17.3 Students At Risk – Mental Health

The daily life of a student today is far more stressful than it was two and three decades ago. The student expectations are different and social media has had dramatic effects. It is a non-scientific observation, but we have observed more anxiety and stress in the student body. Perhaps it was always at the same level, but it is now more observable, and we are just more aware. However, we do not think that this is the case. Students can have escalating mental health issues to the point where they might be at risk (academic or personal), and potentially place other students and instructors at risk.

Observations…

• There are many types of mental health issues and challenges for students. Some are physical and chemical, or long term behavioral. Some relate to learning skills. Some might be induced by academic related triggers. Some might be induced by personal or social relationships. There are many reasons and situations that can cause someone stress, anxiety, worry, depression, lack of concentration, inter-personal meltdowns, insecurity, lack of self-worth, and so forth.
• We, as instructors, must remember that we are not trained counsellors and we should always suggest to students who are at risk to reach out and get the help they need. This means that we need to know how to identify and react to mental health issues. We also need to know what resources are available and how to advise students about them.
• It is hard to pick up signs of mental health issues. It is harder with the online situation. It is easier to see absenteeism, lack of focus, head down on the desk, body language that suggests anxiety, etc. in the classroom, lab, or tutorial.
• It is hard to pick up a change in student mental health if the student is coming in with an existing, ongoing challenge. If the change occurs during the term, clues might be associated with a sudden change in assessments, engagement, attendance, etc.
• If the instructor has a caring, trustful relationship with the class, it sometimes happens that another student raises concern about another student.
• It is often a fine line and a balancing act to know if the student is having a real issue, if it is a momentary blip, or if there is high drama involved without any real risk. There are no solid guidelines or suggestions, but if you have any worries, get help for the student. It is sometimes the case that you know the student well enough to read the tea leaves, but it is best to seek advice from a professional. If it is a false alarm, it can create stress on the student and potentially trigger a real incident, so care must be taken to handle the situation correctly without escalating or mis-interpreting, and allow a good path back to normalcy.
• There are times that one student’s mental health or situation can affect others in the class, perhaps the whole class. This will impact everyone’s studying for a period of time. This needs to be proactively dealt with by the instructor. Remove any additional worries and stress that you can; perhaps cancelling or delaying assessments, adjusting marks etc.

• In extreme situations, some of the student body might have been active helping or trying to help someone with a mental health situation and we should be mindful of this and understand what these helping students have sacrificed in their own studies to help a classmate. We should not ignore this.
• Students with challenges need to understand what is going on. The uncertainty does not help and can possibly pile on. Having a diagnosis, a label and a definition can help some students deal with their situation. Not always, but sometimes. If they can find a reason for their situation, that helps.
• Other students need to understand what is going on and what the implications might be. Students in the class might need to be told about how certain mental health issues are dealt with, recovery, therapy, etc., what the student might be going through, what support the student might need, and if there were any real risks to worry about in the past or future. The students need to know if their fellow student will be ok (if there was an incident) and that they will be ok too. There are many myths and lots of misinformation about mental health issues!
• Provide the student with a parachute and a no-risk situation to help rebuild confidence and a safe zone. For example, if necessary, work with another instructor to create a situation for the student with perhaps the student participating in one term, getting credit from another instructor in the next term for the one course that is freaking them out. This is of course an extreme type of situation, but why not, if it is warranted. You cannot do this for a full term, but if there is one course, it might be the right thing to do.
• If there has been an incident, both students and instructor(s) need to get support, and this might impact previously planned activities, lessons, and assessments. Everyone will be upset by an incident and will need help dealing with it, understanding it. Students taking their own life is the worst possible type of incident. These are sad and tragic events for everyone. There will be lots of self-questioning and self-doubt. There will be lots of raw emotions. These all need to be dealt with and it will take time. There are other types of incidents as well, and these incidents also need care and attention (e.g., if a student has a meltdown, freaks out).

Further reading

• Pedrelli, P., Nyer, M., Yeung, A., Zulauf, C., and T. Wilens (2015). College Students: Mental Health Problems and Treatment Considerations. Academic psychiatry, 39, 5, pp. 503-511.
• Kim, H., Rackoff, G., Fitzsimmons-Craft, E., Shin, K. E., Zainal, N.H., Schwob, J.T., Eisenberg, D., Wilfley, D.E., Taylor, C.B., and M.G. Newman (2022). College Mental Health Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From a Nationwide Survey. Cognitive therapy and research, 46, 1, pp. 1-10.