Counseling College Student Athletes

CHAPTER ONE: Counseling College Student-Athletes: The Problem, The Need 1996
A.P. Ferrante, Edward Etzel, and Christopher Lantz...
College student-athletes represent a special population of hundreds of campuses across the nation. They are young people who lead stressful lives that are influenced by the unique demands of their lifestyles and the developmental challenges of college-age people. Special services are needed to assist them to cope with these demands and ultimately to become well-adjusted, successful adults.

CHAPTER TWO: Diversity within Intercollegiate Athletics: Current Profile and Welcomed Opportunities
William D. Parham...
This chapter will bring to light a current demographic profile of modern intercollegiate athletes, highlighting the ways in which this population has become more diverse. An ever-evolving set of challenges that student-athletes, athletic department administrators, coaches, and athletic trainers have inherited as a result of this increased diversity will be identified and discussed. Suggestions for managing these challenges will be offered.

CHAPTER THREE: The African-American Student-Athlete Experience
Robert M. Sellers and Alphonse Damas...
The African-American student-athlete's experiences are unique and distinguishable from the experiences of other student-athletes as well as other African-American college students. Research in the area of college student attrition suggests that college life experiences may be an important factor in academic performance. Some authors have also argued the need for professionals working with African-American student-athletes to understand their unique experiences. The present chapter provides an overview of the research on the life experiences of African-American student-athletes. Relevant research is reviewed including information regarding African-American student athletes' socioeconomic and academic backgrounds, academic performance, career aspirations, social-support networks and on-campus experiences. For the most part, African-American student-athletes enjoy a positive college experience. The chapter concludes with a caveat for counselors to use the information presented.

CHAPTER FOUR: Counseling College Women Student- Athletes
Karen D. Cogan and Trent A. Petrie...
The authors discuss issues associated with the socialization and development of female athletes. Information is provided concerning the provision of assistance to include ethical issues, eating disorders, sexual abuse, and sexual orientation.

CHAPTER FIVE: Depression, Adjustment Disorder, Generalized Anxiety, and Substance Abuse: An Overview for Sport Professionals Working With College Student-Athletes
J. Scott Hinkle...
The author presents information about the general nature and treatment of four of the most common clinical presenting concerns of college student-athletes. Experience, training, and collaboration with expert clinicians are important when a student-athlete experiences a problem in any of these four clinical areas. Referral is a frequent necessity, both for diagnosis and for subsequent treatment. The disorders discussed in this chapter, by their very nature, can vary in the severity of disturbance experienced by a student-athlete from mild discomfort to near total dysfunction. The degree of disturbance for each disorder is a matter for clinical diagnosis according to the established guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association. The diagnostic process, even with guidelines, remains an art as much as a science.

CHAPTER SIX: Transitions of the Student-Athlete: Theoretical, Empirical, and Practical Perspectives
Albert J. Petitpas, Britton W. Brewer, and Judy L. Van Raalte...
The authors describe some of the major transitions faced by intercollegiate athletes and examine these transitions from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Suggestions for designing interventions for student-athletes in transition are presented, and three existing programs are described.

CHAPTER SEVEN: Counseling Injured and Disabled Student-Athletes: A Guide for Understanding and Intervention
Roy Tunick, Edward Etzel, John Leard, and Bart Lerner...
Thousands of college student-athletes are injured during practice and competition every year. This chapter provides information about the psychological aspects of injury and suggestions for those who work with people who have suffered an athletic injury.

CHAPTER EIGHT: Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among College Student-Athletes
John Damm and Patricia Murray...
Alcohol and drug abuse and drug-testing are major concerns of those who work with student-athletes. The authors provide an overview of the issues surrounding these problems and share information about effective intervention options.

CHAPTER NINE: Understanding and Intervening with the Student-Athlete-To-Be
Laura M. Finch and Daniel Gould...
This chapter is designed to facilitate the counselor's understanding of prospective student-athletes by (a) describing these individuals' psychosocial development as youth sport participants and (b) recommending intervention strategies to be used with college student-athletes-to-be. Characteristics of student-athletes-to-be include a history of athletic success, heightened status due to this success, and little athletically related adversity (e.g., sitting on the bench). Moreover, developmental obstacles that these athletes may face for the first time when entering college include adjusting athletic expectations to realistic levels, time-management, living adjustments, and coping with mistakes and adversity. The importance of primary prevention services is emphasized, and a number of counseling strategies for use with student-athletes-to-be are identified. Perspective taking is focused on teaching the student-athlete to understand the role of academics and athletics, developing realistic expectations of professional sport opportunities, and developing a positive mental attitude and outlook. Goal setting is another extremely valuable skill recommended for any potential college student-athlete to learn as well as time management skills. Finally, it is highly recommended that independence be fostered in young athletes and that mistake and loss coping strategies and stress-management skills be taught. It is concluded that counseling services for student-athletes should begin long before the collegiate athletic experience takes place.

CHAPTER TEN: An Integrative Model of Academic and Personal Support Services for Student-Athletes
Eric L. Denson...
Support programs for student-athletes at colleges and universities presently offer an impressive array of services. However, it is not always clear how the various programmatic components are internally integrated and linked with a developmental perspective and a view of the student-athlete as a unified whole. This chapter describes a comprehensive program of academic, personal, and interpersonal support services for college student-athletes designed to foster development as students, athletes, and young adults. Related issues of building rapport with student-athletes and documenting accountability of support services are also discussed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Life Skills for Collegiate Student-Athletes
Christopher Carr and Noel James Bauman...
A primary focus of university athletic departments should be to facilitate the life skills development of their student-athletes. Life skills represent many varied and significant issues for the collegiate student-athlete. An effective program will be well planned and presented by campus professionals. The general purposes of this chapter are to review the concepts, procedures, implementation, and evaluation of a life skills program conducted for intercollegiate athletes at a major NCAA Division I institution.

CHAPTER TWELVE: Coaching Student-Athletes Toward Academic Success
James W. Pinkney...
Highly motivated and focused on success in her or his sport, the student-athlete may be less enthusiastic in the classroom. Given the time constraints and value system the student-athlete operates with, advice about accomplishing academic tasks and managing study time needs to consider both the value system and the time constraints. This chapter addresses techniques for efficiently succeeding at various academic tasks the student-athlete is required to do as a student.