SUCCESS AND SANITY ON THE CAMPUS

1. SUCCESS AND SANITY ON THE CAMPUS PRESENTED BY Dr. Ingrid Grieger

2. In this Presentation • Expectations for the College Student/the Emerging Adult • Developmental Stressors for the Emerging Adult • Realities of College Life • Successful Transitions to College : Role of the Parent, Role of the Counselor ,Role of the Institution of Higher Education • Mental Health Concerns on the Campus • Role of the Counselor

3. Expectations for the college student/EMERGING ADULT • Successfully separate from home • Develop and solidify their personal identity • Be viewed as an adult in the college environment • Structure and manage time • Set priorities • Negotiate conflicts • Value diversity and become muticulturally competent • Create a satisfying social network

4. Expectations (continued) • Choose a major and make career choices • Develop useful study habits • Become involved and engaged on campus • Make healthy lifestyle choices • Manage finances • Solidify core values • Develop a sense of personal integrity, ethicality and social justice • Develop resilience, self-regulation and a sense of perspective

5. DEVELOPMENTAL STRESSORS FOR THE EMERGING ADULT • The “Millennial Generation” and the “Helicopter Parent” – a generation closely tied to home and parental guidance; parents have unprecedented access to details of their emerging adult’s private life, facilitated by technology (email, cellphones, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Skype, Facetime,etc) • Separation Anxiety – extreme homesickness, loneliness, panic, preoccupation with what is taking place at home • Identity Development – developing one’s own values, way of being in the world; process of individuation may be particularly challenging for Millennials • Developing Autonomy – dependency on parents may persist well into college years • Bi-cultural Strain – students from more traditional cultures may feel conflict in values and behaviors expected by their parents vs. relatively more liberal expectations and freedoms of their American counterparts • Neurologically college age students do not have a fully developed frontal cortex that controls executive functioning.

6. REALITIES OF COLLEGE LIFE • A mental health crisis on college campuses – greater population of students with mental illness of greater severity • Higher levels of overall stress, emotional exhaustion, hopelessness, depression and thoughts of suicide reported by the general student population • A reduction in external controls, monitoring and supervision • Greater availability of alcohol and other drugs • Acceptance of intoxication and its formerly unacceptable behaviors as the norm • Vulnerability of female first year students to date rape

7. Realities (continued) • Psychologically and physically abusive relationships • Use of technology to bully, harass, monitor, stalk , and humiliate peers • Increasing cost of college –need to work while attending school • Increasing anxiety about finding employment and handling the demands of adult life • Concerns about safety on the campus – sexual assault, bias incidents, violence

8. Successful Transitions to College: Role of the Parent • Initiate the college selection process early • Encourage son or daughter to make the best use of their high school counselor in the selection process • Make use of websites for parents such as www.collegeparents.org and www.collegeboard.org • Realistically consider such factors as finances (real cost of attending college), majors available, graduation rates, “culture” of the campus, student population, student services • Insist on campus visits • Make sure son or daughter researches their possible choices and is prepared with a list of questions • Help son or daughter choose the college that is the best fit across all relevant factors • Honestly assess whether your son or daughter is ready to attend college; may do better in the long run by taking a “gap year.”

9. Role of the parent (continued) • Provide “roots and wings” • Know when to let go and when to intervene • Understand the separation and individuation process • Know about signs of distress • Learn about resources and student services • Don’t hesitate to call an on-campus resource if you have questions • Understand the limitations of FERPA • Attend Parent Orientation

10. Successful Transitions To college: Role of the Counselor • Advocate for a Parents Orientation program • Advocate for a meaningful New Student and Transfer Student Orientation • Be highly visible at all orientations –give presentations to both parents and students • Don’t shy away from difficult topics-tell parents about the more serious mental health issues on the campus as well as the realities of alcohol and other drug use among your student population • Provide primary prevention for incoming students-frontload workshops on sexual assault prevention (Now mandated by lawunder the SAVE Act of title Xl) ,the consequences of alcohol and other drug abuse, the services provided by the counseling center/CAPS

