Faculty/Staff Information

Students in Psychological Distress and/or with Mental Illnesses

During their time at Skidmore, students will typically make huge strides in their intellectual and psychological development. They may fall in love for the first time, with a person or a subject matter or a cause. They will likely experience failure and rejection on a scale that is new to them. They will struggle, we hope, to understand who they are and what matters to them in a world that looks more complicated than they ever realized. They will move to a new place, make new friends and build a life for themselves, and four years later they will be expected to repeat that process. They may not always recognize themselves, nor will their friends and families. All of this change, challenge and turbulence is ultimately usually a good thing.

大多数大学生都能从容应对这些挑战和变化 serious incident. Some however, struggle more, suffer more and need help. There is 越来越多的证据表明，严重的精神疾病在美国大学的发病率 campuses is increasing. More students are arriving on campuses already taking psychiatric 药物和咨询中心都报告了对服务的需求增加 and an increase in the severity of student symptoms. Here at Skidmore, we are no exception to those national trends. Over the last eleven years, we have experienced a significant 在咨询中心看到的学生人数和人数都有所增加 of appointments offered to those students. During the 2018-2019 academic year well 超过600名学生在咨询中心寻求帮助，他们遇到的困难包括 失眠、室友冲突、厌食症、抑郁症和双相情感障碍.

The Role of Faculty and Faculty Advisors

教职员工与学生的密切接触使他们处于独特的地位 to notice students who might be distressed and struggling. An expression of interest 在合适的时间，合适的人的关心会让一切变得不同 the world. College should be, at different points, exciting, overwhelming, challenging and stressful. Ideally that stress is balanced with support, in the forms of teaching, advising, friendship, mentorship and other kinds of help. The vast majority of students 有了心理困难就能有成功和富有成效的学业 careers, with appropriate support and intervention. We offer the following guidelines about helping students:

How to help

• Trust your gut. 如果你对一个学生感到不安或担心，很重要的一点是 pay attention to your inner signals.
   
• Use your common sense. You don't need to be able to officially diagnose someone with Major Depression to know that they are in trouble.
   
• Listen carefully. 这需要时间和密切的关注，以确定谁表面上进来的学生 要谈转专业也要谈自己的困惑感 and/or isolation at Skidmore. Sometimes important information will emerge over time as the student begins to know and trust you.
   
• Intervene sooner rather than later. It is tempting to hope that difficult situations will resolve themselves. Some do, but in our experience, early intervention is both easier and more effective.
   
• Know your limits. Different faculty members will have different roles in students' lives. Being a teacher, advisor and mentor does not mean being a therapist or caretaker.
   
• Consult with colleagues. 随着越来越多的大学生出现更严重的精神疾病 疾病，他们会表现出更迫切的需求，更严重的症状和 more complicated family and life circumstances. We all need support and help to work with these students. The Counseling Center encourages and welcomes calls and contacts from faculty members about situations of concerns.

When to Refer

以下任何一种信号都是向学生提出建议的合理依据 that he or she come in to the Counseling Center for an initial consultation. The Counseling Center is located on the first floor of Jonsson Tower. We are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Our services are confidential and free of charge to all currently enrolled Skidmore students. Students are welcome to call (580-5555) or stop by to set up an initial appointment.

• Urgent concerns. 紧急关注是指你担心学生的心理健康紧急情况 health and safety or the health and safety of others. Examples include any clear threat 对他人施暴，严重混乱，迷失方向或产生幻觉，还有 不能处理日常生活的基本事务，如饮食和卫生. 另一个明显的紧急情况是当一个学生表达了伤害他的意图 or herself. Most, but not all, individuals who attempt suicide make some communication about their state of mind before acting. These types of communications can range from 直接威胁要自杀，“告别信”和赠送财产， to vague statements about life not being worth living. Any communication about suicide or potential for self-harm should be taken very seriously. While the types of situations listed above are not frequent, they do require immediate intervention.  You can contact the Counseling Center at 5555 during business hours.  For emergency situations after 在学校上课的时间和周末，请致电518-580-5555和 follow the prompt to access the appropriate resource. 
   
