In the Field

An Interdepartmental

Self-Management Lab: A Self-Help Approach to Student Development

DEBORAH R. ALLEN and GAIL WORKMAN

The authors describe a self-help information and referral center for students that provides pamphlets, files, books, audiocassettes, videotapes, and computer programs on more than 100 topics related to health, personal growth, and academic skills. The center is located in a university library and is jointly sponsored by three departments.

sychological services at colleges and universities increasingly acknowledge responsibility for facilitating normal

in an era of budget constraints on expansion and with no decrease in demands for equally important remedial counseling services. College counseling services increasingly have had to develop creative approaches to meet student demands. The use of high-quality self-help brochures (Allen & Sipich, 1987) and self-help audiocassette tapes as an adjunct to counseling (Yamauchi, 1987) are two such approaches that have been described recently in the literature.

Bibliotherapy has been used for centuries to increase self-understanding (Craighead, McNamara, & Horan, 1984). Over the past 10 years, self-help books have proliferated. The fact that many have become best-sellers suggests that the general public has a great deal of curiosity about and interest in psychological issues.

The APA Task Force on Self-Help Therapies (1978) noted that properly developed self-help programs "have tremendous potential for helping individuals to understand themselves and others, and to promote human welfare through the amelioration of emotional and behavioral problems. These programs are able to reach large numbers of individuals on an extremely cost-efficient basis. The program can help individuals to maintain their autonomy and individuality by decreasing reliance upon professionals. Self-help programs can also serve important education and prevention functions."

Recognizing that many students, because of their rapid growth and development during the college years, might benefit from exposure to psychological issues but might not need, want, or be ready for individual counseling, the Counseling Center and the Health Service Health Education Department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign decided to establish a collection of self-help resources for students in the form of a "Self-Management Lab" (SML). The SML was conceptualized as having personal development, health education,

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and academic and educational support components. It was intended to be a place where students could browse through a variety of self-help resources and obtain information for term papers or speeches and where counselors and physicians could refer students to specific materials.

Six years after its inception, the SML is a self-help referral and information center that provides pamphlets, files, books, audiocassettes, videotapes, and computer programs on more than 100 topics related to health, personal growth, and academic skills. This article describes the course of development of the SML and its current status.

SITE

We wanted the SML site to be in a high traffic area, where students would not have to make a special trip to visit the SML but could drop in during the course of their normal daily activities. We also wanted a site away from the Counseling Center, where there would be no stigma associated with students' visits. A third criterion was a site where the mission would have a considerable degree of overlap with that of the Counseling Center and the Health Service Health Education Department. Our undergraduate library represented a location that fulfilled all three of these criteria. In addition, the library had several other advantages as a site. First, the library has a broadly defined educational mission as well as a reputation for innovation. Second, the library's main floor is not a "quiet" floor but is designated for interactive activities. Third, the library had a budget advantage: The library was willing to buy two copies of whatever books we wanted, one to be kept in the SML, which would not circulate, and a second copy to be available to be checked out. Since the undergraduate library was also willing to provide space for the SML, we quickly chose it for the SML's location.

COMPONENTS OF THE LAB

Physical Description

The SML consists of an approximately 336 square foot open area on the main floor of the library; it is enclosed by library carrels, bookshelves, tables, and file cabinets such that it becomes a self-contained space. It also contains a small "lounge" area with

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comfortable chairs and footstools. A large table at the front of the SML displays a variety of self-help brochures and flyers for upcoming programs. The atmosphere of the SML is deliberately casual with colorful posters displayed throughout.

PROGRAMS

The SML contains more than 200 books on health, self-help, and academic topics. An annotated bibliography of the books available in the SML, prepared by the library, is made available to campus professionals to assist them in referring students to the SML; the bibliography also serves as a quick reference guide for SML staff to use in directing students to appropriate books. The SML also contains a collection of 15 audiocassette tapes on topics such as perfectionism, relaxation/stress management, insomnia, quitting smoking, and weight control. Students can listen to tapes at the SML by using a cassette player and headphones during staffed hours or they may check out tapes for home use. Students may also be referred to additional relevant tapes contained in the library's Media Center. The SML also contains a collection of films, workshops, and campus presentations on videotape; these videotapes cover more than 20 topics such as eating disorders, contemporary gay and lesbian life, interpersonal violence, alcohol and substance abuse, and AIDS. These tapes can be viewed on the SML's videocassette recorder during staffed hours, checked out for home use, or borrowed for programming purposes by campus groups. The SML also contains a large referral calendar, coordinated with more than 50 campus and community agencies; the calendar is displayed prominently at the front of the SML and contains monthly information about relevant programs to be offered; a notebook of more detailed information about these programs is available nearby.

