Your Role

Many students initially seek assistance from faculty or staff members, especially after a traumatic incident within or associated with their campus. Below are guidelines for identifying students in distress:

    ♦ Excessive procrastination and very poorly prepared work, especially if inconsistent with previous work.

    ♦ Infrequent class attendance with little or no work completed.

    ♦ Dependency (e.g., the student who hangs around or makes excessive appointments during office hours).

    ♦ Listlessness, lack of energy, or frequently falling asleep in class.

    ♦ Marked changes in personal hygiene.

    ♦ Impaired speech and disjointed thoughts.

    ♦ Repeated requests for special consideration (e.g., deadline extensions).

    ♦ Threats to others.

    ♦ Expressed suicidal thoughts (e.g., referring to suicide as a current option).

    ♦ Excessive weight gain or loss.

    ♦ Behavior which regularly interferes with effective class management.

    ♦ Frequent or high levels of irritable, unruly, abrasive, or aggressive behavior.

    ♦ Unable to make decisions despite your repeated efforts to clarify or encourage.

    ♦ Bizarre behavior that is obviously inappropriate for the situation (e.g., talking to something/someone that is not present).

    ♦ Students who appear overly nervous, tense or tearful.

Guidelines for Interaction

    ♦ Talk to the student in private.

    ♦ Express concern. Be as specific as possible in stating your observations and reasons for concern.

    ♦ Listen carefully to everything the student says.

    ♦ Repeat the essence of what the student has told you so your attempts to understand are communicated.

    ♦ Avoid criticizing or sounding judgmental.

    ♦ Consider the University Counseling Center (UCC) as a resource and discuss referral with the student.

    ♦ If the student resists referral and you remain uncomfortable with the situation, contact the UCC to discuss your concern.

How to Make a Referral to the University Counseling Center

            1. Suggest that students call or come in to make an appointment. Give them the UCC phone number (777-2772) and location (Bartle Library Lobby – LN1202) at that time. However, it is usually more effective to assist the student by calling for an appointment with the student present. When you reach the UCC receptionist, identify yourself as a faculty or staff member and ask for an appointment for the student. Write down the appointment time, date, and counselor for the student.

            2. If you feel the situation is an emergency or urgent enough to require immediate attention, after identifying yourself as faculty or staff, tell the receptionist that the student needs to see a counselor immediately

            3. It may be necessary for you to walk the student to the UCC.

            4. If you are concerned about a student but unsure about the appropriateness of a referral, feel free to call the UCC for a consultation.

Courtesy of Cook Counseling Center

Virginia Tech