CC Mental Health Services

Access to mental health services is unevenly distributed across Michigan community colleges.

Access to mental health support varies widely across Michigan community colleges. While some colleges offer a range of in-house services, others provide none at all. The chart below shows the percentage of colleges that provide each type of mental health service:

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Mental Health Services Provided In-House by Michigan Community Colleges

The most commonly offered mental health service at Michigan community colleges involves referring students to outside providers, reported by 78% of colleges. While referrals can be a valuable support, they often come with barriers—like long wait times, insurance requirements, and other logistical hurdles that can delay or prevent access to care.

There’s no single model for providing mental health care to students.

Among colleges that offer non-crisis mental health care, like individual counseling, the way that services are staffed can look very different. The chart below shows the various models used to support students:

Mental Health Provider Models of Care at Michigan Community Colleges

MHICC Graphic Models of Care MOBILE Graphic

The most common model of care at Michigan community colleges involves staff who provide mental health support while also holding other roles at the college. Balancing multiple roles can strain these dual-role providers and create confusion for students about where to go for help, especially when counseling roles overlap with non-mental health roles like academic advising.

Students’ access to proven mental health care practices varies across colleges.

The type of mental health care students can access depends on their college, since not all colleges use the same evidence-based approaches. The chart below shows different research-supported approaches to care used by Michigan community colleges.

Evidence Based Practices Used by In-House Mental Health Providers at Michigan Community Colleges

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most commonly used evidence-based approach at colleges that offer individual counseling.

Additional evidence-based practices that colleges use include Solutions Focused Brief Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

providers are most interested in receiving support to provide internal family systems therapy and trauma specific treatment

When asked what evidence-based practices providers would like more support in utilizing, many colleges expressed interest in using Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) and Trauma Specific Treatment to better support the students they serve.

Session limits can shape how students experience mental health support.

At some colleges, students can only access a limited number of counseling sessions per year. Among those that set limits, the number of sessions allowed varies.

Colleges often set session limits to help counselors reach more students. But for students who need long-term support, especially those facing complex or persistent mental health challenges, these limits can make it harder to get the care they need.

Session limits vary between colleges, ranging between 6 – 14 individual counseling sessions per year.

These session limits likely work well with short-term approaches to care, such as solution-focused brief therapy. However, 10 sessions may often not be enough time for counselors to effectively use other proven practices.

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Relevant Technical Assistance Resources

Toolkit

Developing Memoranda of Understanding: A “How-to” Guide for Creating Formal Partnerships with Local Mental Health Providers

This resource discusses the purpose and potential uses of formal partnerships between colleges and local mental health providers, describes action steps and considerations for developing an MOU with local mental health providers, and provides tangible examples and templates for drafting a comprehensive MOU.

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Coming Soon!

Supporting Students Through Digital Technology: A Resource Guide for Implementing Digital Mental Health Interventions at Community Colleges

This resource will discuss the role of Digital Mental Health Interventions (DMHIs) in supporting student mental health, while serving as a guide to help community college administrators and mental health providers make informed decisions about implementing DMHIs at their college.

Discover your college’s mental health resource availability.

Browse our 2024 landscape analyses of mental health resource availability for all 31 Michigan community colleges.

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These resources are designed to help community colleges increase student access to evidence based mental healthcare.

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