Building a practice research network: Obstacles faced and lessons learned at the Center for Collegiate Mental Health

Abstract: Objective: The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) was created through a grass-roots initiative among university and college counseling centers to standardize assessment procedures, conduct empirical studies, and advocate clinical services. Method: At present, CCMH has over 240 college counseling center members and oversees a research infrastructure based on these centers' routine services, describing approximately 90,000 individual clients annually. These data are used to provide clinical tools, which can be useful for ongoing clinical services as well as program evaluation, quality assurance, and advocacy on behalf of the counseling centers and clients. Results: There have been substantial obstacles to overcome, and there remain numerous challenges in day-to-day operations. This article provides a brief overview of the challenges and current solutions. Conclusions: Large-scale collaborations between researchers and practitioners are possible, and some recommendations can be made based on the experience of CCMH.