Evaluating the effectiveness of short-term treatment at a university counseling center

The effectiveness of short-term treatment provided to 55 students treated at a university counseling center was evaluated. The Symptom Checklist-90-R was administered at intake and at the termination of treatment for 41 clients, and at initial intake, again after a 6-week no-treatment waiting list period, and again at the termination of treatment, for 14 clients. Statistically and clinically significant improvements in SCL-90-R scores were obtained following counseling for those receiving immediate treatment. Clients in the waiting list condition did not improve until after receiving treatment. This study adds to the existing empirical literature suggesting that university counseling centers provide effective treatment. experience of caregiving. The measure is useful for understanding the close relationship between both the difficult and positive aspects of caregiving and also may be used to identify a caregiver's strengths in clinical and research settings.