Brunner et al. (2014) analyze university counseling centers and university student populations to understand how university counseling centers can better serve students. They emphasize that one size does not fit all when it comes to university counseling centers, and all counseling centers are different. They review recent research that shows an increasing rate of mental health concerns and substance use issues among university students, leading to higher usage of university mental health services.

They emphasize that university counseling centers utilize collaborative approaches, collaborating with other campus departments as well as community supports to provide support to students. They provide evidence that university counseling centers promote student retention. They also analyze the top issues that university counseling center directors noted were addressed by university counseling centers. Suicide prevention was among these issues.