University Counselor Experiences with the Surge in Mental Healthcare Demand in the United States - Manuscript Abstract & Introduction

Oct 15, 2026

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Study addresses how university counselors in the United States have been overwhelmed by a surge in student mental healthcare demand. The qualitative research documents counselors’ perspectives on how increased demand affected them personally and professionally, and identifies ways to address the resulting pressures. An empowerment and job demand-control framework guided semistructured interviews with eight licensed counselors, yielding six themes including increased responsibilities, service demand, burnout, and coping strategies. Recommendations emphasize staffing, self-care resources, and ongoing check-ins.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background

Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 46 University Counselor Experiences with the Surge in Mental Healthcare Demand in the United States Julie Knight, Ed.D. Walden University – Minneapolis Glenn Richard Penny, Ph.D. Walden University – Minneapolis Sydney Parent, Ph.D. Walden University – Minneapolis ABSTRACT The problem addressed in the study is that university counselors in the United States have been overwhelmed by the surge in student mental health care demand. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore and document the perspectives of university counselors and how they had been affected by the surge in student mental healthcare in the United States and ways to address this problem. The conceptual framework of this study combined Adams’ empowerment theory and Karasek’s job demand-control theoretical model. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analytic procedure was used to derive results from semistructured interviews with eight licensed university counselors. Six themes emerged based on the participants’ responses: (1) counselors experienced changes in job responsibilities, (2) counselors experienced increased demand for services, (3) counselors exhibited signs of burnout, (4) counselors felt unsupported,(5) counselors used multiple strategies to mitigate stress, and (6) counselors experienced burnout. Recommendations for university administrators included increased staffing, providing additional self-care resources, and regular check-ins. Future research is needed to examine the effect on students, if any, due to university counselors’ feelings of stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Keywords: university, counselor, mental healthcare, United States, demand, overwhelmed Copyright statement: Authors retain the copyright to the manuscripts published in AABRI journals. Please see the AABRI Copyright Policy at [http://www.aabri.com/copyright.html](http://www.aabri.com/copyright.html) University Counselor Experiences, Page 1 Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 46 INTRODUCTION The mental health of university students in the United States has been a growing concern due to stress and pressure from academic demands, financial burdens, social isolation, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic (Nahar et al., 2022) . University counselors play a vital role in the mental health of their students and are often the first point of contact for students seeking help for mental health issues (Bardhoshi & Um, 2021). University counselors are specifically trained to support and guide university students in need. Counselor training usually includes crossdiscipline courses, including human development, psychology, psychopathology, evaluation and diagnosis, ethical and legal concerns in counseling, and supervised clinical training (Knappe, 2021; Rønnestad et al., 2019) . Importantly, university counselors are educated in crisis response and emergency management (Shelemy et al., 2019), which is especially important considering that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly exacerbated suicide in addition to suicidal ideations (Xiao et al., 2021) . Thus, university counselors are crucial to student health and safety, and it is necessary to support counselors so they can effectively mitigate student mental health concerns. This basic qualitative study examined university counselors’ experiences handling students’ growing mental health needs, which reportedly overwhelmed student mental health clinics (see Bardhoshi & Um, 2021). This study has the potential for positive social change in that it provides researchers, university administrators, and clinicians with knowledge regarding counselors’ experiences with the surge in mental health demand, allowing them to evaluate and use more efficient strategies for tackling the difficulties faced by university counselors and the students they support. Helping university counselors has the potential, in turn, to positively affect the mental health of the students

FAQs

What problem does the study focus on regarding university counselors in the United States?

It focuses on how university counselors have been overwhelmed by the surge in student mental healthcare demand, creating heavy pressure in daily work and support responsibilities.

How was the study designed and analyzed?

The study used a basic qualitative approach and analyzed semistructured interviews with eight licensed university counselors using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedure.

What main effects did the counselors report experiencing?

Counselors reported changes in responsibilities, increased service demand, signs of burnout, feeling unsupported, and using multiple strategies to mitigate stress.

What recommendations does the study make for university administrators?

Recommendations include increasing staffing, providing additional self-care resources, and conducting regular check-ins to support counselors.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Riley