Abstract
A great deal of research has established training student affairs and higher education (SAHE) professionals in helping skills is important to assist undergraduate students in college and university programs with mental health needs. The COVID-19 global pandemic placed SAHE professionals in a unique position to support college students as students navigated online learning, and sociocultural, financial, and other personal struggles (Schreiber et al., 2021; Slocum, 2021). However, there is limited research documenting the experience of SAHE professionals who have had helping skills training in SAHE graduate programs and their lived experience practicing those skills with college students. A phenomenological research design is ideal to explore the professional lived experiences of professionals without counseling degrees and how helping skills can assist them in providing support to students. Select participants were identified based on past enrollment in a helping skills course at a southeastern public university. Interviews, field notes, and position descriptions were used to accumulate data and for a more detailed narrative of participants’ lived experiences in higher education roles in advising, administration, admissions and support. The summary of the participants’ support for the inclusion of role play and mental health education within helping skills courses, as well as continued conversations addressing support needed for SAHE professionals' work with college students’ experiences navigating crises and mental health difficulties.
