Webinars Focus on Methods to Improve Students' Mental Health on Campus

By Janice Phelan, January 23, 2020

The University of Central Missouri will present two webinars during early 2020 focusing on how to improve college students’ mental health. The one-hour sessions, scheduled for Feb. 25 and March 24, also emphasize the importance of outreach and targeted services for students.

Both webinars are based on the book, “Delivering Effective College Mental Health Services,” by Lee Keyes, Ph.D., a former executive director of the University of Alabama Counseling Center. Keyes will present the two sessions with Paul Polychronis, Ph.D., a former director at the University of Central Missouri Counseling Center who currently serves as the center’s director emeritus. Keyes and Polychronis both work as consultants at Keyes and Polychronis Consulting.

"What Exactly Is Going On With Students Today?" will be from 2 to 3 p.m. Feb 25. This webinar is designed for individuals who work with students in higher education. Cost is $199.

"How Do You Build A Counseling Center Anyway?" will be offered from 2 to 3 p.m. March 24. This second session is recommended for higher-education counseling center staff, vice presidents or vice provosts who have counseling centers under their purview, provosts and university presidents. Cost is $199.

“Delivering Effective College Mental Health Services,” published in 2019 by Johns Hopkins University Press, is a guide for mental-health professionals, college administrators and others interested in the rational construction of college counseling services. The book includes perspectives on campus culture assessment, paradigms and models, alternative viewpoints related to student needs, the importance of outreach by trained mental-health staff and a road map for service construction.