Pre-Conference Workshops

The Advanced Topics of College Counseling offers (4) 90 minute sessions covering the following topics, each session is worth 1.5 CE Hours:

1. Supervision and Ethics
2. Clinical Services in College Counseling (Stepped Care, Triage, Service Models)
3. Modernizing Counseling Center Outreach for Today's Campuses
4. Risk Management

Each Advanced Topics of College Counseling session is $70 if purchased individually, if you sign up for all 4 sessions the price is discounted to $170.

Risk Management Strategies in College Mental Health Counseling

Presenters:

Jessica Contreras - Moraine Valley Community College

Abstract: As college counseling centers face increasing student mental health acuity, expanded service expectations, and heightened legal and ethical scrutiny, effective risk management has become a core advanced competency. This presentation examines risk management as an integrated clinical and systems-based practice in higher education mental health settings. The session explores complex risk assessment, defensible documentation, confidentiality decision-making, and the intersection of FERPA, HIPAA, and duty-to-protect obligations.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to identify clinical and institutional risk factors relevant to mental health counseling in higher education settings.
• Participants will be able to apply risk assessment, documentation, and consultation practices when working with high-risk college students.
• Participants will be able to describe systems-level risk management strategies, including policies, supervision, and collaboration to support student safety and organizational liability. 

Half Day Pre-Conference Options

Half Day Pre-Conference sessions will award 3.0 CE Hours each for successful completion.  The cost to attend is $99 per session. You can also bundle the morning and an afternoon pre-conference session for $170 total.

8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (Break Time Included)
CE Hours Available: 3

Crisis and Postvention

Presenters:

Monica Osburn - North Carolina State University

Justine Hollingshead - North Carolina State University

Angel Bowers - North Carolina State University

Abstract: The importance of postvention following critical incidents on university campuses has garnered increased attention over the past several years as universities have been tasked to engage in institutional-level responses to such events. These responses often occur with little or no notice and require a high level of coordination and integration of services. 

This pre-conference session will engage participants in describing the basic framework for campuses in their level of preparedness and response activities. Using real-life experiences, after-action findings, successes, and lessons learned we will illustrate how higher education needs to build capacity and capability for dealing with a death on campus. Planning and relationship building from a best practice standpoint are key facets along with core competencies for practitioners. 

The session will present a guide to campus postvention, as created by the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA), using NC State’s campus plan and response as a resource. This pre-conference will share insight into the response efforts and campus impact following a challenging year. We will also focus on a comprehensive approach to a response which includes participation from academic units, emergency management, university communications, housing, counseling, and multiple other campus partners. 

We will review relevant information needed from a foundational standpoint as it relates to postvention and crisis response. There will be a blend of content delivery, including lecture, roundtable discussions, protocol planning, and case reviews.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the key areas of consideration for campuses in the creation of a plan for postvention following critical incidents such as a suicide or campus disaster.
• Identify primary student and university community needs following a student death.
• Relate and apply the lessons learned from others’ responses to your own preparedness and response activities.

Voices, Votes and Vitality: Strategies for Fostering Wellness Amid Sociopolitical Stress

Presenters:

Jeni Beckman - The JED Foundation

Abstract: In this timely session, college counselors will explore strategies to support student wellbeing, manage sociopolitical stress, and maintain their own vitality in response to significant societal events, including political transitions, current events, and social movements. These moments can evoke a wide range of emotions among students and counselors alike, requiring thoughtful approaches to support wellbeing and foster resilience. This workshop will equip participants with tools to empower students to find meaning, purpose, and connection while fostering their own resilience and maintaining personal effectiveness. We'll discuss methods for supporting student advocacy, engaging in self-care, and making sense of a complex world. Simultaneously, counselors will learn tools to recognize and mitigate secondary trauma, vicarious traumatization, and burnout in themselves. Practical tools for maintaining professional objectivity while supporting students across diverse perspectives will be discussed. Attendees will leave with a comprehensive action plan for promoting mental health and resilience—for both students and themselves—amid sociopolitical events. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Implement strategies to support student wellbeing during and after significant sociopolitical events, including techniques for helping students find meaning, purpose, and connection while balancing advocacy with self-care.
2. Develop a comprehensive plan to recognize and mitigate personal vulnerability to secondary trauma, vicarious traumatization, and burnout related to sociopolitical stressors, while maintaining professional objectivity and avoiding countertransference.
3. Integrate evidence-based approaches to manage counselor and student wellbeing, fostering resilience and connection across diverse perspectives during times of sociopolitical change.

