Mental health disorders among students are a growing problem in today’s postsecondary institutions. Counselors in many of these institutions are overwhelmed by the increasing demand for their services. This chapter presents findings from a qualitative study that examined the challenges community college counselors face when working with students experiencing mental health disorders. Ten counselors from seven colleges in the province of Alberta in Canada participated in semi-structured individual and telephone interviews that were analyzed thematically. The counselors dealt with a high proportion of minority and ethnically diverse students who experienced multiple barriers to postsecondary study. Two broad themes with several subthemes emerged from the analysis. The two broad themes were (1) challenges for counselors arising from the mind-set of students about their mental health condition and (2) challenges for counselors arising from lack of resources. Implications of these findings for practice and policy are discussed.
Part of the book: Health and Academic Achievement