Influences on Decisions to Refer at University Counseling Centers

A Collaborative Process Model for Promoting Successful Referrals in College Counseling

“…On the basis of the complexity and challenges of referral, we believe a collaborative process model will benefit counselors by providing a consistent, systematic method used to explore the essential factors, make decisions about referrals, and then execute those referrals. Although reasons for referrals to community providers have been presented in past literature (Dworkin & Lyddon, ; Lacour & Carter, ; Lawe, Penick, Raskin, & Reymond, ; Quintana et al, ; Zuriff, ), to our knowledge, this is the first coherent model of referral specific to college settings. Similar to ethical decision‐making models (e.g., Barnett & Johnson, ; Forester‐Miller & Davis, ; Luke, Goodrich, & Gilbride, ), the model incorporates consideration of relevant factors in making a decision of whether or not to refer.…”

“…In addition to clinical data, information about the student's financial means to pay for counseling services (e.g., health insurance subscription) and access to transportation should also be gathered. Furthermore, considerations should be made about client's expectations for services such as preference for open‐ended counseling (Lawe et al, ) and the student's availability for scheduling counseling appointments.…”

Reported Interpersonal Violence and Disposition Decisions: The Impact of Client and Counselor Variables

“…Incest is often a long-held secret, and thus incest survivors might not address this issue until trust and safety have been established in the counseling relationship. In light of the growing concern in counseling centers about limited resources (Lawe et al, 1999;Stone &Archer, 1990), the question becomes whether time-limited treatment allows enough time to develop the trust level necessary for delving into recovery work for incest survivors.…”

“…The greater demand for counseling center services caused by these student concerns has led many centers to grapple with how best to allocate already limited resources. In a study of 42 counseling centers with internship training programs accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), 8 1% had adopted a policy of limiting the number of client sessions, with a median of 12 sessions (Lawe, Penick, Raskin, & Raymond, 1999). The average rate of referral for services outside the university among participating centers was 16%.…”

Does Psychopathology Predict Counseling Duration?

“…Those counseling centers in which these case management strategies have been implemented are in the dfficult position of deciding which students should be accepted as clients and which students should be referred to other providers for longer-term treatment. To reach these decisions, counsehg centers need to develop sound screening and assessment procedures for deciding whom to accept and whom to refer (Stone & Archer, 1990;Cooper & Archer, 1999;Lawe, et al, 1999).…”