TPC-Journal-V4-Issue1

56 The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 1 Participants in the present study were not asked if they had received mental health services themselves. This is an important limitation to consider since perceptions of the effectiveness of MHSPs are likely influenced by firsthand experiences. In much the same way, a lack of familiarity or experience with MHSPs could potentially influence perceptions. The sources by which individuals learn about mental health–related issues could identify specific areas that can be utilized for advocating for the helping professions. For example, do people learn about mental health issues from movies, television, the Internet, commercials, newspapers, books, magazines, classes, friends, family members, firsthand experiences, or other sources? Is the information that individuals receive from these sources providing a foundation for accurate perceptions of the effectiveness of MHSPs? How do the attitudes founded on information from various sources influence help-seeking behavior? Research on these topics might provide further direction for professional advocacy. Another limitation of the current study is that participants attended college in one geographical location. Though the participants represented 34 of the 50 states and spanned a wide range of academic majors, the results of the present study cannot be generalized to other types of institutions nationwide. All participants in this sample were undergraduate students, and therefore the results cannot be generalized to other populations. Confounding effects associated with the limitations of collecting data from a single university could be reduced by studying a larger and more nationally representative sample of private and public institutions or by comparing and contrasting results from various regions of the country. Perceptions of the general population should be explored for more generalizable results. On a final note, an important limitation of the present study is that only 9% of the participants identified themselves as ethnic minorities. We recommend further investigation of ethnic minority perceptions of MHSPs. Future studies also could focus on socioeconomic status, marital status, sexual orientation, age and gender as moderating variables. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The author reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Deen, T. L., Bridges, A. J., McGahan, T. C., & Andrews, A. R. (2012). Cognitive appraisals of specialty mental health services and their relation to mental health service utilization in the rural population. The Journal of Rural Health , 28 , 142–151. doi:10.1111/j.1748-0361.2011.00375.x Depression and anxiety: Readers reveal the therapists and drugs that helped. (2010, July). Consumer Reports , 75 (7), 28 – 31. Fall, K. A., Levitov, J. E., Jennings, M., & Eberts, S. (2000). The public perception of mental health professions: An empirical examination. Journal of Mental Health Counseling , 22 , 122 – 134. Firmin, M. W., Wantz, R. A., Firmin, R. L., & Johnson, C. B. (2012). Sources by which students perceive professional counselors’ effectiveness. The Professional Counselor: Research and Practice , 2 , 33 – 42. Frank, J. (1973). Persuasion and healing: A comparative study of psychotherapy (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. Hanna, F. J., & Bemak, F. (1997). The quest for identity in the counseling profession. Counselor Education and Supervision 36 , 194 – 206. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6978.1997.tb00386.x Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age- of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the national co-morbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry , 62 , 593 – 602 . doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593 Mattox, R. (2000). Building effective campus relationships. In D. C. Davis & K. M. Humphrey (Eds.), College