Case Study: New Directions For the College Counselor at CCNY

Community mental health concepts suggest that college counselors may move towards preventive activity rather than remaining focused primarily on response to established symptoms in troubled students. Preventive activity views the college, its policies, and its administration as legitimate areas of counselor-involvement. Experience indicates there is room on the campus for both functions: (a) traditional one-to-one interactions within the counseling office; and (b) outreach programs affecting large numbers of students and administrators. Outreach has shown itself effective in reaching students who might not spontaneously seek out the counseling office. Several areas of counselor involvement at City College in which the staff has experimented with the outreach philosophy are discussed.