For Faculty, TA/TF and Staff who work with students
This list may also be useful for concerned friends.
During the course of your normal work with students, you may encounter distressed students needing additional assistance in coping with the pressures and challenges they are facing. Faculty and staff play a crucial roles in identifying and referring these distressed students to Counseling and Testing and other sources of help. Following are some frequently asked questions about emotional distress. Remember we now have QPR training available to Faculty and Staff.
1. What are some of the signs indicating a possible counseling referral?
- Infrequent class attendance, chronic lateness, consistently looking disheveled with poor self-care.
- Repeated requests for deadline extensions and/or serious grade problems Dependency (e.g., passivity and efforts to have others to take care of him/her).
- Fatigue, lack of energy, serious sleep disturbance.
- Abrupt changes in behavior or appearance.
- Bizarre/inappropriate behavior and/or garbled disjointed thoughts.
- Known or suspected alcohol/drug abuse.
- Increased irritability, irrational anger, crying for little reason.
- Highly disruptive behavior (e.g., aggression toward other people, violent outbursts, disruptions of class or work).
- Suicidal thought (e.g. referring to suicide as a current option or indirect reference to suicide or death).
- Normal emotions displayed for a prolonged period of time to an extreme degree.
- Uncertainty & anxiety about emotional stability, family situation &/or relationship problems.
Please call if you have a concern or specific question about a situation.
2. How do I make a referral to a student?
- Talk to the student in a private area.
- Listen to thoughts and feelings, allowing the student to talk.
- Be supportive and avoid criticizing, judging, and/or giving advice outside of the academic arena.
- Explore options instead of trying to "fix it" for the student.
- Emphasize that seeking help is a sign of courage, health and maturity, not weakness.
- Contact counseling services for consultation if the student resists help and you are concerned about what to do.
- Encourage the student to contact the counseling center to make an appointment.
- In some circumstance, you might even walk the student to our office to see if they can be seen the same day (which we will try to do if possible).
3. What services are offered by the counseling center?
- Consultation to Faculty, Staff and Administrators (while protecting client privacy)
- Crisis intervention
- Individual Personal counseling (both personal and vocational/career)
- Career Counseling
- Couple counseling
- Group counseling of various kinds (may change by semester).
- Psychological assessment and recommendations
- Referral to UNT's dietitian
- Referral to a psychiatrist as needed (as part of an assessment with recommendations)
- Educational presentations, consultations and outreach programs
- Other referrals as appropriate, both in the community and on campus
4. If I refer a student to the Counseling and Testing services, should I follow-up by calling the counseling center?
We understand that you will be interested in the problems of the student and making sure they took your referral, but we are bound by the principles of CONFIDENTIALITY as defined by the Code of Ethics & Standards of the American Counseling Association, American Psychological Association, state and federal laws (such as HIPAA laws). If the student wishes, he/she may give us permission to release certain private information to you by signing a "release of information form".
5. What can't the counseling center tell me?
Counseling services are confidential within the scope of the law and without a release of information to you signed by the student we cannot...
- Say whether a student is being seen or has kept an appointment,
- Discuss the specific content of sessions, or
- Discuss treatment plans or progress
Students may decide it is in their best interest to have the counseling center share information with faculty, staff, family, or significant others. This can be done after the student signs written consent, being sure she/he understands the purpose and content of any disclosure. The exception is when we determine that imminent danger exists to the student or others. In this case, we will inform the appropriate sources, police or health professionals.
6. What can the counseling center tell me?
We can answer questions concerning steps to take in assisting students through a referral to counseling services. We may be able to offer information about psychological concerns or problems in general.
If a release of information is signed by the student, we can release all information specified in the release document, but if not we cannot release any information. The rule of thumb, of course, is that even with a signed release, only the information that is actually needed given the purpose of the release should be given.
7. What do I do in emergency situations?
If the situation is an emergency and you feel that the student is going to hurt themselves or someone else you need to call 911 or the UNT police 940-565-3000 and let them know there is an individual who is at high risk for hurting themselves or someone else. After the UNT police are contacted call Counseling and Testing Services (565-2741) during office hours. If the Counseling and Testing Services is closed and you have an emergency, contact the UNT police (565-3000). They may have a psychologist return your call to consult with you.
More information for faculty about students in distress [pdf].