TIPS FOR RECOGNIZING
AND ASSISTING STUDENTS IN EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
By:
Counseling Center 3rd Floor Delzell
UW-
Stevens Point
346-3553
FACULTY/STAFF AS HELPING RESOURCES FOR
STUDENTS
University
students often encounter a great deal of
stress (academic, social,
family, work, financial) during the course of their educational experience.
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 time of trouble.
There is powerful rationale for university staff to serve as “helpers” for
troubled students. Stress encountered by students on campus is well documented,
as is the threat this stress poses to learning abilities. Also documented is the
effectiveness of faculty/staff as helpers concerned with the emotional as well
as intellectual growth of students. For some students an admired professor’s
expression of concern may be critical to academic survival.
Faculty willingness to respond to students in distress should be informed by a
number of considerations:
Is the student open to assistance?
Does your work schedule or class load permit you to serve as “helper” without
tension escalation?
Does the duration and quality of the faculty/student relationship allow you to
serve in a nonjudgmental and objective manner?
Do the behaviors presented by the student require immediate referral to a crisis
intervention agency?
This brochure assesses difficult situations in faculty/student interactions. It
will help you choose productive options for assisting students in distress.
TIPS FOR
RECOGNIZING TROUBLED
STUDENTS
Helping professionals identify three general levels of student distress which,
when present over time, suggest that problems being dealt with are more than
“normal.”
LEVEL 1
These behaviors, although not disruptive to others, may indicate that something
is wrong and help is needed:
• serious grade problems or a drop from good grades to unaccountably poor grades
• excessive class absences, especially if good attendance had been the norm
• unusual or markedly changed pattern of classroom interaction, such as
participation avoidance, excessive anxiety when singled out, and the need to
dominate discussions
• other behaviors suggesting stress--a depressed, lethargic posture, excessive
motor activity and very rapid speech, marked change in dress and hygiene, and
falling asleep in class.
LEVEL 2
Behaviors at this level may signify emotional distress as well as reluctance to
seek personal help:
• repeated requests for special consideration, such as deadline extensions
—
especially if the student is
uncomfortable or highly emotional disclosing circumstances prompting the
requests
• new or regularly-occurring behavior which strains the boundaries of decorum
and interferes with effective classroom management, such as the persistent but
nonproductive interruption of lectures
• unusual or exaggerated emotional response inappropriate to the situation.
LEVEL
3
These behaviors identify students needing
emergency care:
• highly disruptive behavior (hostile, aggressive, violent, etc.)
• disorganized/unclear communication (garbled, slurred speech, unconnected or
disjointed thoughts)
• loss of contact with reality (seeing/hearing things which “aren’t there,”
beliefs or actions at odds with reality/probability)
• overtly suicidal thoughts (suicide viewed as viable option)
• homicidal threats.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Because they can be strikingly out of the ordinary,
LEVEL 3
behaviors
are easy to identify. To
best help the student, STAY CALM AND KNOW WHOM TO CALL FOR
ASSISTANCE.
For managing Level 3 behavior see ASSISTANCE AND
EMERGENCY REFERRAL in this brochure.
LEVEL 1 and
LEVEL 2 behaviors allow response choices. You can, for example, choose to bypass
emotional issues and deal directly with the student’s request and/or disruptive
behavior. This limits faculty/student interaction to classroom issues.
Some faculties choose to interact with distressed students on a more personal
level. If you approach a distressed student, or a student seeks you out for
help, here are some suggestions for keeping the relationship comfortable and
productive:
• Talk in private, when both of you have time and are not preoccupied. Give
undivided attention. Just a few minutes of effective listening
may
help the ski- dent feel confident about what to do next,
• If you initiated contact, express your concern in behavioral, nonjudgmental
terms (“I’ve noticed you’ve been absent from class lately, and I am concerned”
not “Where have you been? Goofing off again?”).
• Listen to thoughts and feelings in a non-threatening way. Communicate
understanding by restating the gist of what you hear, Include both content and
feelings (“It sounds as if you’re not accustomed to such a big campus and you’re
feeling left out of things.”) Let the student talk.
• Avoid judging, evaluating, or criticizing unless asked for your opinion. Such
behavior may close off the student
—
from you and from getting needed help. Respect the
student’s value system, even if you don’t agree with it.
