Recognizing Students In Distress
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.