As a variety of mental health-related issues remain ubiquitous across university campuses in the United Sates, colleges continue to fund and develop treatment and counseling programs for students in need of help.  Students who are not mentally healthy have repeatedly found to have associated struggles with their academic demands.  One program called the University Turn Around Program (U-Turn), was designed specifically for students in need of counseling related to both their mental health and academic performance.  This study provides an evaluation of the U-Turn program, and how it impacts the mental health symptoms and academic outcomes of participating students.   

The study’s sample was composed of 43 students from a university in the south-central United States which served a primarily Hispanic population (N=43, 62.8% male, 79% Hispanic).  Prior to beginning the U-Turn program, participants completed the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms-34 (CCAPS-34) and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LSSI-3rd Edition) in order to provide baseline measures of the following variables: depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, academic distress, eating concerns, family distress, hostility, substance use, and their general motivations and techniques used in school.  Participants would then complete 3 weekly U-Turn counseling sessions that emphasized goal setting, time budgeting, development of strengths, and stress management.  The participants would then repeat the CCAPS-34 and LSSI measures upon completion of U-Turn.  Data comparing the before and after scores was analyzed using independent t-tests. 

Results of the study found that post-U-Turn intervention scores for CCAPS-34 (detailing the clinical psychological symptoms) were not improved to a clinically significant extent. With regards to LSSI-related variables (study strategies, etc.), it was found that only the time management was altered to a clinically significant extent, in a positive manner. 

Takeaway: the U-Turn academic and counseling program needs additional evaluation with much larger sample sizes.  The program does show promise with regards to improving some aspects of students’ academic skills. 

Ikonomopoulos J, Garza K, Weiss R, Morales A. Examination of Treatment Progress Among College Students in a University Counseling Program. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation. 2021;12(1):30-42. doi:10.1080/21501378.2020.1850175