The Utilization of Mental Health Counseling Centers by Black Women at Predominantly White Institutions.

Castro, Rina

The Utilization of Mental Health Counseling Centers by Black Women at Predominantly White Institutions.

Persistent URL

https://dspace.allegheny.edu/handle/10456/54834

Author(s)

Castro, Rina

Date Issued

April 18, 2022

Abstract

Black women often experience many hardships in their lives and in college, leading them to need counseling services. Black people are often expected to navigate through White spaces and process traumatic events without the proper support, and this can lead many Black people to suffer in silence. Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) can have a significant toll on the mental health of Black students. The current study aims to examine to what extent Black women are utilizing the counseling center here at Allegheny College, a PWI. I hypothesized that Black women are not using the counseling centers at PWIs because the resources provided do not meet the students' needs. Results indicated that 91.7% of participants felt that Allegheny has not made sufficient efforts to make its Black students feel more comfortable utilizing the counseling center nor does it provide adequate resources for Black students who do need these resources. For this research, the term “adequate” will mean “barely sufficient or suitable.” This term will describe the effectiveness of Allegheny’s resources for its students of color.

Major

Psychology

First Reader(s)

Gonzalez, Guadalupe Del Socorro (Lupita)