The SML's vertical files cover more than 100 topics and contain readily accessible information via pamphlets, articles (lay and professional), and handouts. Some popular topics include stress and time management, alcohol, and women's health issues. Each vertical file is indexed to indicate its contents. Students may check out vertical file articles for up to 2 hours by leaving their student I.D.s and indicating the articles taken. The SML keeps two "archive" copies of each article on hand in case the file copies are lost. The SML also contains the Social Issues Resources Series, a yearly collection of reprinted articles from a variety of magazines, newspapers, government documents, and journals. Topics include family, health, mental health, and sexuality.

The SML contains a PLATO computer terminal that provides students with access to: (a) more than 20 lessons on topics such as study skills, contraceptive methods, writing a resume, and preparing for an interview; (b) the PLATO Dilemma Counseling System, a program designed to teach students how to solve specific life-choice problems and/or how to generate solutions to a variety of dilemmas often encountered (Wagman, 1980); (c) and "Notefiles," a series of programs that allow students to write in questions or concerns on more than 25 specific topics and to receive responses from other PLATO users, including campus staff who serve as directors of the files. With Notefiles such as "Sexuality," "Interpersonal Relationships," and the "Personal Response Center," SML staff type in referral information when it is appropriate and alert students to relevant workshops and programs on campus. The PLATO terminal also provides access to CAREERLINE, a networking system that contains an interactive data base of career and job descriptions along with college and university graduate and professional

Self-Help Approach to Student Development

programs thoughout Illinois; the Dunn and Bradstreet Directory, which lists and describes most employers in Illinois; and a networking file of more than 3,000 alumni contacts nationwide who are willing to discuss their training, jobs, and industries with students. Students who do not have their own PLATO accounts can gain access to the SML PLATO programs through an SML sign on. The SML also contains an IBM personal computer with the SIGI PLUS interactive career guidance and information system (copyright © 1985 by Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey). Students may make an appointment to use SIGI PLUS or may use it on a walk-in basis. Students are oriented to SIGI PLUS by SML staff, who also provide information about and referral to other campus career decision-making resources.

STAFFING AND HOURS

The SML's books, brochures, flyers, and referral calendar are accessible whenever the library is open, approximately 90 hours per week. Other activities of the SML are accessible 30 hours per week, Sunday through Thursday from 1 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. These hours were chosen based on data about the library's peak use times. During those hours the SML is staffed by Counseling Center paraprofessionals whose duties are to answer questions, help students locate materials, make appointments and assist SIGI PLUS users, keep a log of SML usage, provide referral information for relevant questions raised through PLATO Notefiles, check materials in and out, locate new articles, books, and media, update the campus/community calendar, distribute in library carrels flyers for upcoming workshops, assist with publicity, restock supplies of brochures, and refer students to relevant campus and community resource. The activities of the paraprofessionals are supervised by a health educator and a quarter-time graduate assistant, who spend 15-20 hours per week coordinating activities of the SML. The health educator and graduate assistant meet regularly with members of the library staff and with a steering committee consisting of three paraprofessionals, a staff member from the Counseling Center, and a staff member from the Health Service Health Education Department.

The purpose of this committee is to set and review goals of the SML, solve problems that arise, and function in an advisory capacity. Salary for the graduate assistant, the health educator's SML-related activities, and other SML-expenses are shared equally by the Counseling Center and the Health Service Health Education Department.

EVALUATION

Designed primarily as a drop-in self-help center, the SML does not easily lend itself to qualitative evaluation. Evaluation forms available in the SML generate little response, and when SML staff have tried to ask users to fill out evaluation forms, users have generally not wanted to take the time to do so. A suggestion box for the SML, prominently displayed, generates few comments. To date, in the six years since it has been open, there have been no complaints about the SML. SIGI PLUS is more amenable to evaluation because it operates by appointment, requires more than a brief time commitment by users, and involves focused contact with SML staff. SIGI PLUS is evaluated by all users; during 1987-1988, 92% of users rated it as extremely valuable or somewhat valuable.

In terms of SML usage, during 1987-88 the SML personally served more than 2,400 users during staffed hours. While it is

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