Rate My Professor Miranda Hellenbrand

Miranda Hellenbrand serves as a Professor in the Counseling Center at Minnesota State University, Mankato, a position she has held since joining the institution on August 22, 2005. She achieved tenure on August 16, 2010, and was promoted to full Professor effective July 1, 2015. As a key faculty member, Dr. Hellenbrand supports the mental health needs of university students through direct services, outreach, and supervision of trainees. She earned her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology in 2005. Her doctoral thesis, "Reported mental health needs: differences between first-generation college students and second-generation college students," chaired by Wil Hass, investigated variations in mental health requirements between these student groups, contributing early insights into generational differences in collegiate well-being.

Dr. Hellenbrand's research addresses critical topics in college counseling and student development. Her publications include "Student Perceptions toward Changes in a University's Alcohol and other Drugs Policy" (2018, co-authored with Roy Thomas J. Kammer and others), which examines student responses to updates in substance use policies at a university setting. In collaboration with Kari Much, she co-authored "Working With the Millennial Generation: Challenges Facing 21st-Century Students From the Perspective of University Staff" (2014), analyzing staff viewpoints on working with millennial college students. Another notable work is "Practicing in the 21st Century College Counseling Center" (2010, with Kari Much and Amy Wagener), discussing evolving practices in university counseling services. These publications have collectively received 37 citations, underscoring her contributions to the literature on student mental health, counseling center operations, and generational dynamics in higher education. Dr. Hellenbrand serves as the primary contact for the Counseling Center's training programs, including foundation training for first-year graduate students in social work, psychology, and mental health fields. These opportunities involve 16-24 hours weekly of case management, psychoeducational workshops on anxiety, depression, and stress management, and supervision covering clinical risk assessment, culturally competent care, LGBT-affirming therapies, eating disorders, and alcohol and drug assessment.