2.1 Providing Effective Mental Health Referrals

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Providing Effective Mental Health Referrals

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• 2:15 Minutes

Providing Effective Mental Health Referrals

• Estimated Total Reading Time
• 3 Minutes

While academic counselors may not be trained as mental health professionals, they are ideally positioned to assist students in accessing mental health resources on campus. Behaviors that may indicate a student is grappling with mental health issues include excessive procrastination, poor class attendance, disruptive behavior in the classroom, and/or marked changes in appearance. Academic counselors may observe behaviors that could indicate underlying mental health issues or students may self-report their own concerns about their behavior. In the latter case, it is important to listen to the student’s self disclosure about concerns they have with their academics or other aspects of their life. Asking open ended questions about students’ overall satisfaction may encourage them to disclose feelings they are having or discuss issues they are facing. And, of course, academic counselors need to be prepared to deal with behaviors and/or statements that indicate students may be planning to harm themselves. Probably the most important tool these counselors have in terms of helping students with mental health issues is awareness of relevant campus resources. Most college campuses have a mental health counseling center where students can meet with a mental health counselor as a benefit of their tuition and fees.

It is important for academic counselors to be able to articulate to students the services offered by the mental health counseling center as these may differ by campus. In order to make effective mental health referrals, academic counselors would be well served to make an appointment with a mental health counseling center faculty or staff member to learn first hand about the services offered. While there, academic counselors should inquire about the process students must go through to set up a first time appointment, because the process varies by institution.