My Plan...

Under the guidance of Dr. Muehlenkamp, I have fostered a research proposal to study the capability of university counseling center’s staff in their ability to work with  students who have schizophrenia. By surveying UW counseling center staff, I will gain insight regarding their knowledge, training, perception, and comfortability in working with students with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. I plan to then supplement this quantitative data with in-person interviews of the director of counseling services at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire, the University of Green Bay, St. Norbert’s College, and the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. I plan to implement my survey within the month of May 2020 and spend the summer to analyze my data, as well as to use those months to travel to the various universities to conduct my interviews.

This summer, my research abilities will be put to the test by performing qualitative and quantitative collection and stratification. My goal for this research is to provide new information into the schizophrenia research, and to better understand what college counseling centers are equipped for, and what they can do better. By sharing my findings with universities, I hope that it can inspire counseling centers to provide more adequate services for their students, and to be able to retain students diagnosed with schizophrenia. Highlighting the need for more equipped and inclusive counseling services can retain certain populations of students, and also advertise to work with students experiencing psychosis, and making it more possible to achieve a college education.