Is there a better way to get help for troubled students?

Madison, Wis.—June 4, 2009 — We’re all interested in helping students get the kind of help they need. So why is it so difficult?

The first step in the process – getting the student to see a counselor, psychologist or therapist who can assess the student’s situation – is a lot more complex than many realize. For example:
• Is the purpose of the assessment to determine if the student is healthy enough to remain on campus, or is it to get the student some immediate assistance?
• What if the student doesn’t show up?
• Should you call the student’s parents?
• What information can be shared with others on campus?
• How do you rate the level of risk that the student poses? For example, how do you compare the risk levels of someone with an eating disorder to someone who is angry and explosive?
• And, after the assessment, what if the student doesn’t want to act on your recommendations?

All of these difficult questions were addressed in the online seminar Mandated Assessment of At-Risk Students: 10 Best Practices by Brian Van Brunt, Ed.D., and Jason Ebbeling, Esq. on June 4th. Because one of the presenters is a counseling center director and the other is an attorney who directs a large residential life program, they offered two different perspectives on the role of mandated assessment.

“It’s important to understand some of the differences between counseling and judicial affairs,” Van Brunt noted. “Differences often exist in the language, timeline and formal/informal nature of the communication.”

While counselors tend to focus on the needs of the individual, residential life and judicial affairs staff often focus on the welfare of the community. This difference in perspective can sometimes lead to different conclusions when making decisions about students who need help, Ebbeling said.

That’s why it is critical to work together to develop a shared set of expectations, time lines, language and models.

If you missed the seminar and would like to purchase it for your institution, you can order the program in CD or print transcript format, both of which include the presenters' handouts.

Magna Publications is a leading publisher of newsletters and other information products in the higher education segment. Magna also manages onsite and online conferences on topics of interest to higher education.

For more information please contact David Burns, Publisher, Magna Publications, Inc., at 608-227-8109, or dburns@magnapubs.com.