title: Building a practice research network: obstacles faced and lessons learned at the Center for Collegiate Mental Health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) was created through a grass-roots initiative among university and college counseling centers to standardize assessment procedures, conduct empirical studies, and advocate clinical services.
  
  
  METHODS
  At present, CCMH has over 240 college counseling center members and oversees a research infrastructure based on these centers' routine services, describing approximately 90,000 individual clients annually. These data are used to provide clinical tools, which can be useful for ongoing clinical services as well as program evaluation, quality assurance, and advocacy on behalf of the counseling centers and clients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There have been substantial obstacles to overcome, and there remain numerous challenges in day-to-day operations. This article provides a brief overview of the challenges and current solutions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Large-scale collaborations between researchers and practitioners are possible, and some recommendations can be made based on the experience of CCMH.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Pennsylvania State University , University Park , PA , USA.
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: McAleavey
authors.forename: Allison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lockard
authors.forename: Louis G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Castonguay
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Benjamin D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Locke
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013333:Student Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: mental health services research; outcome research; process research; psychotherapist training/supervision/development; technology in psychotherapy research & training