<p> College counseling centers have adapted through the years to operate in an environment that has undergone frequent changes since such services were first implemented, over 100 years ago. As counseling centers continue to be faced with an increase in the number of students who need mental health services, as well as a continued increase of fiscal pressures that make providing adequate services difficult, both the students and staff must seek new ways of improving current services. Therefore, the utilization of an appreciative action research inquiry (AARI) involved the engagement of university staff, faculty, and students in developing a task force, which looked at ways to improve the current mental health services based on input obtained from individual interviews with the stakeholders: students, faculty, and staff. A qualitative method of data collection consisted of unstructured individual interviews of the members of the task force, a member-check, and field notes. Utilizing epiphanic data analysis proved best. This AARI project explored collaboratively the strengths and weaknesses of the current mental health services currently offered on campus. The AARI provided opportunities for stakeholders to advocate for improvements to the current mental health services on campus as well as recognize the existing strengths. Identified needed improvements that emerged from the date included increased advertisement of the available services, increased education about the need for mental health services, and the necessity for increased awareness of overall mental health services on campus. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3709670 |
| Date | 29 July 2015 |
| Creators | Welch, Tiffany M. E. |
| Publisher | Capella University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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