University of Michigan. Counseling Services.

Unit established within the office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs of the University of Michigan as counseling information clearinghouse with later accepted responsibility for counseling in areas of student mental health problems, problem pregnancy, marital relations, human sexuality, and racial and minority affairs.

The origins of Counseling Services are found in the 1961 merger of the responsibilities of the Dean of Men and the Dean of Women into the new Office of Student Affairs, under the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. At that time a new position, Coordinator of Counseling, was created; the Coordinator also served as the Executive Secretary of the University Committee on Student Counseling Services. The Office of the Coordinator of Counseling assisted students in obtaining non-academic information and oversaw the release of student information to non-university agencies. The University Committee on Student Counseling Services began publishing the Faculty and Staff Guide to Counseling and Student Services in 1964 in conjunction with the administration to the Michigan Union. This publication, which continued until 1977, described all of the non-academic services on campus that were available to students. The function of the office of the Coordinator of Counseling was characterized in the Guide as "the chief clearinghouse of counseling information, not a clinical agency." [1969/70 Guide to Counseling and Student Services, p. 16]

During the 1965/66 academic year, the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs was reorganized. A Student Affairs Counseling Office (SACO) was created in 1967, incorporating the Counseling Division of the Bureau of Psychological Services. Edward S. Bordin, chief of Counseling Division, was named Director of the Counseling Office and remained so through 1973. Elizabeth Davenport served as assistant director from 1965 until 1969/70.

The Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs underwent yet another reorganization during the academic year 1970/71. The Counseling Office became Counseling Services. Its responsibility was to coordinate all counseling within the Office of Student Services: direct counseling services, consultation to university faculty and staff, educational programming, and research into and coordination of community mental health campus-wide. The most significant development to take place was the addition of the Counseling, Referral and Information Service (76 Guide), a 24 hour/7 day-a-week telephone hotline, devoted to counseling, problem solving, and referral.

During the early 1970s, minority counseling, which included Black Information Counseling (BIC), was added to direct counseling services. Consultation services expanded to include consultation within the housing office and the Peer Counselor Program. The Educational Programming and Consultation (EPC) program included teaching services in the Psychology Department, graduate intern training, sex education, and the Drug Education Project. Individual counseling services to students continued to be offered in conjunction with the Mental Health Clinic at University Health Services and the Bureau of Psychological Services.

During the 1974/75 academic year Counseling Services merged with the Mental Health Clinic of University Health Services. The two together retained the name of Counseling Services. As a result, major emphasis was put on counseling individuals, couples, and groups in addition to counseling in the areas of minority concerns, problem pregnancy, marital relations, and human sexuality. It is interesting to note that the Guide still listed the main function of Counseling Services as a clearinghouse of information. A major focus of the 1978/79 academic year was the implementation of daily professional staff teams to provide students with immediate walk-in service.

In the 1980s, Counseling Services added the Human Sexuality Office and the Sexual Assault Crisis Center. Increasing support was given to these two areas until 1990 when each became a separate unit under the Vice President for Student Affairs. As demands for counseling continued to increase, more emphasis was placed on direct, one-on-one and group counseling. In order to document the numbers of individuals using counseling services, a data management system was set up in 1982/83 to provide complete and updated information on services delivered.

Currently, Counseling Services focuses on helping students resolve personal difficulties and acquiring the skills, attitudes, abilities, and knowledge that will enable them to take full advantage of their college experience. Services include individual, group, and marital counseling, consultation to university units, the 76-Guide telephone hotline, as well as workshops dealing with such topics as assertiveness, stress, and eating disorders. Also available are assistance programs for alcohol-related problems and self-help groups.