a newsletter for faculty and staff of Northeastern Illinois
University
Fall 2006
Faculty members are often the first to notice behavior in students that can point to serious emotional or psychological problems. For instance, students hand in essays which reveal significant personal trauma, they submit journals disclosing suicidal thoughts or feelings, their attendance or class participation suddenly drops off, or sometimes you just notice them acting in uncharacteristically withdrawn or isolated ways. In a variety of ways, students are telling you about themselves and what you notice may alarm you. When you become concerned about a student's behavior, consider a referral to the counseling office. Here are some tips:
How should you bring up the subject of counseling?
Let your student know that you are concerned about his or her welfare but that the problem may be beyond your field of expertise. Suggest that counseling may help him or her deal with the situation more effectively. Finally, recommend an initial meeting with a counselor to see if it might be useful. You can't force a student to seek help, but your expression of concern can be a powerful influence on your student's choice.
How much should you
help?
That depends... on the nature of the problem, the degree of crisis, and the ability of your student to follow through. Sometimes simply giving someone a name to call is sufficient; at other times, actually making a call to the Counseling Office while you are meeting with a student is effective. If you aren't sure that the student will follow through, you may even want to call and arrange a meeting with a counselor, walking the student down to meet with the counselor for the first time. Your goal is to ensure that the student and the counselor make contact. The counselor will take it from there.
What will you hear
back?
Because counseling is confidential, counselors cannot discuss with you information your student shares with them. In fact, they can't even tell you whether the student has made contact without the student's permission. Counselors do, however, encourage students to let you know that they have followed through on your referral and made contact with us. They may also ask the student if they can contact you for additional information.
To view the Counseling Office's complete online Referral Guide for Faculty, click here.
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Across the nation, colleges and universities are experiencing increased needs for counseling, therapy and other mental health services among their students. From articles in the popular press, like the New York Times, to national surveys of counseling office directors, the picture that emerges is that student demand for mental health services has been rising steadily over the past decade and that the nature of the issues students bring to college have become more serious. Annual national surveys of counseling office directors report a steady increase through the 1990s in the number of students with serious psychological illnesses, alcohol problems, learning disabilities and domestic and dating violence (2005 National Survey of Counseling Center Directors, www.aucccd.org).
How does this relate to our experience here at Northeastern? Demand for psychological counseling services on our campus has reflected these national trends, showing consistent increases over the past seven years. During the 2005-06 academic year, Northeastern's Counseling Office scheduled 3,744 psychological counseling or therapy sessions, a 45% increase since 1998. In the last year alone, individual therapy sessions increased more than 11% and group sessions increased 27%.
Anecdotally, the severity of the issues which students bring in has also been changing, becoming more serious and more disruptive in students lives. Depressions are more serious, and we see students with a wide range of difficulties. Our clients report that anxiety, depression and anger are the problems that most frequently bring them in for help and that these symptoms are often triggered by relationship issues at home, whether that be with parents, partners, spouses or children. Previous experiences of trauma, including sexual assault or domestic violence, are also common, and feelings related to these experiences can be easily triggered by current stresses. Click here for more information about the characteristics of the Counseling Office's clients for the past several years
With fewer emotional resources to draw upon, students become more susceptible to the combined effects of familial responsibilities, economic hardship, and pressure to succeed in college. As the stress builds, performance in class can suffer, assignments put off, study time compromised. Dr. Robert Portnoy, director of counseling and psychological services at the University of Nebraska, is quoted in the New York Times (Feb. 2, 2003) as explaining, "people just don't seem to have the resources to draw upon emotionally to the degree they used to... what would once have been a difficult patch for someone in the past is now a full-blown crisis." Early intervention can help to catch things before they feel too out of hand, helping students continue in school and succeed academically.
As state and local government-funded mental health programs are cut or scaled back, the concern is that increasing demand is being met with reduced assistance--a recipe for more problems that will come to roost in our campus environment. Although many college counseling centers were able to add staff in response to the upturn in demand in the last decade, more recent economic problems are constraining their ability to keep up with demand.
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Suicide is the third highest cause of death within the college‑age population in the United States and more than 1100 college students die by suicide every year. Numerous studies have attested to the increasing intensity of mental health problems on campuses in the last several decades, raising the concerns about suicide even higher. Northeastern's Counseling Office has received a federal grant (one of 22 grants awarded nationwide by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) to develop a Suicide Prevention Program for our non-traditional campus. Northeastern's Suicide Prevention Program has two primary objectives: 1) increasing awareness of suicide (and other mental health issues) across campus; and 2) enhancing the responsiveness of the campus environment to students at increased risk.
How will this effect you? Northeastern's non-traditional educational setting presents significant challenges in reaching those in need of counseling services. Our highly diverse students all commute to campus, many combining school and work. Lacking a residence hall structure, Northeastern operates without the advantages of residence hall advisors who are constantly in touch with student behavior in more traditional campus environments. On commuter campuses, identification of students at increased risk of suicide is especially difficult... particularly troubling in light of the fact that 80% of college suicides are committed by students not in treatment and not known to have been suicidal. So on a commuter campus, faculty members, advisors and tutors are the key. Faculty members, advisors, tutors and other students become the primary eyes and ears of the counseling office, replacing the more traditional residence hall staff--they are the people most likely to notice changes in student behavior that indicate increased risk for suicide. With an eye on these realities, the Counseling Office will be meeting with each academic department sometime within the 3-year grant period, discussing ways faculty members can help identify and reach out to students in need, and finding out how counselors can help support faculty members and tutors. If the mental health of your students has been of concern to you or your colleagues, contact your chairperson or the Director of the Counseling Office (x4657) to arrange a consultation meeting.
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When somebody confides suicidal thoughts or feelings, you can use your relationship to make an impact. An emotionally-troubled person has reached out to you for a reason. Here are some specific ways to be helpful to someone who is talking about suicide:
For more information about suicide, its warning signs and how you can find help, click here.
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You can contact the Counseling Office by:
We are always interested in your feedback. If you would like us to write about something of particular interest to you, or you have an idea of how this can be more helpful, drop us an email and let us know.
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Rev. 8.2006
Counseling Office
Psychological and Career
Counseling
Northeastern Illinois
University
Office of Student Affairs