Adjusting to University Life in the New Millennium
While studying at UCLA can be a rewarding experience, students can experience periods of adjustment and crisis during the course of their stay here. In addition to academic pressures, students often face difficulties in finances, family relations, health and interpersonal relationships. Adding to the complex challenges that students face is our rapidly changing world. We seem to be living at a time of unprecedented rate and magnitude of change. While there are many positive aspects of these changes, there are the accompanying downsides of increased uncertainty, relentless stress, information overload and multiple threats to life as we have known it.
Who is Especially Vulnerable to Becoming Distressed?
We are all vulnerable to becoming distressed given overwhelming stress. However, some students may be more vulnerable than others to becoming distressed. Returning students, non-traditional students, students with disabilities or health problems, students with mental health problems, students who come from dysfunctional families and students who lack social support may be especially vulnerable. Students who have a predisposition towards psychiatric disorders are also vulnerable, for late adolescence and early adulthood is the time such disorders first manifest themselves.
How You Can Help?
Some argue that it is not one's business or responsibility to notice that a student is distressed or to intervene accordingly. While it is true that each individual is responsible for his or her own life, this argument is flawed in at least two ways. First, the distressed person is not functioning at his or her usual level and may even be at risk of harming self or others, either intentionally or unintentionally. Just as one would not allow an intoxicated friend to drive, it is the responsible thing to do to respond when one is concerned about the well-being and safety of a student. Second, because we live in a community, the behaviors of one person can negatively impact others. Whether we are students, faculty, staff or administrators, we are all part of the UCLA community and are responsible to do our share in protecting the safety of our community. Responding to a distressed student can sometimes be challenging, but when someone cares enough to reach out to such a student, it can lead to a positive turning point for the student and may even save the student's life.
Faculty, teaching assistants, staff and administrators are likely to encounter distressed students in the course of their employment and can play a crucial role in identifying and responding to such students. The first step is to notice signs of a potentially distressed student. The following is a partial listing of signs to look for.
Some Signs and Symptoms of a Student in Distress:
Signs of a distressed student generally include extreme emotions, strange behaviors, threatening behaviors and significant changes in usual functioning.
1. Academic Difficulties
- Quality of academic work markedly inconsistent with previous work.
- Repeated requests for special consideration, such as incompletes.
- Infrequent class attendance with little or no work completed.
- Pattern of low grades.
2. Physical Signs
- Marked changes in personal hygiene or other forms of self care.
- Disheveled or fatigued appearance.
- Listlessness, lack of energy.
- Dramatic changes in weight.
3. Social Withdrawal
- Withdrawal from peers, friends and family.
- Avoidance of social interaction in general.
4. Strange Behaviors and Impaired Thinking
- Bizarre or strange behaviors that are obviously inappropriate to the situation.
- Incoherent speech.
- Delusional thinking, which involves beliefs that are outside of reality.
- Agitation, noticeable restlessness.
- Unusual difficulties making a decision.
- Other behaviors not typical of the student.
5. Excessive Emotions
- Intense anxiety.
- Irritability and anger.
- Depressed mood.
- Frequent tearfulness and crying spells.
6. Threatening Statements and Behaviors
- Threats to harm self or others.
- Threatening behaviors.
- Disruptive behaviors.
7. Substance Abuse
- Signs of excessive alcohol or drug use.
Guidelines for Intervention:
There is no one right formula to follow when responding to a distressed student. What is most important is to approach the student in a calm, gentle manner that conveys genuine concern and a sincere desire to understand and assist. Keep in mind that active listening and being there for the student is most effective in assisting the student. Another key aspect of intervening is to determine how urgent the situation seems to be. The more apparently life-threatening the situation, the more rapidly one needs to intervene in bringing in appropriate resources. If the student appears seriously disoriented or incoherent or if the situation appears imminently life-threatening, the best action to take is to call 911 immediately.
The following guidelines apply when the situation does not appear to be imminently life-threatening:
- Request to speak with the student privately.
- Describe the behaviors or signs that concern you.
- Listen carefully, avoiding interruptions and asking too many questions.
- Show concern and interest.
- Repeat back the essence of what the student has told you.
- Avoid criticizing or sounding judgmental.
- Refrain from telling the student what to do.
- Assist in identifying options available to the student, including relevant resources available to the student.
- Consider The Counseling Center (CAPS) as a resource and discuss a referral with the student.
- If the student resists help and you are worried, contact CAPS to discuss your concerns.
Maintain interpersonal boundaries appropriate to your relationship with the student. Extending oneself can be a gratifying experience when kept within realistic limits. Short of emergency situations, sometimes there is not much a concerned person can do if the distressed student is not receptive to assistance.
How to Make a Referral to CAPS:
1. Be sensitive to how you make the referral. It is common for students to be ambivalent about seeking professional psychological help. Some students may even be offended, thinking that only weak or abnormal people go to CAPS. Point out that it is natural for all of us to need help one time or another and that a third party listener can sometimes help. It might also be helpful to point out that many students find CAPS helpful and that it is a strength, not a weakness, to face difficulties in one's life. Suggest that the student call or come in to make an appointment.
2. If you wish to assist the student directly, call CAPS location while the student is in your office in order to assure that an appointment is made. It helps to write down the appointment time, date, name of therapist, and location for the student.
3. If the situation appears urgent, you or the student can request walk-in emergency services. It is useful if you call ahead and brief the on-call therapist about the situation.
4. If you want to provide added support, you can offer to accompany the student to CAPS. If you escort the student to CAPS it is very helpful if you, with the student's permission and in the student's presence, describe your concerns to the on-call therapist.
5. If you are concerned about a student but are uncertain about the appropriateness of a referral or have other concerns, please call CAPS for a consultation.
