Ashley Conway

Professor Barbara Kyle

ENC 3250

22 March 2015

Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review

Annotated Bibliography

Gold, Jenny. “Triage System Helps Colleges Treat Mentally Ill Students”. Kaiser Health News. 7

January 2013. Web. 16 March 2015. http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/college-university-

mental-health/

The author, Jenny Gold for Kaiser Health News evaluates what universities are doing to treat

students with mental illness. She is a propionate of the “triage” system. The “triage “ system

determined the priority of a patients treatment by evaluating their condition through a set of

questions. This is the most widely used form of treatment in universities, and the University of

Central Florida alike. A problem with the triage system is that patients are categorized by

severity and received different levels of treatment based on their condition .If a student has a

mental illness, they should be treated equally and not pushed aside as this might discourage them

from seeking further treatment. Another component of the triage system is the referral process.

Once a student is evaluated, they are referred to off-campus, non university affiliated care.

Kirsch, Daniel J., Leonard A. Doerfler, and Debbie Truong. "Mental Health Issues Among

College Students: Who Gets Referred For Psychopharmacology Evaluation?." Journal Of

American College Health 63.1 (2015): 50-56. SPORTDiscus. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.

The authors, for the Journal of American College Health use data collected from 540 college

students to determine who and to what amount they are being referred to psychopharmacy

treatment. The students completed a report that measured depression, anxiety, suicide, and

substance abuse, which was then compared to the DSM (Diagnostic Statistic Manuel). The

results determined that depression, anxiety, and ADHD were common among college students

that were referred for psychopharmical care.

Nordberg, Samuel S.1,2, et al. "Treatment Utilization On College Campuses: Who Seeks Help

For What?." Journal Of College Counseling 16.3 (2013): 258-274. Education Full Text

(H.W. Wilson). Web. 16 Mar. 2015.

The study, which was completed by researchers for the Journal of College Counseling, had the

purpose of determining why college students seek out treatment for behavioral health issues.

They determined several predictors that differentiated those who seek treatment compared to

those who don’t. Of those predictors were, for example, depression, eating concerns, substance

abuse, suicide attempts, family distress and more. It was important to understand why students

seek treatment for the final feasibility report.

Pointon, Clare. "The Changing Role Of The University Counseling Service." Therapy Today

25.8 (2014): 12-17. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.

Clare Ponton of Therapy Today describes her role in a university counseling center. Her article

describes how these institutions are becoming far too “money hungry” and are not meeting the

demands of the increasing mentally ill college student population. This article added a new

perspective to the research collected, by focusing on the business and economical side of the

argument, rather than the psychological side. She believes that Universities are not keeping up

with the increasing population of mentally ill and they need to reallocate funds so that students

are treated more effectively.

Wiedemann, Kira N. "One Student's Personal Experience with UCF's Counseling Center."

Personal interview. 08 Mar. 2015.

The interviewee, Kira Wiedemann is a student at the University of Central Florida who sought

treatment with the counseling center provided by the University. In the interview, Kira described

her dissatisfaction with how they assessed her and how they referred her to seek outside

treatment. The University, uses the “triage” system, and Ms. Wiedemann thought that this form

of treatment felt rushed and impersonal. This interview was crucial to the feasibility report, as it

gave a personal experience to the treatment being offered by the University.

Literature Review

Many studies have examined the mental health of college students and how their

respected universities treat behavioral health issues. The literature covers a variety of studies and

theories, however, this review will focus on the three major themes throughout the literature

reviewed. These themes are, how universities treat college students with mental health concerns,

what behavioral health issues are most prevalent among college students, and a personal

experience with the University of Central Florida’s counseling center.

Throughout the literature reviewed, the “triage” system is the most common form of

treatment for mentally ill students at university counseling centers, including the University of

Central Florida. In the article written by Jenny Gold, it is stated that “the average college

counseling center sees about 10 percent of the student body each year”. With such a large

population seeking treatment, many universities have adapted using the triage system. Usually

students first call the counseling center and are either assessed over the phone or assessed in

person. They are asked a series of questions that determined the severity of their illness. After

that the students are seen two or three times and then are referred to seek off-campus care, such

as therapeutic treatment and/or pharmacological treatment. A problem in this, noted by Kira

Wiedemann, who was interviewed for this report is that students aren't getting adequate care by

their universities and felt that this process was rushed and impersonal. In the interview she states,

“I had to tell someone everything I was feeling and open up to them on the spot, and once I did

that I was referred to someone else, not affiliated with the university and had to go through that

whole process again, which was difficult”. With these two sources, one supporting the triage

system and one being against it, a clearer insight was gained as to why and how the “triage”

system should be updated or even removed by universities.

Determining the need for improved counseling at the University of Central Florida was

an important step in researching for the report. The journal of American College Health’s article

on “Mental Health Issues Among College Students: Who Gets Referred for Psychopharmacology

Evaluation” sampled 540 college students in 6 different college counseling centers and the

results revealed that depression, anxiety, and ADHD were prevalent among college students. Of

the 540 student, over half were prescribed medication prior to evaluation. This raised the

question of why students weren't being evaluated and given medication before a proper

diagnosis? Clare Pointen, of Therapy Today believes that the university counseling system is

becoming too dependent on the financial aspect and are becoming “market oriented”. Of the 540

students evaluated in the study, 12 percent had thoughts of suicide. The journal for College

Counseling also performed a study on evaluating the need for treatment in “Treatment Utilization

On College Campuses: Who Seeks Help For What?”. This journal noted several underlying

factors that contribute to mental illness in college students. The study revealed that students who

had family distress, eating problems, substance abuse issues and more were more likely to seek

treatment and have a need for treatment.

The research collected marks a clear need for mental health treatment among college

students. The high statistics show that there are a significant amount of college students who

need treatment. From two of the sources it can be said that the current practices in treating

students is not entirely effective and there is a need for change and modernization. With 12% of

students having suicidal thoughts, universities should consider this a major health problem.