Referral Guide for Faculty and Staff

August 2007

Office of Student Affairs
Counseling & Wellness Center

The following is intended to provide faculty and professional staff with information regarding Counseling & Wellness Center services, referral information, and how to effectively assist students. We hope this information is helpful to you throughout the year.

The Counseling Center has a staff of qualified psychologists and social workers, as well as post-doctoral residents. Any full-or part-time undergraduate or graduate student, currently enrolled at New College of Florida or the University of South Florida, is eligible for a confidential counseling appointment. During this appointment, the student and a counselor will discuss counseling options which may include group, individual or perhaps couples counseling either at the Counseling & Wellness Center or in the greater Sarasota community. All services provided by the Counseling & Wellness Center are free, voluntary, and confidential. The staff is committed to providing counseling services and preventive programs to promote personal, academic, and career development as well as the psychological well-being of students. Available services include:

Group Counseling

Individual Counseling

Couples Counseling (both members must be New College students)

Crisis Intervention (including sexual abuse and/or assault)

Victim's Assistance (Victim Advocate, available via 24-hour pager)

Workshops (e.g.: procrastination, stress management, diversity)

Referrals to Community Mental Health Care Providers

Informational Brochures & Handouts

Internet-Based Self-Help Information

Consultation Services for Faculty, Staff, and Residence Life

Location: The Counseling & Wellness Center is located  across the street (Bay Shore Road from the Cook Library. The office is open from 8:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday. The phone number is 487-4254.  The Victim Advocate pager number is 252-5156. 

Counseling takes many different forms depending on the roles of the people involved. Friends may counsel and support each other through advice-giving, and listening. Other University offices routinely provide counseling on issues important to student life, academics, future, and well-being. Faculty and professional staff working directly with students often are the first to know if a student is struggling academically and/or personally.

Counseling offered by the Counseling & Wellness Center is provided by doctoral level psychologists and social workers who are highly skilled professionals trained in the science and practice of human behavior. When a student meets with a Counseling & Wellness Center staff member, he/she is meeting with someone who has had years of experience helping students deal with a wide range of personal and academic difficulties. Center staff work with a student to help him/her identify strengths, locate support resources, and to begin a process of change and growth. This work may occur one-on-one with an individual counselor, or in one of the Center's groups where students meet together with one or two counselors. Whatever the format, students seen at the Counseling & Wellness Center are treated with respect and are viewed as individuals with unique strengths and challenges.

Why Students Come to the Counseling & Wellness Center

Our students are wonderfully diverse. They come from many different backgrounds, cultures, states, and families. They cannot be type-cast as simply "a student" as that is but one aspect of their lives. Students come to the Center for help with concerns such as academic performance, test anxiety, poor concentration, interpersonal relationships, career decisions, and low self-confidence. They also come for help with issues related to their families, suicidality, past sexual or physical abuse, current physically abusive relationships, drug/alcohol abuse, eating disorders, rape/sexual assault, life-threatening illnesses, and intense grief over losses such as the death of a parent, child, or close friend. Over the course of their education, students go through numerous changes and pressures. During these times of crisis or stress, talking with a counselor at the Counseling & Wellness Center may be a beneficial option. In addition, a psychiatrist is available for medication evaluation as deemed appropriate.

Your Role as a Faculty/Staff Member

Faculty and staff have the unique opportunity of ongoing, direct contact with students and are in a position to identify struggling students. Faculty and staff should determine for themselves their personal comfort levels with becoming involved with student problems. Becoming the main source of support for a troubled student can be overwhelming, frightening, and/or tiring. It is important that you consider your own limitations in providing assistance to students, and to know when the best option is a referral.

People dealing with personal concerns or problems tend to show signs they are struggling in some way. The following indicators may be useful in assessing whether or not a referral should be made:

1) Talking about Suicide: If a student talks or writes about suicide, this should be taken seriously. Suicidal thoughts are in themselves not necessarily dangerous but, if they include actual plans for suicidal behaviors, the severity of the danger to the student increases dramatically. Suicide is often considered as an option when the person feels hopeless, trapped, out-of-control, and/or depressed. To make the assumption that talk of suicide is aimed solely toward getting attention can be a potentially fatal mistake. If you become aware of a student who is thinking about suicide, please make an immediate referral to the Counseling & Wellness Center. You can also call us for a consultation if you are unsure of an appropriate intervention or if the student is reluctant to take your referral. If a student clearly states the intent to commit suicide, call the Counseling & Wellness Center (487-4254) or the University Police (487-4210).

2) Stating a Need for Help: Students will often come to faculty or staff members with direct requests for assistance. Through talking with the student, you may feel the problems are beyond your scope of knowledge or power to change. Listening carefully to students and their concerns can provide ample evidence to support your decision to refer. If a student comes to you, he/she obviously feels that the relationship with you is important enough to value your opinion and response.