WHEN IS REFERRAL
THE BEST COURSE OF
ACTION?
Referral
is the indicated course of action when circumstances exist that limit your
helpfulness to the distressed student. For example: You don’t have the training
or information to assist with the inappropriate behavior.
You believe
personality differences will interfere. You know the student personally as a
friend, neighbor, or friend of a friend and cannot be objective. You discover
the student is reluctant to discuss an acknowledged problem with you. You are
experiencing a high level of stress yourself
THE ART
OF MAKING REFERRALS
Although most people accept referrals easily, others feel rejected. The best
policy is to be frank with students about the limits of your ability to help
—
limits of time,
energy, training, or objectivity. Assure them that you respect their willingness
to talk with you about concerns and that you will support them fully in
acquiring assistance. Explain that being referred doesn’t mean they have a
serious problem. Their concerns might be among the more common reasons students
seek help. These include erratic motivation, difficulties in relationships with
friends, family and boy/ girlfriends, anxiety or depression, and worries about
the future.
The best referrals are the ones to which students respond. Troubled students
have
a
number of resources available to them, such as
close friends, clergy, coaches, community agencies, and campus agencies, most
especially the Division of Student Development and University Relations. If you
can, prepare students for the change in helpers by sharing what you know about
the referral person or agency they have chosen.
If students are hesitant about coming to the Counseling Center, you might
suggest they contact the Family Crisis Center (345-6511); a 24-hour phone and
walk-in crisis counseling service. Trained counselors will assist
callers anonymously.
FIRST CONTACT AT THE COUNSELING CENTER
Students should make their own appointments, if
possible. They can stop by the Center on the third floor of Delzell or phone
346-3553. The center is open 8:00 am, to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The
receptionist will make an appointment for the earliest available date. Students
in emergency states are assisted immediately.
First-time student clients fill out information forms before meeting with a
therapist. By law, students association with the Center is held in strict
confidence.
During the first appointment, the therapist works with a student on assessing
needs and developing an appropriate plan of treatment. We offer consultation and
short-term counseling. If a student’s need is for a longer-term, more ongoing
treatment, we will assist him/her in locating appropriate service. Our service
is confidential and free of charge to registered students.
ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION
Staff members at the Counseling Center would be pleased to help you:
1 Assess the situation, its seriousness, and the potential for referral;
2 Learn about resources, both on and off campus, so you can suggest the most
appropriate help available when talking with a student;
3 Find the best way to make a referral, if appropriate;
4 Clarify your own feelings about a student and consider the ways you can be
most effective.
For consultation with the Counseling Center, please call 346-3553 or drop by the
third floor of Delzell during regular working hours. Ask to arrange a
faculty/staff consultation. Phone consultations are also welcomed.
ASSISTANCE AND EMERGENCY REFERRALS
Try
to stay as calm as possible. Find someone to stay with
the student while calls to the appropriate agency are made,
Students expressing a direct threat to themselves and/or others, or acting in a
bizarre, highly irrational or disruptive way (Level 3 Behavior):
UW-SP PROTECTIVE SERVICES
Telephone: 346-3456
Services: 24 hour transportation and/or protection
STEVENS POINT POLICE DEPARTMENT Telephone: 346-1500 Emergency: 911 (a short
pause with connection from campus phone)
Services: 24-hour assessment, transportation and/or protection.
AMBULANCE
Telephone: 344-1833 Emergency: 911 (a short pause
with connection from campus phone)
Services: 24-hour transportation
EMERGENCY ROOM, ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL
Telephone: 346-5100
Services: 24-hour emergency evaluation and treatment
Students expressing severe anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts or other
intense emotional disturbances, but no immediate harm seems likely (Level 2
Behavior):
UW-SP COUNSELING CENTER
Telephone: 346-3553
Services: 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
—
emergency
consultation, evaluation, treatment and referral
PORTAGE COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES
Telephone: 345-5350
Services: 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM evaluation and
treatment
FAMILY CRISIS CENTER
Telephone: 345-6511
Services: 24-hour crisis counseling and referral
Adapted by permission of
the
University Counseling Services,
State
University of New
York-Buffalo.
(9-92)
|
Back to the Counseling Center Home
|