Gregory T. Eells

Assessing and Responding to Disturbed and Disturbing Students: Understanding the Role of Administrative Teams in Institutions of Higher Education

Behavioral and mental health issues challenge institutions of higher education with difficult decisions around response. Interests of the individual and safety of the community must be constantly considered and balanced. A primary way institutions of higher education are responding to these challenges is through the formation of campus assessment teams. This article will address the legal and ethical issues relevant to these teams, and different models for structuring them. Reviewed are potential team names, models, missions, review procedures, documentation, dispositions, group dynamics, and messages to campus. The article concludes with recommendations about the threat assessment process and key concepts relevant to these teams.

The Implementation of Mental Health Clinical Triage Systems in University Health Services

Abstract The increase in the level of severity of student psychological difficulties and the growing need for psychological services in higher education settings has placed considerable pressure on college and university mental health services to respond effectively to this demand. One way several of these services have responded has been to implement clinical triage systems. Though these systems have been well developed in physical health settings, their use in mental health services, especially higher education mental health settings, are still novel. The present article outlines the processes and procedures involved in developing and implementing a clinical triage system through the perspectives of two sites. Issues addressed include how a mental health service moves to the utilization of a clinical triage system, the processes and components involved in the successful transition to a clinical triage system, the impact on the campus and a discussion of the risk management implications of implementing a clinical triage system.

Homonegativism and sexual orientation matching in counseling supervision

The present study examined the effects of sexual orientation matching and supervisory role on supervisory style and satisfaction with homonegativism as a covariate. Supervisory style significantly correlated with satisfaction for supervisors when trainees were heterosexual but not when trainees were lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Regardless of supervisor or trainee sexual orientation, the supervisors’ homonegativism significantly negatively correlated with trainees’ satisfaction and ratings of supervisors’ style. No significant differences in supervisory style were found among supervision dyads cross-matched for sexual orientation while controlling for homonegativism.

Strategies for Effective Psychiatric Hospitalization of College and University Students

ABSTRACT University and college counseling services face growing demands for services and self-reported increases in the level of presenting psychopathology, including need for psychiatric hospitalization. However, challenges in communication often occur between the systems of an inpatient psychiatric unit and an outpatient college and/or university counseling service. Concerns include students being sent back to the college or university with no communication, premature discharge, and lack of understanding by hospital staff of the college environment. The present article discusses critical components of developing effective collaborative relationships, protocols for assessing and transporting students, and ways to facilitate good aftercare.

The Role of Threat Assessment and Management in College Counseling: How’s That Net Working?

The authors respond to Goodwin’s (2014) Threat Assessment: Are We Using the Wrong Nets? and use that article as a springboard to discuss various aspects of the threat assessment and management process. We find that Goodwin misses critical elements of the threat assessment and management process, conflates the process with two types of risk assessment, does illuminate some important concerns about the use of instrumentation, but incompletely addresses counseling center staff challenges in assisting the implementation of campus threat assessment and management teams.

Suffering and Meaning in Counseling Service Work: Theoretical Foundations and Therapeutic Responses

Working in a counseling service at a college or university often requires counselors to touch the deep foundation of suffering that underlies the human experience. This article will examine the philosophical underpinning of the ways in which our profession helps us respond to human suffering. I will first examine the roots of our daily work found in both Stoic philosophy and Buddhism. The article will then examine how these foundations have been incorporated into the more contemporary approach of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and its approach to suffering. I will then explicitly discuss implications for college counseling, and conclude with several exercises on ways to let suffering be close in our daily counseling center work and to find meaning in our experience.

Hyper-Achievement, Perfection, and College Student Resilience

Abstract Over the past decade, there has been considerable attention given to college students’ experience of pressure to pursue perfection through hyper-achievement and the psychological and emotional toll this process takes on them. The popular press has highlighted this phenomenon and raised specific questions about some of the related consequences like the need for more mental health services on college campuses, the increased risk of substance abuse problems, and the increased risk of suicide among students. This attention raises questions about how we develop and reinforce the desired academic skills in students without risking the many potential negative psychological and emotional consequences. This article examines these dynamics and describes the SAVES model of resilience cultivation as an antidote to hyper-achievement and perfection. This model is an acronym that stands for the following: S—Social connectedness, A—Attitude, V—Values, E—Emotional acceptance, S—Silliness/humor.

Using an Existential Psychotherapy Framework to Assist Students in Mindful Internet Use

ABSTRACT The use of the mobile Internet continues to play an increasing role in all of our lives and particularly in the lives of college and university students. Questions have been raised about the impact of the Internet on adolescents’ and college students’ fulfillment of traditional developmental tasks and more broadly their mental health. The present article posits potentially negative values associated with Internet use and shows how existential psychotherapy promotes corrective values that can help students navigate their Internet use. The existential psychotherapy framework brings mindfulness and conscious choice into students’ decision-making process. This approach intentionally focuses on universal aspects of being human such as dealing with death, making decisions, confronting isolation, and creating meaning. The article will conclude with a case vignette on applying an existential psychotherapy framework to working with a college student.

The Implications of New York State's SAFE Act of 2013 on Mental Health Professionals Nationally

The impact of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on U.S. culture around gun violence and mental health issues continues to evolve rapidly. The federal government and many states have begun conversations, and in some cases legislative action, with the larger goal of reducing or preventing future killings. On January 15, 2013, one month after the Newtown shooting, New York State became the first state to enact sweeping legislation addressing access to fire arms and mental health issues. The New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act of 2013 (the full law can be found at http://open.nysenate.gov/ legislation/bill/S2230-2013) attempts to bring consistency to existing laws by clarifying rules around the sale and possession of firearms. It seeks to revoke firearms licenses or prevent them from being attained by many types of individuals, namely those with: prior violent felony convictions, first degree stalking violations, orders of protection issued against them, drug trafficking felonies, criminal weapons convictions, a history of threatening to use a gun to harm someone else, and developmental disabilities. Of great significance to college mental health, it also seeks to revoke or prevent firearm licenses for those likely to “engage in serious harm to self and others” who are being seen by “mental health professionals.” The law also empowers the state to seize weapons from people in these categories. Being the first state law of its kind, it has national implications for mental health professionals not only