Faculty & Staff Referral Guide

College students typically encounter a great deal of stress (e.g., academic, social, family, work, financial) during their educational experiences. While most students cope successfully with the demands of college life, for some the pressures can become overwhelming and unmanageable. Students in difficulty have a number of resources available to them. These include close friends, relatives, clergy, and coaches. In fact, anyone who is seen as caring and trustworthy may be a potential resource in a time of trouble.

We believe there is a powerful rationale for faculty/staff to intervene when they encounter distressed students: The inability to cope effectively with emotional stress poses a serious threat to students' learning ability. As a faculty or staff member, your expression of interest and concern may be a critical factor in helping a struggling student reestablish the emotional equilibrium necessary for academic survival and success.

Your willingness to respond to students in distress will undoubtedly be influenced by your personal style and your particular philosophy about the limits of responsibility for helping students grow, emotionally as well as intellectually. Obviously, a student's openness to assistance, and such situational factors as class size, length, the depth of your relationship, and the location of the contact may have a substantial effect on the type of interaction you can have with a student.

The information provided here can not only help you to assess what can sometimes be difficult situations, but also give you some specific ideas about what you can do when confronted with a student who is in distress. We are not attempting to transform you into professional counselors. However, the following guidelines should prove to be useful in helping you think more clearly about options for intervention should you choose to assist the student in these areas.

Signs Suggesting the Need for a Referral

If you observe a student exhibiting the following behaviors, you may wish to refer him or her to the UHCS. Always feel free to call and consult about a student.

Advisement Problems

• Inability to choose courses

• Unwillingness to take required courses

• Career indecision

• Focus of advisement meeting shifts from discussion of course work to personal issues

Academic Problems

• Excessive procrastination

• Uncharacteristically poor work

• Inconsistent work

• Repeated requests for special consideration

Interpersonal Interactions

• Dependency on adviser/"hanging around"

• Avoidance of professor or other students

• Behavior that regularly interferes with decorum of classroom

• Complaints from peers

Behavioral Markers

• Marked change in personal hygiene

• Dramatic weight gain or loss

• Frequent falling asleep in class

• Irritability, particularly in conjunction with unruly behavior

• Impaired speech or garbled, disjointed thoughts

• Unusually soft or loud voice, or unusually slow or fast cadence in speech

• Tearfulness or intense emotion

Crisis Situations — Cause for Immediate Concern

If you become concerned about any of the situations listed below, please call UHCS immediately. State that you feel this is a crisis situation and that you need to speak with a counselor as soon as possible.

• Direct or indirect reference to suicide — "You all would be better off without me."

• References of violence toward others — "She doesn't deserve to live anymore."

• Gross impairment in thinking such as not making sense when talking — "The TV is putting thoughts in my brain."

Guidelines for Helping

Advisement meetings can sometimes take on a counseling-like quality. Faculty members, staff members, and academic advisers may vary in their experience and comfort in adopting or being placed in a personal counseling role. Here are some tips that will help you establish rapport with students and understand their concerns:

• Talk with the student in private.

• Listen carefully.

• Show interest and concern.

• Repeat back to the student the essence of what he or she has told you.

• Limit constructive criticism.

• Respect the student's values and beliefs.

Students will appreciate your willingness to listen, and if the situation warrants, you will have established the trust necessary for an effective and successful referral to us.

Consultations

If you are concerned about a student or situation, but are not sure how to proceed, call UHCS. A counselor will return your call and help you determine an appropriate course of action. Don't carry it all on your shoulders. Consultations are a regular part of our services and are frequently used by concerned parents, roommates, as well as faculty and staff.

Classroom and Community Support

When unexpected crises occur (such as death of a student), you may wish to invite us into your classroom or department to provide community support. We can assist you in discussing the tragedy and its impact on your class or department. We also welcome your interest in allowing us to provide proactive educational workshops on such topics as stress management, listening and communication skills, or the subjects relevant to your class or student group.

Programming

Mental Health staff at UHCS offer educational programs of general interest to the Northeastern community. UHCS staff are available to present special interest workshops, presentations, and programs for classes, residence halls, and staff or student organizations.

Topics include:

• Acquaintance Rape Prevention

• Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA)/Family Issues

• AIDS: Psychosocial Aspects

• Alcohol and Other Drug Education

• Alternative Healing/Holistic Health

• Assertiveness Training

• Coping with Grief

• Coping with Trauma

• Crisis Intervention/Suicide Prevention

• Dating and Healthy Relationships

• Diversity Issues

• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues

• Growing up Divorced

• Listening Skills

• Meditation/Self-Hypnosis

• Stages of Growth and Development

• Stress Management

• Study Skills/Test Anxiety

• Symptoms and Treatment of Substance Abuse

• Tobacco and Smoking Cessation

We are eager to meet the needs of students, staff, and faculty and can assist in planning specific programs of interest. We suggest you make your requests as early as possible in the semester. To speak to someone about coordinating a program call (617) 373-5190.