populations differently. As the authors stress, higher education professionals must be able to distinguish between the recreational use and the abuse of drugs and alcohol. They identify groups who may be more susceptible to substance abuse and emphasize the importance of professionals being free of judgement and able to connect students to appropriate intervention outlets. Chapter 13 discusses students’ experiences of grief and loss and provides guidelines on how to support them with empathy and compassion.
The book concludes with a chapter about how to move forward. The key takeaway is Loren Eiseley’s starfish story about a man who sees a boy throwing a starfish into the ocean, thinking he is saving them; when the man asks how he can possibly make a difference when there are so many starfish along the beach, the boy responds, “Well, it made a difference for that one.” Each person has the power to make a difference regardless of how big or small it is. The book’s appendix provides additional resources grouped by mental health issue so that readers can quickly identify which ones they need to utilize when working with a student.
Although the chapters do not need to be read in order, readers may find it worthwhile to read some of the beginning chapters to refresh their memory about basic counseling skills and guidelines for confidentiality. Given the wide range and scope of degrees that student affairs professionals possess (counselor education, student development, student affairs, higher education, to name a few), this book reminds readers of the necessity to have and maintain basic counseling skills and competencies in their toolbox. While this book is very appropriate for student affairs professionals (especially housing and residence life staff, given their significant interactions with students), advisors and faculty would also benefit from it. Faculty are often uncomfortable dealing with certain behaviors displayed in their classroom, and this book provides them with skills to manage and mitigate these disruptions. Sadly, over the years, the education and training of student affairs staff on basic counseling skills has diminished, but the information and advice offered in this book can lessen the impact of that loss.
Elizabeth Wanersten is a program coordinator for fraternity and sorority life at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Tony W. Cawthon is an alumni distinguished professor at Clemson University in South Carolina.