[Note: For immediate concerns or emergencies, please contact Caltech's
Crisis Assessment and Response Team (CAR)]
The Emotional Well-Being of Your Students:
How to be Aware and Responsive
Kevin P. Austin, Ph.D.Senior Director, Health and Counseling Services
Faculty can play an important role in identifying a student in distress and facilitating the student getting help. What follows are some suggestions that can help you identify students in distress and also deal with students about whom you may already have concerns. In my conversations with Caltech faculty, those who take this kind of approach say that it has proven helpful both to them and the students involved.
Establish a working relationship
Faculty advisors, who have a close working relationship with students, are in the best position to notice signs that something is wrong. A close relationship allows for conversations that can help clarify what is going on for the student and what can be done to help them.Notice changes in a student’s behavior, such has:
-
Not coming into the lab or changing hours to times when no one else is around
-
Procrastination on project assignments
-
Work not up to usual standards
-
Loss of interest in their work/project
-
Difficulty concentrating
-
Absences from class
-
Change in mood; not as positive or friendly as usual
-
Change in grooming habits, not taking care of themselves
-
Social withdrawal
Discuss the student’s situation and options
Many students exhibit some or all of these behaviors at some point. Talking with the student is the only way to know what these behavior changes mean for him or her. Many high achieving students believe they should handle problems on their own. continued >