Starting (Almost) From Scratch: Developing an Outreach Program JAMIE E. BRASS, PSY.D.; COLBY POMEROY, B.S.; JOANN LANE, B.S.

CEU statements  The presenters have no conflict of interest to declare.  This presentation is based on our experience during a first year of formalizing and expanding an outreach program. A handout of useful resources is included, and these articles were the basis for some of the decisions made about our outreach program. Content presented is specific to one program, but may be generalizable to other counseling center programs around the country. We will provide information about our school/center/program to help you determine generalizability.  Potential risks: As part of this presentation, the audience will be asked to share their experiences, concerns about barriers to outreach services, and questions about this presentation. Please be aware of your own level of comfort with sharing information, and choose to share or not share accordingly. The presenters have not identified any severe risks associated with this presentation.

About Us  About Weber State, Counseling and Psychological Services Center  Weber State’s approach  Table events  Intro to CPSC  QPR  Approaching individual staff  Historically, most outreach was focused on making the campus aware of our services  Increasing demand for service led to desire to change focus of outreach  Jamie’s background

Focus on Outreach  More student interest in services leads to:  Less staff time for outreach  Less interest in recruiting even more clients  Given those concerns, why focus on outreach?  What other barriers do you face?  Outreach as prevention

Importance of Outreach  Brainstorm  Why is outreach important to your office?  What are additional reasons to have outreach?

Options for Expansion  Formal outreach models  Prevention model  Cube model  Organizational consultation  Formalize outreach requests  Centralized system, method of assigning tasks  Student involvement  Combination of approaches

Our plan  Involve students in the Outreach Team  Formalize specific outreach programming  Engage in an outreach needs assessment  Other outreach requests continue to be directed to individual staff members  Possible future outreach coordinator position

Outreach Team Overview  Mission: To supplement the services offered by CPSC by developing a cadre of skilled undergraduate students to assist in outreach projects, group therapy, and other services during the academic year. To provide undergraduate students with exposure to clinical work and with on-going instruction in training- related areas.  Program Goals:  Increase provision of outreach services to the Weber State University community  Provide undergraduate students with valuable experience in developing and implementing innovative outreach programs  Provide undergraduate students with a seminar forum to discuss professional development topics  Decrease mental health stigma by engaging students to reach out to other students to discuss mental health issues

Outreach Team Overview  Recruit students from the Psychology, Child and Family Studies, and Health Promotions departments  Multidisciplinary approach brings different perspectives and fits with our overall center  Provide a mutually beneficial training experience  Decreased outreach time (especially tables) for staff  Practical experience, training, and mentoring for students  Weekly seminar provides additional training on CPSC, outreach, and specific topics. It is also used to provide training on topics of interest to the team  This year – 2 major projects/semester, multiple smaller outreaches

Outreach Team Logistics  Students register for field placement credit with their departments  Must meet specific program requirements, must be a senior during their field placement  Complete specific hour and other requirements depending on credits  Academic year commitment  Benefits and drawbacks  Access concerns  Office space/storage space  Confidentiality agreement

Outreach Team Logistics  Training  Half day prior to fall semester  Weekly meetings  Pair with staff initially  Work toward independent presentations

Our experience

Future directions  Formal focus group  Identify groups of stakeholders  Work with focus groups to determine what the campus sees as a need in terms of outreach  Identify ways to effectively market outreach to the campus community

Questions/Discussion