Division of Student Affairs
2008-09 Annual Report
Department: Counseling Center
Person Completing Report: Kathy J. Pendleton, Interim Director
Date: 7/31/09
1. Major Accomplishments (accomplishments from your department associated with the
Strategic Plans. These should also be accomplishments we can use to promote your
department and Student Affairs.
General Statement: The Counseling Center supports the mission of the University and the
Division of Student Affairs by providing quality mental health services and programs to
assist students in achieving their personal and academic goals.
Major Accomplishments:
(Tied to Department/Strategic Plan)

Counseling Center psychologist provided 175 hours of supervision for nine (9)
masters and doctoral level students in the mental health or counseling psychology
program (ECPY).

Evening hours were increased from two nights to four nights per week during the fall
and spring semester.

Increased the number of psychologist on staff to three.

Renovation for the Counseling Center resulted in additional office space, secure
reception area, as well as the addition of a handicap accessible entrance.

Collaboration with Student Health and the implementation of electronic scheduling
software. The software allows for tracking of appointments by the Counseling
Center staff as well as the psychiatric staff.

The provision of 3087 on-going counseling sessions by CC staff and practicum
students. This represents a 39% increase.

The Counseling Center provided services to 634 new clients. This represents a 39%
increase.
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
The creation of an assessment practicum in October 2008 that provided assessments
for Learning Disability and Attention Deficit Disorder /Hyperactivity Disorders.

Counseling Center staff made 157 referrals to the psychiatric staff.
2. Staffing summary: (Changes, Updates, Challenges, Issues related to staffing in your
department.)
General Statement: The reorganization of the Counseling Center has created both challenges
and successes. While we were able to increase the number of professional staff, there were a
number of staffing changes.
Specific Changes and Issues:

Kathy Pendleton appointed as Interim Director, effective 7/1/08.

Vince Brown’s position was reclassified to a Counselor Senior.

Dr. Terri L. White’s position was reclassified from a Psychological Counselor to a
Psychologist.

Jesse Wright, administrative assistant, retired in August 2008. The position was
downgraded to a program assistant and Karen G. Zody was hired to fill the new position.

Donna Witcher resigned during her provisionary period. Christin Nicole Combs was hired
to replace Donna.

Melanie Hiler left her position as a LPCC due to licensing issues.

The addition of two psychologists to the staff, Kimberly Smith and Juan Pablo Kalawski.

Laura Byrd and Kimberly Smith both submitted their resignations in June 2009.

The vacant counseling position allowed for the creation of a new position, Department
Assistant. The first round of interviews were unsuccessful, however the second set of
applicants appear more promising.

Student Health Services hired a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Sandra Robertson.
Sandra’s office is in the Counseling Center.
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3. Activities and initiatives that support Academic Units (Collaborative efforts with
academic units or programs and services that support students’ classroom
experience.)
General Statement: The Counseling Center maintained previous partnerships and created new
alliances with academics units across the campus to support student learning inside and outside
the classroom.
Specific Activities, Programs or Initiatives:

The Counseling Center served as a practicum site for mental health and counseling
psychology students in collaboration with the College of Education and Human
Development.

Completed twenty-eight (28) Learning Disability and Attention Deficit Disorders
assessments for students needing academic accommodations in the classroom or
accommodations on the GRE, MAT, LSAT, or MCAT.

Participated in freshman and parent orientation activities by providing information
regarding our services.

Participated in Cardinal Covenant orientation by providing information regarding our
services.

Collaboration with Kent School of Social Work to serve as an internship site for social
work students.

Collaboration with Campus Health to train peer mentors for the CONNECT Mentoring
Program.

Partnering with the Athletic Performance Team to support the retention of athletes.

Staff provided 125 consultations with faculty, staff, or parents regarding student issues.

Stress management, self-care, depression, and anxiety were the primary topics
presented by staff in the classroom or other group settings.

Participating the recruitment fair and reception for prospective doctoral level student in
College Student Personnel.
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4. Activities and services that support diversity.
General Statement: The Counseling Center provides services and activities that support a
diverse group of students.
Specific Activities, Programs or Initiatives:

Collaboration and consultation with the LGBT Services regarding client sexual
orientation issues.

To meet the needs of the clients served we hired a psychologist that is fluent in
Spanish.

Support of the Transformation Tea for Women of Color by serving on the planning
committee and attending the event.

Serving on the Commission for Diversity and Racial Equality.

Serving on the Commission on the Status of Women.

Support for low-income students by serving on the Cardinal Covenant Advisory
Committee and campus events related to Cardinal Covenant students.

