Faculty as Helping Resources

1. Faculty as Helping Resources • Professors are in a good position to recognize students in distress. • To support your efforts, here is helpful, practical information about how to assist students most effectively and to access resources such as the SMU Counseling and Wellness Office.

2. Recognizing Students in Distress • Stress is a natural part of life and no stranger to college students. Many students successfully cope with the realities of college life, but for some the stressors are overwhelming and unmanageable. Their emotional and behavioral consequences are often played out on campus in the classrooms, residence halls, or offices.

3. Mental Illness on Campus Contributing Factors • early diagnosis; better treatment • overall lessening of social stigma re mental illness • heightened awareness; high-profile media stories • greater adjustment stress of diverse student population • younger exposure to decisions about sex, alcohol, and drugs • increased parental involvement • limited access to off-campus services (high cost of private care; insufficient insurance) • increased stress associated with the 24/7 pace of undergraduate life

4. What to Look For • Marked changes in academic performance or behavior • Unusual behavior or appearance • References to suicide, homicide or death

5. Marked changesin Academic Performance or Behavior • Poor performance and preparation • Excessive absences or tardiness • Repeated requests for special consideration especially when this represents a change from previous functioning • Unusual or changed pattern of interaction • Avoiding interaction • Problems with roommates or family • Exaggerated emotional response obviously inappropriate to the situation

6. Unusual Behavior or Appearance • Depressed or lethargic mood • Hyperactivity or very rapid speech • Unexplained crying • Irritability or angry outbursts • Swollen or red eyes • Change in personal hygiene or dress • Dramatic weight loss or gain • Strange or bizarre behavior indicating loss of contact with reality

7. Suicide on Campus Suicide Facts • Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.1 • More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from all medical illnesses combined.2 • 11.4% of students 18-24 year olds have seriously considered suicide within the past 12 months1; 1.5 % of college students have made a suicide attempt within the past 12 months.1,3 • Completed suicides among college students: 1/10,000 per yr.4 • Alcohol/drugs are implicated in 30% of suicides.5 • 76% of college suicides occur among students who have not accessed counseling services.6 1 Youth Risk Surveillance: National College Health Risk Survey CDC Report. 1995. 2 Safeguarding Your Students Against Suicide, NMHA Report, 2002. 3 National Collegiate Health Assessment , ACHA, 2000. 4 Similar rates reported in a number of studies, including M. Silverman,, The Big 10 Student Suicide Study, Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, (27)3, 285-307, 1997. 5 National Center for Health Statistics, 2001, according to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 6 Allan Schwartz (University of Rochester) “College Student Suicide.” ACHA Conference presentation, June 2004.

8. References to Suicide, Homicide or Death • Expressed thoughts of helplessness or hopelessness • Overt references to suicide • Isolation from friends or family • Homicidal threats, any of which may occur in students’ verbal or written statements

9. Take all suicidal expression seriously • Please consult about any student who is making any type of suicidal expression. • Call Counseling services during business hours. Lynne at 438-4371 or Jan at 438-4375 • If the student is in imminent danger call Campus Security at 438-4555 and/or 911. • A student whose behavior has become threatening, violent or significantly disruptive may need a different kind of approach. Please feel free to consult about any problematic behaviors.

10. What Can You Do? • Talk… • Listen… • Communicate… • Give Hope… • Maintain… • Refer...

11. Talk… • Talk to the student in private when both of you have the time and are not rushed or preoccupied. • Give the student your undivided attention. • It is possible that just a few minutes of effective listening on your part may be enough to help the student feel cared about as an individual and more confident about what to do.

12. Listen… • Listen to thoughts and feelings in a sensitive, nonthreatening way. • If you have initiated the contact, express your concern in behavioral, nonjudgmental terms. For Example, “I’ve noticed that you have missed the last couple of classes and I’m wondering how you’re doing.”

13. Communicate.. • Communicate understanding by repeating back the essence of what the student has told you. • Try to include both content and feelings “It sounds like you have been feeling out of place on campus and somewhat isolated.” • Let the student talk.

14. Give Hope… • Assure the student that things can get better. • It is important to help them realize there are options, and that things may not always seem hopeless. • Suggest resources: friends, family, clergy or professionals on campus.

15. Maintain… • Maintain clear and consistent boundaries and expectations. • It is important to maintain the professional nature of the professor/student relationship.

16. Refer..To other resources, such as the Counseling Office when: • The problem is more serious than you feel comfortable handling. • You are extremely busy, stressed, and cannot find the time to deal with the problem. • You have helped as much as you can and further assistance is needed. • You think your personal feelings about the student will interfere with your objectivity. • The student admits that there is a problem, but doesn’t want to talk to you about it. • The student asks for information or assistance that you are unable to provide.

17. Making a Referral For CounselingIt is usually best to speak directly to the student in a caring, supportive manner. Here are some things you might share with students when making a referral: Seeking professional help is: • A sign of strength and courage rather than a sign of weakness or failure. • Considered good judgment and an appropriate use of resources. You might say "If you had a broken arm you would go to a doctor rather than try to set it yourself” • Ask them if they would like help in making an appointment. You can assist them by offering your phone to make the call or offering to walk them to the counseling office.

18. If a Student is Reluctantto seek Professional Help • Normalize the process of seeking help. This may be especially helpful for international students whose countries may not have similar views of psychological counseling. • Reassure students that counselors at the Counseling Office work with people with a wide range of concerns.

19. If a Student is Reluctant to Seek Professional Help • Remind students that successful students seek support. It’s healthy to recognize your limits and use campus resource when appropriate. • Problems need not reach crisis proportions for students to benefit from professional help. Suggest to students that it is often much easier to work on problems if they are addressed before they reach crisis level.

20. If a Student is Reluctant to Seek Professional Help • Reluctant students might also be relieved to know that they can speak with a therapist on a one-time basis without making a commitment to ongoing therapy. • Students may be relieved to hear that any contact and information shared by the student is kept strictly confidential with the Counseling Office and will not be disclosed to parents, faculty, other departments, or mentors, unless the student gives written permission.

21. What Happens to a Student at the counseling center? It’s most helpful when students make their own appointments with the Counseling Office Hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday Location: Old Main Room 203 Phone: 438-4513, 438-4371 or 438-4554 Students can stop by the office and leave a message on our door or make a phone call. Counselors return calls as soon as possible , usually within 24 hours for non emergency appointments We do not make appointments by e-mail because it is not a secure form of communication

22. Faculty as Helping Resources “The greatest good we can do for others        Is not just to share our riches with them,        But to reveal to them their own riches. -Author Unknown