Guidelines For Dealing With Distressed
Students
While
faculty and staff are often well equipped to service various
student needs we would like to offer the following guidelines to
help in the identification and referral of students who may need
psychological assistance. The following is a list of the more
common signs of psychological distress that have been observed in
students:
Changes in mood, appearance or
behavior:
Students may talk directly about
their issues, but their appearance and behavior can also be
telling. Deterioration of hygiene, appearance and dress may be
visible cues of a problem. You may also observe persistent decline
in academic performance, poor attendance, an uncharacteristic need
for additional attention or repeated requests for extensions.
Emotionally distraught students also exhibit fits of anger, crying,
hyperactivity as well as conversations that are incoherent or
disturbing.
Traumatic changes in personal
relationships:
Students also feel very high levels
of stress when they experience a traumatic or sudden change in
their lives including the death of a family member or close friend,
difficulties in important relationships, a divorce or breakup or
changes in family responsibilities. Such stress, on top of the
multiple demands of schoolwork, jobs and personal commitments may
overwhelm the individual's usual capacity to cope. If you are aware
of such a problem, you might wish to initiate a conversation.
Substance abuse:
Students, even those at RWC, also use
substances to cope with life stresses and psychological
difficulties. If you see a combination of some of the more common
physical (e.g. chronic coughing, dilated pupils, weight loss,
nervousness, chronic fatigue, slurred speech, stumbling),
behavioral (e.g. excessively disruptive, overly antagonistic,
acting bizarre or peculiar, boastfulness, crude behavior, sarcasm,
lying/stealing) and/or academic (e.g. poor attendance,
unexcused/unexplained absences, decrease in performance) do not
underestimate their significance.
References to suicide:
Any reference to suicide should be
taken seriously. Verbal messages may include "I wish I weren't
here," or directly stating "I'm going to kill myself." Some
nonverbal signals include giving away valued possessions, and
putting legal, financial, and other affairs in order, a
preoccupation with death, withdrawal or boredom, a history of
depression, and poor grooming habits. While not all thoughts of
suicide are dangerous they may indicate that the student is feeling
overwhelmed or depressed. To assume that talk of suicide is
intended solely to get attention is risky and can be a regrettable
mistake. If you become aware of a student who is thinking about
suicide, please consider a referral to the Counseling Center. You
can call us for a consultation if you are unsure of how to
intervene or if the student is reluctant to take your referral.
Other signs of
distress:
In general the more of the symptoms
that are observed, the more likely the individual is to be truly
distressed. Also keep in mind changes from a student's previous
behavior including a drop in class attendance or a drop in quality
of class work, a more generally tense or shady appearance, and the
development of inappropriate or bizarre responses such as talking
off the subject and rambling or laughing inappropriately. If you
have questions or concerns about any particular student we
encourage you to call the Counseling Center and we can discuss the
matter with you.