Bemidji State Psychology Professor Co-Authors Research with Students and Alumni

Bemidji State University’s Dr. Sarah Cronin, assistant professor of psychology, co-authored a research paper with four BSU students and alumni that was accepted for publication in the College Student Affairs Journal.

Their paper, titled “Counseling is Great but not for me: Student Perspectives of College Counseling,” used focus groups of BSU students to learn about student perspectives of college counseling.

“The findings provide evidence that although students generally understand the benefits of counseling, there are still barriers they experience if they were to seek out on-campus counseling services,” Cronin said. “The results help understand help-seeking stigma students experience as well as service model factors that colleges can consider to improve their on-campus counseling centers.”

Students who co-authored the paper with Cronin include 2020 BSU graduates Anna Levene, Alyssa Pajari and Madison Ulrich as well as senior psychology student Courtney Evans from Albert Lea, Minnesota. Pajari and Ulrich are currently graduate students of counseling at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities while Levene is a graduate student of counseling at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After graduation, Evans will attend graduate school at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for cognitive science.

“On-campus counseling is a valuable resource that benefits student well-being and supports student retention,” Cronin said. “The implications of these findings could help higher education professionals consider ways they can improve access to mental health resources to support student mental health, and subsequently, help students stay enrolled at the university.”

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