Recognizing and Addressing Student Distress: A Guide for Notre Dame Faculty (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: All right, then, remember, I have office hours Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 to 2, and papers due no later than noon on Monday, okay? Thank you.

Speaker 2: As a Notre Dame faculty or staff member, students view you as a source of instruction, assistance, and sometimes personal support. In your conversations with students, some will naturally share their successes and academic pressures, and a few will disclose their personal stories. Other students won't intentionally share their difficulties with you, but you may notice indirectly expressed signs of personal problems. This video will outline how to best recognize signs of emotional distress and how to refer a distressed student to the University Counseling Center. In your interactions with students, it's important to look out for signs of distress. These usually involve noticing changes in the student's functioning, such as emotional, physical, and behavioral changes. Emotional changes may include a student appearing sad, anxious, withdrawn, confused, or unusually elated. Physical changes may include signs of disordered eating, physical appearance, lack of hygiene, tiredness, complaints of headaches or stomach problems, and weight loss. Behavioral changes may include frequent absences, decline in academics, inability to sit through classes, disruptive behavior, requests for special accommodations, and suicidal or homicidal themes referenced in papers. If a student comes to you with a personal problem or you notice a distressed student, you need to acknowledge your concerns to the student directly. Here are a few guidelines to follow. Ask to see the student in private to minimize embarrassment and defensiveness, and let the student know that you are generally concerned about the student's welfare.

Speaker 1: Hey Bill, how are you? Started on your paper yet? Everything going okay? I'm concerned about you. You've changed recently. Would you mind coming to my office to talk?

Speaker 2: Share your observations of the student's behavior in a direct, honest, and factual way. Sometimes our tendency is to be too polite and not point out the specific behaviors that are concerning.

Speaker 1: I enjoy having you in class, and I noticed that you missed three assignments in the past two weeks. This week you were unprepared for class, which is unlike you. You're staring off into space, and I noticed that you put your head down on your desk several times today.

Speaker 2: Listen respectfully and provide empathy without necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with the student's point of view. Do not be afraid to ask the student if he or she is suicidal. It is a myth to think that asking the student about suicide puts the idea in the student's head. If you believe that the student might benefit from professional counseling, consider referring the student to the University Counseling Center.

Speaker 1: I'm wondering if it might be helpful for you to talk to someone at the UCC, the University Counseling Center. They have a lot of experience helping students.

Speaker 2: The University Counseling Center helps well over 1,000 Notre Dame students every year and is staffed with qualified counselors who are experts in college student mental health. Seeking professional help is a positive step that can indicate strength.

Speaker 3: I usually remind the student that the counseling services here at the university are confidential.

Speaker 4: The students are in control of who gets to see that information. They have to sign a written release, and the written release can govern who can see the information or who can hear the information, how much can be discussed, how far the counselor can go with the person.

Speaker 3: There's a couple things you can do as a rector or as a faculty member if a student is reluctant to seek counseling. One of the things you can do is to offer to make the telephone call or allow them to make the telephone call for an appointment at the Counseling Center from your own phone in your room or in your office. Another thing you can do, and I've done it often, is to offer to take a student and to walk a student over to the Counseling Center to be a support to them in that way, and that usually is a big help.

Speaker 4: I think the most important thing other faculty and staff members should know about helping students in distress is to not be afraid to ask the difficult question you might be afraid to ask, which is, for example, is a student at risk of harming himself or herself? How would a student benefit from just talking to someone else? A lot of times we're turning these young men and women into young adults, but they don't necessarily have skills to deal with crises that are going on in their lives.

Speaker 3: Do not underestimate the resources and the help that the University Counseling Center can provide to either a faculty member or staff and certainly to the student.

Speaker 5: The Counseling Center is there as a support to help develop the student holistically during their journey here at the University and their matriculation. A lot of times we think that we have to carry that burden alone when a student comes to us in crisis, but the Counseling Center is definitely there to be a support.

Speaker 2: For more information about the University Counseling Center and its services, call us or visit our website. Remember, you're a potential resource for students in times of trouble. It's important to take seriously your responsibility to respond.