11. Role of the Counselor (Continued) • Engage in intensive training of RA’s and other paraprofessionals on such topics as recognizing signs of stress, depression, homesickness, and suicidality • Train RA’s and other paraprofessionals about managing roommate conflicts, bias incidents, and making referrals to the counseling center and other student services • Give RA’s and other paraprofessionals opportunities to role play speaking to residents about their concerns and referring them to counseling • Continue training sessions throughout the year; partner with RA’s and colleagues on making presentations • Provide as much outreach as possible to be visible to your student population

12. Successful Transitions to college:Role of the Institution • Provide a comprehensive First Year Experience • Provide a campus climate that is hospitable and respectful of all students • Provide clubs and organizations for all cultural groups on campus, for LGBT populations, for international students,etc • Select student-friendly instructors to teach first year courses • If the institution creates the first semester schedule, do not place first years in overly challenging courses that they may never need to take • Create student cohorts • Select academic advisors who are readily available and who give accurate information to students • Expect Faculty to post their office hours and keep them • Provide for a safe campus- register all cell phones in order for the college community to receive safety alerts, and create Threat Assessment and or Students of Concern or CARE Team to break down information silos.

13. Role of the Institution (continued) • Provide a front-loading of social and cultural activities to assist students in meeting each other • Provide intentional programming to make students aware of all clubs, activities and organizations • Provide intentional programming to make students aware of all student services and resources • Provide adequate student services and resources to meet the needs of first year students • Provide administrators dedicated to first year students • Train peer mentors for first year students • Create specific living and learning communities in residential life • Insure that the spiritual needs of students are being met on the campus • Insure that hate crimes, sexual assault or other egregious incidents are dealt with swiftly and appropriately

14. Mental Health Concerns on the Campus • A growing number of students arriving on campus with mental health issues of increasing severity (major depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, suicidality, personality disorders, attachment disorders,childhood sexual trauma, self-injury, eating disorders, addiction to substances, potentially dangerous students) • A growing number of students arriving on campus in need of psychoactive medication management • Inadequate resources (insufficient counseling staff, no psychiatrist on staff, session limits, no psychiatric inpatient facility nearby, psychiatrists not readily available in the community, no dedicated alcohol and other drugs office, no dedicated sexual assault and survivor office)

15. Role of the counselor/counseling center • Advocate for adequate mental health resources, especially adequate staffing • Consider establishing an externship or internship to increase clinical hours, if these do not already exist • Provide culturally competent counseling and psychotherapy • Provide weekly inservice training to all staff in order to be current on emerging issues • Make every attempt to avoid session limits, especially if there is not an ample supply of resources in the community or if your student population does not have the means to access them • Have a clearly written Informed Consent Document that delineates exceptions to the confidentiality (in NY state that includes the NY State SAFE –Secure Ammunition and Firearms- Act of 2013)

16. Role of the counselor/Counseling Center (Continued) • Provide a variety of therapeutic orientations for both long term and short term counseling (Psychodynamic, CBT, DBT) • Create opportunities to reach out to first year students (programs on homesickness, transition to college, adjusting to academic demands, stress reduction, living with differences, social skills) • Take every opportunity to educate campus constituencies on mental health issues of college students and about your services; let constituents know that you will serve as consultants to them • Partner with faculty on presenting programs whenever possible • Provide as much psychoeducational outreach as possible ;create annual events if possible (Preventing Sexual Assault, Love Shouldn’t Hurt)

17. Role of the Counselor/Counseling Center (Continued) • If your institution does not have its own hospital, form a relationship with a nearby hospital with psychiatric services, in order that your students be evaluated and seen in a timely fashion • Create a non –obtrusive method of transporting students to the hospital voluntarily, for example by using campus security • Always provide referral information to the evaluating psychiatrist or psychiatric facility • Do complete intakes on all clients, including suicide assessment • Do not see any client prior to their reading and signing an informed consent document • Work very closely with health services and with residential life • Document, document,document

18. Presented by • Dr. Ingrid Grieger • Director • Iona College • Counseling Center • Email: igrieger@iona.edu