title: Student assistance program: a new approach for student success in addressing behavioral health and life events.
abstract: College health centers, whether large or small, often find it challenging to provide counseling and supportive services for all students (including remotely located students) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Student assistance programs (SAPs) are services provided to students through a contractual arrangement to the university or college as a part of student services. The goal is to address psychosocial concerns that may interfere with academic performance within the realm of short-term counseling. These services range from traditional behavioral health concerns about stress and depressive reactions to how to find child care with foreign-speaking services. In this article, the authors describe a method to provide such short-term counseling to a 2,200-student health-science campus. They present data from 1 year of service as well as the benefits and limitations.
authors.affiliation: University Health Services, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Nursing, Memphis 38163, USA. pveeser@utmem.edu
authors.forename: Peggy Ingram
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Veeser
authors.forename: Carol Warren
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Blakemore
mesh_terms: D003376:Counseling; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008016:Life Change Events; D008603:Mental Health; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013333:Student Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities