UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA
COUNSELING CENTER
ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Counseling Center: At-A-Glance
M I S SI ON : The Counseling Center promotes the personal development and psychological well-being of
all students and encourages a college environment that is conducive to growth and learning. We provide
high quality, ethical counseling and psychological services to UNI students and consultation services to
UNI faculty and staff.
We fulfill our mission by providing counseling services, conducting outreach to the campus, and
providing education and training. In order to maintain the quality of our services, the Counseling Center
staff engages in professional development activities, scientific research, and utilization of data to assess
and improve our services. The Counseling Center is fully accredited by the International Association of
Counseling Services
Goals & Accomplishments 2010 - 2011
1. P R E P A R E A N D S U B M I T I A CS R E A C C R E D I T A T I O N M A T E R I A L S B Y J A N U A R Y 2 01 1 .
The application materials were submitted to IACS in January 2011. We were approved for a field visit,
which was conducted by Dr. Bill Burns of North Dakota State University on June 30, 2011. His written
report was received on August 2, 2011 and approval for re-accreditation is expected to be received by
the start of the school year.
2. C O M P L E T E P R E P A R A T I O N S F O R P A R T I C I P A T I O N I N C E N T E R F O R C O L L E G I A T E M E N T A L H E A L T H .
The Counseling Center was approved by UNI IRB for participation in the study, information for clients
about the study was added to the web-based component of Titanium, and de-identified data was
uploaded to the Center for Collegiate Mental Health beginning in the spring 2011 semester.
3. I N V E S T I G A T E , P L A N A N D E S T A B L I S H N E W G R A D U A T E S T U D E N T T R A I N I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S .
Dr. Paula Gilroy, Assistant Director for Training, successfully diversified the Counseling Center Training
Program by recruiting and training graduate students from Social Work and Clinical Psychology for the
2010-11 school year. In addition, graduate students from Social Work, Clinical Psychology, and Mental
Health Counseling have been successfully recruited for the 2011-12 academic year.
Counseling Services:
Month
New
Clients
Therapy
Sessions
August
30
108
September
95
514
October
90
666
November
63
588
December
39
397
January
48
389
February
60
618
March
63
594
April
54
698
May
7
176
June
8
90
July
7
73
New Clients Seeking Counseling
%
Seen same day
19
Seen within 2 days
Seen within 7 days
29
71
Counseling Activities:
Number of Clients
Appointments Attended
Initial Assessments
Emergency Initial Assessments
Individual Therapy Sessions
Couple Therapy Sessions
Phone Consultations
In-Person Consultations
No Show Rate
2010-11
789
4,939
662
197
3,753
26
650
80
8.3%
2009-10
688
4,419
620
166
3,317
32
649
66
7.6%
2008-09
697
4,426
625
117
3,432
52
499
61
6.6%
Staffing
The Counseling Center staff consisted of 3 full-time psychologists, 5 full-time mental health counselors, and 2 parttime mental health counselors during the 2010-11 academic year. Services were also provided by 1 student from the
UNI MSW program and 4 students from the UNI Masters in Clinical Psychology program. During the spring semester,
Dr. Paula Gilroy's title was changed to Psychologist/Assistant Director for Training and Jennifer Murra's title became
Licensed Mental Health Counselor/Assistant Director for Clinical Services. In January 2011, the Student Health Clinic
Psychiatrist and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner were changed to dual reporting lines in the Student Health Clinic and
Counseling Center.
Professional Staff
Members:
Ruby Casiano, Ph.D.
Stephanie Germann, M.A.
Paula Gilroy, Ed.D.
Stephanie Harken, M.A.
Gretchen Honsell, M.A.
Lindsay Linck, M.A.
Jennifer Murra, M.A.
Amy Roling, M.A.
David Towle, Ph.D.
Priscilla Villarreal, M.A.
Psychology Associate
Mental Health Counselor
Licensed Psychologist/Assistant Director
for Training
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Mental Health Counselor (part-time)
Licensed Mental Health
Counselor/Assistant Director for Clinical
Services
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Licensed Psychologist & Director
Mental Health Counselor
Psychiatric Providers:
JoEllen Kubik, M.S.N.,
M.A
Abdur Rahim, M.D.
Psychology Practicum
Students:
Justina Kotek, B.A.
Jay Middleton, B.A.
Ashley Sparks, B.A.
Kyle Suhr, B.A.
Justina Kotek, B.A.
