Mark Attridge, Jason C. McDaniel
The paper profiles the characteristics of 2,800 college student users of brief psychological counseling. Student Assistance Program (SAP) external provider AllOne Health made available their archival data during 2020 to 2024 for the study. The sample had 36 institutions of higher education located across the United States. About half of cases attended large, for-profit, private universities. Median school size was 10,264 enrolled students (range 200 to 37,921). The average case was 30 years old (range 18 to 75; only 27% in traditional undergraduate age range of 18-24). Results identified mental health issues as the most common issue (61%: subtypes of anxiety 23%, depression/grief 16% and other emotional 22%), followed by personal relationships (19%), personal life stress (17%), 2% family, 1% academic and <1% substance. The typical case used 3.5 counseling sessions (range 1 to 9) over 47 days (median 24). Almost all cases received treatment via remote access (89% online video; 10% phone). Also, 11% of cases had a short call with a counselor during intake (“in-the-moment” care) and 7% used life coaching. Age was correlated with some issues but other factors were unrelated to why students used the counseling for different issues (year, during vs after pandemic, school characteristics). Comparisons to national norms from on-campus mental health centers and employee users of employee assistance program (EAP) counseling are presented with age being a difference factor. Limitations and clinical implications are discussed.