3) Observable Changes: Some students do not directly tell you that there is a problem but their behaviors can be telling indicators. Distinct changes in academic performance, withdrawal from others, changes in class participation, crying, outbursts of anger, increased or decreased activity, and poor attendance are examples of behavioral changes that you may observe. Severe depression, extreme activity level, conversations that do not make sense, and a marked decline in personal hygiene are examples of possibly serious psychological problems. Any of these observable changes may merit a referral to the Counseling & Wellness Center.

4) Psychosomatic Complaints: Students who report physical illness or symptoms that cannot be supported by medical evidence may be experiencing psychological problems. Psychosomatic symptoms are very real for the student and should not be treated lightly. Tension headaches, changes in eating patterns, sleep disturbances, fatigue, stomach aches, and other physical pain symptoms are some examples of psychosomatic complaints.

5) Alcohol and Drug Abuse: Coming to class or a meeting when intoxicated or high is a sign that drug and/or alcohol abuse is a serious problem. Often people drink or take drugs as a way to cope with and alleviate other problems in their life. Unfortunately, the substance abuse itself becomes a problem, one that interferes with social, academic, and work functioning.

6) Academic Problems: Students who have noticeable negative changes in their academic performance also may be feeling overwhelmed with other areas of their lives. Some students come to classes with difficulty concentrating, performing well on exams, and achieving academically. If the possibility of a learning disability exists, a counselor can meet with a student for a consultation appointment to discuss evaluation and referral, as well as treatment options.

7) Additional Considerations in Making a Referral: Along with the factors listed above, faculty and staff members should also take into account the following situations when considering making a referral:

a. A student asks for assistance with a problem that is outside of your range of knowledge.

b. Helping the student with the problem would compromise and/or change the status of your relationship with the student (e.g.: a student asking for money, a place to live, access to contacting you at home if in crisis).

c. The student feels uncomfortable talking to you about the problem.

d. The assistance and support you have already provided does not seem to be addressing the problem effectively.

e. You and the student have personality differences or conflicts that cannot be resolved and would interfere with the help you might provide.

f. You find yourself feeling overwhelmed, overly responsible for, and worried about the personal safety of the student.

g. The student is disrupting others. A referral to the Center is appropriate if the student is a significant and ongoing disturbance to others.

If a student approaches you with a problem, take the time to listen in a non-judgmental and respectful manner. If you wish to approach the student with your concerns, do so directly and state your concerns clearly. The following recommendations may help to make the process of providing a referral easier:

1) Do not attempt to make a referral when the student is so upset and confused that he/she cannot understand or listen to you. Wait until the student has calmed down enough to be able to converse and respond to your suggestions.

2) Suggest in a caring, supportive manner that the student may benefit from meeting with a counselor at the Counseling & Wellness Center. You may want to explain the following:

a) Counseling at the Center is confidential. This means that information about the student cannot be released to other offices, family, professors, etc. without the student's written permission (the exception being if the student is in danger of harming him/herself or others).

b) The services are free to currently registered, full-and part-time students.

c) The first meeting is an intake/consultation session where the counselor listens to concerns and then helps the student to identify ways to effectively address these concerns.

3) Give the student the Center phone number (487-4254). The student can call from your office or from home. No appointments can be made for a student by a third party without the student directly speaking to the secretary and asking for an appointment.

4) If you feel that the student is in crisis, you can call the Counseling Center or have the student call from your office. Tell the Counseling Center secretary that this is an "emergency" and she will connect you with a counselor immediately. If appropriate, the student will be scheduled for a crisis appointment that day.

Counseling & Wellness Center counselors adhere to ethical and legal obligations not to release confidential information. We cannot tell anyone if a student is receiving Center services. Counselors can only break confidentiality if the student gives direct written permission. However, one exception to this rule allows for  breaking confidentiality without permission in the case of immediate danger to self or others for the protection of the individuals involved. If a student tells us that you referred him/her and gives written permission, a counselor can to notify you that the student attended the initial intake appointment. If you would like feedback, you can call us to tell us that you have made a referral and we will directly ask the referred student for permission to contact you. We cannot provide additional information other than the fact that the student did attend the first intake appointment. If you would like more information about a student's contact with the Counseling Center, you can directly ask the student. The student can make decisions about how much he/she wants to reveal to others.

The Counseling Center provides consultation services to the entire campus community. We are glad to answer any questions you may have about our services, concerns about a student, and referral options. Your call will be directed to an available counselor or the Director and, if no counselor is immediately available, the secretary will take your number and someone will return your call within the day. Feel free to call and talk about your concerns regarding a student and, if indicated, ways to make an effective referral.

Conclusion

The Counseling & Wellness Center staff strives to provide services to students to promote academic and personal success. We know you are concerned with similar goals and believe we can accomplish these goals most effectively through collaboration with each and every one of you. We look forward to hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, and feedback about our services. We hope that this handbook has provided you with helpful information about the Center's services, resources, and policies. In addition, we provide counseling services to faculty and staff free of charge as part of the campus Employee Assistance Program, so do not hesitate to contact us if you feel the need to do so.

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