Helping a Distressed Student

Tips for Faculty and Staff

Georgia Tech students typically encounter a great deal of stress (academic, social, family, work, financial) during the course of their educational experience. While most students cope successfully with the demands of college life, for some the pressures can become overwhelming and unmanageable. As a faculty or staff member interacting daily with students, you are in an excellent position to recognize potential problems. You could well be the first person a student reaches out to for help. Your ability to recognize the signs of emotional distress and to make an initial intervention can have a significant impact on a student’s future well being. Remember, your role as a faculty member with the students is to listen, show concern, and make a referral. The mission of the Georgia Tech Counseling Center is to serve the Tech community and we want to offer you assistance in identifying distressed students in order to facilitate appropriate referrals to the Counseling Center.

If you believe that a student should be seen at The Counseling Center for an urgent consultation, please call us at 894-2575. If this is after hours or on the weekend, please access our crisis consultation line by calling our main number at 894-2575 and following the prompts. If a student asks you for help, or if you recognize that a student is in significant distress, this may provide reason enough to call the Counseling Center for advice.

Common Warning Signs of Student Distress

Academic Problems

  • Excessive procrastination
  • Uncharacteristically poor preparation or performance
  • Repeated requests for extensions or special considerations
  • Disruptive classroom behavior
  • Career or course indecision
  • Excessive absence or tardiness
  • Avoiding or dominating discussions
  • References to suicide or homicide in verbal statements or writing

Interpersonal Problems

  • Asking instructor for help with personal problems
  • Dependency on advisor
  • Hanging around office
  • Avoidance of advisor
  • Disruptive Behavior
  • Inability to get along with others
  • Complaints from other students

Behavioral Problems

  • Change in personal hygiene
  • Dramatic weight gain or loss
  • Frequently falling asleep in class
  • Irritability
  • Unruly behavior
  • Impaired speech
  • Disjointed thoughts
  • Tearfulness
  • Intense emotion
  • Inappropriate responses
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Physically harming self

If you have noticed any of these warning signs, you are faced with the decision of whether or not to intervene. Although your faculty appointment is demanding, your interest in your student’s well-being can make an important difference to a person in distress. If you decide to make an intervention, here are some suggestions:

  • Talk to the student privately to help minimize embarrassment and defensiveness.
  • Avoid making promises to keep information shared confidential.
  • Listen carefully to the student and respond to both the content and the emotion of the situation.
  • Discuss your observations and perceptions of the situation directly and honestly with the student.
  • Express your concern in a non-judgmental way. Respect the student’s value system, even if you don’t agree with it.
  • Help the student identify options for action and explore the possible consequences.
  • Be frank with the student about the limits of your ability to help them and let them know that you can help them get to experts who can help them address their concerns.
  • If the student appears to be in imminent danger of hurting self or others, contact the counseling center or the campus police immediately. Do not promise to keep threats to self or others secret.

How to make a referral

Emergency Referrals (when the student is in danger of hurting self or others)

  • If the emergency occurs within Counseling Center business hours (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or Thursdays 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. ) call 894-2575 and ask to speak to a Counseling Center administrator or the therapist who is on duty for such calls.
  • Provide the therapist with a description of the situation that has led to your concern.
  • The therapist will advise you of appropriate actions to take to most effectively help the student.
  • If the emergency occurs outside of Counseling Center business hours, call 894-2575 and follow the prompts to contact the therapist who is staffing our crisis consultation line. This is appropriate if the student or another person is in immediate danger, or when you believe the student is out of control.
  • For students who may need additional support, the Fulton County Mental Health Hotline number is (404) 730-1600.

Non emergency referrals

  • Encourage the student to contact the Counseling Center directly to schedule an initial appointment.
  • Offer to let the student call from your office if you believe they may need extra support and encouragement.
  • It might be helpful to share with the student that the Counseling Center is staffed by psychologists and counselors and that our services are free and confidential.

What to expect at The Counseling Center

The first visit

Students can stop by The Counseling Center anytime during our business hours to fill out some brief paperwork, this will take about 20-30 minutes. At that time, they can schedule their first appointment with a counselor or psychologist to get the process of counseling started. The first appointment is called an intake and during this meeting, the counselor or psychologist will help the student define the problem, take a thorough history, and help the student clarify goals for counseling. The student will then generally be assigned to a therapist and begin regular counseling sessions.

Confidentiality Guidelines

Once you have made a referral, it is normal to want to know what happened and how you can continue to help the student. However, the staff at the Counseling Center are bound by the principles of confidentiality as defined by our disciplines and by Georgia law.

That means:

  • We cannot give information about the student without written permission from the student.
  • With the student’s permission, we CAN let you know that s/he has come in for the appointment, however, due to confidentiality, we cannot discuss specifics of the student’s situation.
  • We CAN answer your general questions about making referrals to the Counseling Center.
  • We CAN offer you information about psychological concerns in general.
  • We CAN provide other referral ideas.
  • We CAN take information from you regarding specific behaviors of the student.

Thank you for your concern for students and for being willing to go the extra mile when it is clear that one of our students is in distress. The staff at the Counseling Center is glad to serve as a resource to you as you help students.