Support for veterans by participating in professional development activities related
to veterans and serving on the Veterans Advisory Committee.

Participation in the Multicultural Academic Enrichment Health Fair.

Participation in the Vagina Monologues and Women’s Equality Day activities.
5. Activities and services that support community service and /or civic engagement:
General Statement: The Counseling Center partnered with several community agencies to
provide community service projects to assist students and the community.
Specific Activities, Programs or Initiatives:

Continued collaboration with Campus Health, the International Association of
Alcohol Awareness (IIAA) and the U of L Coalition to Reduce High Risk Drinking. This
collaboration resulted in U of L signing an agreement to pilot IIAA’s “Be-Wise”
toolkit.
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
Collaboration with Campus Health Services to provide staffing for a U of L Coalition
to Reduce High Risk Drinking and other Drug Use booth at World Fest and Irish Fest.

Continued involvement in furthering alcohol and drug prevention efforts on campus
and networking with community partners resulted in Beam Global providing funding
of a position in Campus Health Services to hire a Risk Reduction Coordinator.

Participation in Body Awareness/Body Appreciation Week activities in collaboration
with Campus Health Services.

Offered free and confidential depression screening at seven locations during
National Depression Screening Week.

Participated in the Scholar House Health Fair.

Continued collaboration with AL-ANON to provide weekly meetings on campus.

Continued liaison program with Residence Life and University of Louisville
Properties. Each staff person is assigned to a residence hall as a contact person for
consultation.

Used the “Counseling Corner” column in the Cardinal Newspaper to provide
information on various mental health topics and information about CC services.

Juan Pablo Kalawski was featured in a discussion on suicide by the local Hispanic
television station Yo Soy. Juan Pablo did the interview in Spanish and English.
6. Staff professional development activities and programs including: individual or
department recognition awards, conference presentations, publications and
involvement in university wide committees and/or professional activities.
General Statement: To create a Division of Student Affairs that has a national reputation for
excellence, the Counseling Center provided multiple opportunities for staff to participate in
local, regional or national conferences.
Specific Activities, Programs, Initiatives or Professional Involvement:

Kimberly Smith attended the WAIS IV Training and State of the Art Treatment for
Eating Disorders: Clinical Applications.
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
Vince Brown attended two events, one related to Depression and the other related
to Emotional Intelligence in Relationships.

Self-Mutilation (Melanie Hiler).

Terri White attended the American Psychological Association National Conference
and was also a presenter. Dr. White also presented at the Summer Academy. Terri
also attended: Veterans Symposium for Higher Education, Addressing the
Psychological Health of Warriors and Their Families: PTSD, Depression and TBI,
Competency Based Clinical Supervision: State of the Art Supervision, Cognitive
Therapy for Personality Disorders, Ethics & Self-Care: Balancing Our Lives & Reducing
Risk, and Advanced Supervision: Working Towards Evidence Based, Collaborative
Mentoring Relationships.

Laura Byrd attended a 12 hour training course on Group Psychotherapy.

Juan Pablo Kalawski submitted an article for publication and is awaiting acceptance
of the article.

Christin Nicole Combs and Karen Zody attended the Classified Staff Retreat. Karen
also attended multiple trainings related to her budgetary responsibilities.

Kathy Pendleton attended the NASPA Conference, CPAK Conference, two SSS Grant
Writing Workshops, and the Veterans Symposium for Higher Education. She also
participated in counseling center site visits at Bellarmine University and
Shippensburg University.

Staff members hold memberships in the respective professional organizations:
Kentucky Psychological Association, CPAK, NASPA, ACPA, AUCCCD, and APA.

Staff members serve on a variety of campus committees, such as. Veterans Advisory
Committee, Cardinal Covenant Advisory Board, Athletic Performance Team, Student
Concerns Committee, COSW, CODRE, and the Professional Development Committee.
7. Assessment initiatives – (participant surveys, program reviews, student learning
outcomes, focus groups, feedback etc.)
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General Statement: Assessment activities include student satisfactions surveys and the
collection of student demographic data. The assessment of programs and services needs to
be expanded and collected consistently.
Specific Activities, Programs, or Initiatives:

Students that sought out our services ranged in age from 17-48, with the average
age being 21.

58% of the students seen were female and 42% were male.

25% of the students seen were referred for psychiatric consultation.

97% of the students that completed the student satisfaction survey indicated that
they were satisfied with the services received. The remaining 3% were neutral.

