Changes in and Support for the Adolescent Mentality of College Students

A Student Counseling Perspective

Abstract

　 This article discusses the variety of problems encountered by college students from the perspective of student counseling and student support. Although student counseling is often seen as services for students who have worries or become maladjusted, this is far from the truth: Student counseling is situated as a core component of education in the broad sense of the term.

　 To begin with, I give an overview of the history of student counseling. Subsequently, I cover topics that have attracted a fair amount of attention in the context of student counseling, including: 1) student apathy; 2) students’ fear, tantamount to a phobia, of in-depth psychological communication; and 3) students’ developmental disability tendencies. I discuss whether or not changes have taken place in the adolescent mentality of college students, what student support trends can be identified, and what issues should be considered against the backdrop of such trends.