Starting (Almost) From Scratch: Developing an Outreach Program

JAMIE E. BRASS, PSY.D.; COLBY POMEROY, B.S.; JOANN LANE, B.S.

CEU statements

The presenters have no conflict of interest to declare.

This presentation is based on our experience during a first year of formalizing and expanding an outreach program. A handout of useful resources is included, and these articles were the basis for some of the decisions made about our outreach program. Content presented is specific to one program, but may be generalizable to other counseling center programs around the country. We will provide information about our school/center/program to help you determine generalizability.

Potential risks: As part of this presentation, the audience will be asked to share their experiences, concerns about barriers to outreach services, and questions about this presentation. Please be aware of your own level of comfort with sharing information, and choose to share or not share accordingly. The presenters have not identified any severe risks associated with this presentation.

About Us

About Weber State, Counseling and Psychological Services Center

Weber State’s approach

Table events

Intro to CPSC

QPR

Approaching individual staff

Historically, most outreach was focused on making the campus aware of our services

Increasing demand for service led to desire to change focus of outreach

Jamie’s background

Focus on Outreach

More student interest in services leads to:

Less staff time for outreach

Less interest in recruiting even more clients

Given those concerns, why focus on outreach?

What other barriers do you face?

Outreach as prevention

Importance of Outreach

Brainstorm

Why is outreach important to your office?

What are additional reasons to have outreach?

Options for Expansion

Formal outreach models

Prevention model

Cube model

Organizational consultation

Formalize outreach requests

Centralized system, method of assigning tasks

Student involvement

Combination of approaches

Our plan

Involve students in the Outreach Team

Formalize specific outreach programming

Engage in an outreach needs assessment

Other outreach requests continue to be directed to individual staff members

Possible future outreach coordinator position

Outreach Team Overview

Mission: To supplement the services offered by CPSC by developing a cadre of skilled undergraduate students to assist in outreach projects, group therapy, and other services during the academic year. To provide undergraduate students with exposure to clinical work and with on-going instruction in training-related areas.

Program Goals: Increase provision of outreach services to the Weber State University community

Provide undergraduate students with valuable experience in developing and implementing innovative outreach programs

Provide undergraduate students with a seminar forum to discuss professional development topics

Decrease mental health stigma by engaging students to reach out to other students to discuss mental health issues

Outreach Team Overview

Recruit students from the Psychology, Child and Family Studies, and Health Promotions departments

Multidisciplinary approach brings different perspectives and fits with our overall center

Provide a mutually beneficial training experience

Decreased outreach time (especially tables) for staff

Practical experience, training, and mentoring for students

Weekly seminar provides additional training on CPSC, outreach, and specific topics. It is also used to provide training on topics of interest to the team

This year – 2 major projects/semester, multiple smaller outreaches

Outreach Team Logistics

Students register for field placement credit with their departments

Must meet specific program requirements, must be a senior during their field placement

Complete specific hour and other requirements depending on credits

Academic year commitment

Benefits and drawbacks

Access concerns

Office space/storage space

Confidentiality agreement

Outreach Team Logistics

Training

Half day prior to fall semester

Weekly meetings

Pair with staff initially

Work toward independent presentations

Our experience

Future directions

Formal focus group

Identify groups of stakeholders

Work with focus groups to determine what the campus sees as a need in terms of outreach

Identify ways to effectively market outreach to the campus community

Questions/Discussion