Racial Demographics:
o White
o African Amer.
o Asian
o Hispanic

82%
14%
1.3%
2.9%
Beck Depression Inventory
o Not Depressed
o Mildly Depressed
o Moderately Depressed
o Severe Depression
28%
18%
17%
37%
8. Top Goals for the Department/Program – Include specific goals your department will
be working on during 2009-2010. Goals should be in response to items in the
University and Student Affairs Strategic planning documents.
General Statement: The goals for the Counseling Center for 2009-2010 represent the need
to refine our services and to develop programs and services to meet the needs of the
student.
Specific Goals for 2009-2010:
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
Revise existing instruments and/or develop new evaluation instruments to assess
and improve services to students.

Upgrade camera system to increase our ability to monitor and supervise practicum
students in collaboration with the Kent School of Social Work and the Counseling
Psychology Program. One office uses a VHS camera to record sessions.

Submit an application for the Student Support Services TRIO grant.

Sponsor the First Annual Mental Health Symposium and continue planning to
sponsor the event annually.

Establish a clinical presence in the residence halls to increase visibility and
encourage student use.

Research the feasibility of the establishment of a faculty practice increasing the
ability to serve students that need long term therapy.

Revise and update the Policy and Procedures Manual.

Review IACS Standards to begin the process of moving toward accreditation.

Creation and dissemination of a new agency brochure and bookmark for marketing
our services.

Identify funding to purchase Titanium software for client records.
9. Issues and Challenges for the Department During 2008-2009
General Statement: The challenges and issues for the Counseling Center fall into three
categories: (1) increased demand for services; (2) professional staff; (3) structural challenges.
Specific Issues and Challenges 2008-2009:


Need for additional funding to purchase electronic records software to increase
productivity and accountability.
Need to upgrade and purchase additional cameras for supervision of practicum and
internship students.
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
The need to define how we provide services. Historically, the Center has identified itself
a providing brief therapy. However, the Center has moved to more of a clinical model
which impacts the number of students that can be seen.

Students of color requests for a therapist of color could not be met. In some instances
students did not receive serves because the Center could not meet their need.

The need to develop a community referral network if staff cannot meet the needs of
students.

Space continues to be a challenge for the storage of agency records. We are close to
running out of space to store client records.

Staff reorganization and staff turnover during critical periods impacted staff morale.

The increased demand for services and staff vacancies resulted in a waiting list during
the fall semester.

Inconsistent collection of student demographic information and student surveys.
10. Report on metrics for programs and services during the year (usage and/or customer
numbers, occupancy data, number of programs provided, participant demographics,
retention statistics, revenue numbers, budget savings, new funding sources and
amounts, benchmark comparisons, professional development/involvement data, web
hits, student employee numbers, etc)
General Statement: The Counseling Center experienced a significant increase in the number of
new students served (intakes) and the number of on-going client appointments. There was also
a increase in the number of psychiatric referrals.
Specific Metrics from 2008-2009:

Workshop/presentation topics included:
o Body image/eating disorder
o Services
o Cultural diversity
o Gambling
o Grief
o Mediation
o Self-care
o Depression/anxiety
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o Stress Management

See tables
Counseling Center Statistics
Intakes
2008
246
2009
634
Sessions Scheduled
1142
3951
On-going
Sessions
1196
3087
Psychiatric
Referrals
56
157
Practicum
Sup. Hrs.
46
175
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2008
2000
2009
1500
1000
500
0
Intakes
Sessions
Scheduled
On-going
Sessions
10
Psy
Referrals
Practicum
Sup.
Counseling Center Staff
Intakes
Scheduled
Ongoing
Appointments
Appointments
Terri
32
675
637
Vince
141
748
612
Laura
96
880
491
Melanie
60
349
278
Kim
94
480
379
Juan Pablo
56
279
223
Totals
479
3411
2620
Clinical Practicum Students
Intake
Scheduled
Ongoing
Appointments
Appointments
Aaron
46
100
93
Jennifer
44
121
110
Grace (Spring)
7
31
24
Joe (Spring)
12
58
46
Kate
26
120
111
Denise
20
100
83
TOTALS
155
540
467
11
Psychiatric Staff
Scheduled
Psychiatric
Ongoing
Sessions
Evaluations
Appointments
Robertson
659
88
454
Strauss
237
52
205
Schaffner
119
17
102
TOTAL
1015
157
761
Outreach Activities
Activity
Number
Workshop/Training
45
Marketing Activities
16
Department/Group Collaborations
14
Off Campus Partners
9
Consultations with faculty, staff, or parents
125
Therapy Group Sessions
19
12