Psychiatric Nurse
Practitioner
Psychiatrist
Social Work
Intern:
Dani Pitlick, B.A.
Outreach
The Outreach Team, consisting of Casiano, Germann, Harken, Honsell, & Villarreal. The Counseling Center
planned, delivered and assessed 85 outreach activities for 1891 individual recipients.
Counseling Center staff members participated in the Student Affairs Diversity Committee, the Assessment &
Consultation Team, Foundations of Excellence, the Threat Assessment Team, the University Health Services
Eating Disorders Treatment Team, the Veteran Student Services Committee, the Employee Assistance Program
Committee, and the Alcohol Advisory Committee.
The Counseling Center offers anonymous on-line screening through Mentalhealthscreening.org.
.Online Screening Topic
Depression
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
Eating Disorders
Alcohol
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Number Screened
268
169
128
61
21
42
Training & Professional Development
1. During the 2010-11 academic year, we provided training to 4 practicum students from the UNI Department of
Psychology and 1 intern from the UNI School of Social Work. The Practicum Students and Intern provided 239
counseling sessions to 68 clients. They received 106 hours of individual supervision from licensed Counseling
Center staff members. Counseling Center professional staff members received 176 hours of individual clinical
supervision. Staff members attended 53 professional development activities for a total of 305 hours. This does
not include independent self-study activities staff members engaged in to fulfill licensure requirements.
2. Counseling Center staff members participate in professional organizations, including the American Counseling
Association, the American Psychological Association, the Iowa Psychological Association, the Association of
University and College Counseling Center Directors, the Association for the Coordination of Counseling Center
Clinical Services, the Society of Counseling Psychology (APA Div 17), and the Section on College and University
Counseling Centers.
3. Dr. Paula Gilroy served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of College Counseling.
C LIENT C HARACTERISTICS
Classification:
Marital Status:
%
Freshman
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
Graduate
Majors
Psychology
Elementary Education
Undecided
Biology
Art
Music
English
Accounting
Social Work
Leisure, Youth, Human
Services
Gender:
Female
Male
Age:
Average Age
Median Age
Age 22 and Under
Age Range
17
18
23
31
10
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
5
7
8
8
10
Single
Serious
Dating/Committed
Married
Other Client
Characteristics
Religion is Important
Financial Situation is
Always or Often Stressful
First Generation College
Student
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or
Questioning
Intercollegiate Athlete
Registered with Student
Disability Services
International Students
Served in Military
%
61.0
32.0
5.2
Counseling History:
%
Previous Counseling
Previous Counseling at UNI
Counseling Center
Prior Drug & Alcohol
Treatment
50
32
4
%
Referred by:
%
48.0
42.0
Self
Friend
26.0
Family Member
Faculty
7
6
8.4
Health Clinic
Off-Campus Physician
4
3
6.0
5.0
Website
Staff
3
2
4.9
1.3
Hall Coordinator
Resident Assistant
2
1
28
12
%
74
26
22
21
75%
17-57
Ethnicity:
%
Caucasian
African American
Hispanic /Latino
Multiple ethnicities
Not Reported
Asian American
Other
87.0
3.9
3.6
2.0
1.8
1.1
0.7
Residence:
%
On-campus residence hall
or apartments
Off-campus
apartments/house
Fraternity/Sorority House
48
49
2
Severity Factors:
Have a Family Member
With a Substance Abuse
Problem
Experienced a Traumatic
Event
Friend or Relative
Attempted or Completed
Suicide
Engaged in Binge Drinking
at Least Twice in Past
Month
On Psychotropic
Medication at Time of
Intake
Unwanted Sexual
Experience
History of Self-Injurious
Behavior
Ever Considered Suicide
Previous Suicide Attempt
Others Have Expressed
Concern About Your
Drinking
Use Drugs Not Prescribed
by Doctor
%
43
38
39
24
29
27
25
25
11
17
9
Diagnostic
Categories:
# of
Clients*
Anxiety Disorders
254
Relationship Problems
198
Depressive Disorders
191
Sexual Abuse
80
Eating Disorders
61
Adjustment Disorders
49
Academic Problems
44
Alcohol & Drug
39
Disorders
Phase of Life Problems
38
Bereavement
28
Identity Problems
20
ADHD
19
Physical Abuse
18
Post-traumatic Stress
15
Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
8
*Because clients may receive more
than one diagnosis, the total number
of diagnoses will exceed the number
of Counseling Center clients.