• Marked behavior changes. 这些类型的改变可能包括从一个典型的非常 专心上课，过度迟到，夸张的情绪反应 适合在课堂环境或高水平的焦虑干扰学业 performance. While it is normal for stress to occasionally interfere with a student's 学业生活，如果干扰持续超过两周，或者 涉及到表现或表现的急剧下降，干预绝对是 warranted. Your own nagging sense of concern about a student or a sense that "something is not quite right" is a potentially important indicator here as well.
   
• Personal communication. 许多学生直接向老师倾诉，或是当面，或是通过期刊 or other communication, that they are in distress and struggling. Other types of communication 不太直接，可能会涉及到多次个人会面的要求，含糊不清 descriptions or references to "personal problems" or visible signs of self-injury such as recent cuts. Depending on your relationship with the individual student, the 你互动的环境，你自己的哲学和个人极限，你可以 选择与学生直接对话，讨论困扰他们的问题 或者你可以选择简单地建议他们咨询咨询中心 get additional support.
   
• You feel over your head. 不同的教员在讨论更私人的话题时会有不同程度的舒适 issues with students. However, if you find yourself having the same conversation over 如果你发现自己感到压力很大或不堪重负，再一次和学生在一起 火博体育他们向你描述的情况，如果你感到愤怒或害怕 或者如果你发现自己想收养或拯救这个学生，你可能 overextended yourself. Professional staff at the Counseling Center can help you sort through the situation, determine what is most appropriate and helpful and consult with you about various options.

How to Talk with Students about Your Observations and Concerns

If you have contact with a student that you believe may benefit from professional 帮助，以下建议可以使对话，或一系列对话， as productive as possible.

• Communicate in private. 如果可以的话，在办公时间或课后留出时间与学生交谈. 这样做可以最大限度地增加你真正能够帮助学生的机会 谈谈什么是最重要的，并与你的学生沟通 their situation seriously.
   
• Try not to beat around the bush. Use simple and direct language to let the student know that you are worried about them. Often, listing the different changes you have observed and their impact on the student's classroom performance is a good way to start the conversation. Describing 行为方面的问题将避免听起来武断，这可能意味着 student will be less defensive and more receptive. It's hard to argue or avoid the facts. "I notice you have been missing a lot of classes lately" or "you have stopped 或者“我想和你谈谈你写的东西。 in your last journal entry" are potentially good opening statements. Most distressed students will be relieved and appreciative that someone has noticed them.
   
• When in doubt, listen. 通常，在个人遭受痛苦和挣扎的情况下，它是诱人的 to rush in to reassure, advise, diagnose or "fix" the problem. Often, however, such actions can seem premature, condescending or ill-fitting. It is usually more helpful 成为一个有同情心的人，一个能帮助学生讨论他们处境的人 in a mature and considered way.
   
• Know some facts about the Counseling Center. 向学生提供有关我们服务的具体信息，使他们更容易获得帮助. 许多学生可能会对看心理医生犹豫不决，所以你的积极和实事求是 attitude can help de-stigmatize mental health services. You can let them know where 我们位于(约翰逊大厦一楼)，火博体育学生人数众多 use our services for a range of difficulties. The Counseling Center is accessible, free of charge, and our services are confidential. We cannot share information with 任何人，包括学生是否预约了 us, without that student's permission. We can generally see students for a full initial appointment within a few business days of their coming in initially. We also have urgent appointments daily, for those students who are in crisis. If you are concerned 如果你认为有学生遇到了危机，请提前打电话告诉我们 student may be coming in to see us. If a student is currently seeing one of our staff 会员们，没有他们的允许，我们不能与你们分享他们的具体信息， but we welcome information, concerns and questions from you.