Director of the UNF Counseling Center Andy King gave a presentation to the Board of Trustees on the challenges and plans the Counseling Center will face this year and beyond.

The Counseling Center provides direct services to 1,357 students, an increase of 6 to 8 percent in the total number of students from the previous year. In this school year, over 9,000 appointments have been made.

This fall, the center will be starting an APA accredited Doctoral internship program.

King mentioned the center’s successes including an art therapy program, group therapy program, the center’s on-hand licensed dietician and a medication management team that provides students with psychiatric care. The center has also developed a social media presence with accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Spotify.

“I perceive an increase in demand and a decrease in [mental health] stigma,” King stated when talking about attendance trends.

The top presenting issues were shown to the board with the number one issue being academic distress. 75 percent of people going to the Counseling Center are seeking to reduce this.

The Counseling Center Health Fee has also increased $0.38 per student credit hour since the 2012-13 school year. Budget revenue has increased by approximately 11.6 percent during that same period. The Center estimated a need for  $0.40 to $0.50 increase in its fee to accommodate the same level of care for students, factoring in a minimal 2 percent inflationary cost in salaries.

King ended the presentation by stating the center “makes a difference.”

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