 

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM (Break Time Included)
CE Hours Available: 3

High Stakes, Human Impact: Trauma-Informed and Collaborative Approaches to Psychiatric Hospitalization in University Counseling Centers

Presenters:

Erin Morpeth-Provost - Florida State University

Trisha Miller - The University of Texas at Austin

Serena Bujtor - Florida State University

Abstract: University counseling centers continue to see increases in the severity of presenting concerns among student clients. At times, this severe distress necessitates initiating an involuntary examination for hospitalization – a high stakes intervention with numerous significant implications for students, clinicians, and administrators. This pre-conference session will take a deep dive into this relatively under-researched topic to equip clinicians and administrators with deeper insight and tangible resources to consider, with particular emphasis on fostering a trauma-informed and collaborative approach. The session will delve into five primary areas: (1) How universities are tracking and collecting data on hospitalized students and suggestions; (2) Demographic, academic, and clinical variables of hospitalized students at two different universities; (3) Student perspectives on their experiences with hospitalization and follow-up care; (4) Responses to student experiences, including implementing "hospitalization guides" for students, post-hospitalization appointments, and identification of which students are returning to university services; (5) the qualitative experiences of clinicians who initiate the hospitalization process, including emotional and professional impacts and suggestions for improvements. The pre-conference session will include opportunities for attendees to discuss processes, challenges, and experiences at their centers, share resources, and brainstorm areas of improvement or adjustment.

Learning Objectives:

• Compare different methods for tracking and collecting data on hospitalized students across university settings.
• Describe the demographic, academic, and clinical characteristics of students who undergo involuntary hospitalization at university counseling centers.
• Analyze student perspectives on hospitalization experiences and follow-up care to inform trauma-informed practice approaches.
• Design post-hospitalization protocols and resources, such as hospitalization guides and follow-up appointments, to support student recovery and reintegration.
• Analyze experiences and strategies to address the emotional and professional impacts experienced by clinicians who initiate involuntary hospitalization procedures.
  
  

Entering the Dungeon: Using Dungeons & Dragons for Therapeutic Growth

Presenter:

Samantha Roth - Maryland Institute College of Art  

Abstract: This interactive three-hour pre-conference session introduces participants to the use of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) as a creative, evidence-informed tool for therapeutic and educational settings. The workshop explores how collaborative storytelling, character creation, and encounter design can foster belonging, identity development, and emotional resilience. Participants will learn the basics of D&D structure and gameplay, review emerging research supporting its clinical use, and engage in guided exercises that model group facilitation techniques used at the Maryland Institute College of Art's (MICA) counseling programs. Emphasis will be placed on how clinicians can help clients create meaningful characters, utilize narrative therapy principles, and design encounters that intentionally target therapeutic themes such as trust, boundary setting, grief, and self-efficacy. Attendees will leave with practical tools, prompts, and adaptable frameworks to begin integrating roleplaying games into counseling, outreach, or community-building contexts.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the structure and therapeutic applications of Dungeons & Dragons in group and individual work.
• Apply narrative therapy principles to character creation and story development.
• Design encounters that promote emotional processing, resilience, and social learning.
• Identify ethical and logistical considerations for implementing RPG-based interventions.
• Develop strategies to foster inclusion, collaboration, and belonging through narrative play.