Student Encounter: Concern for Another Student
A student who works in your office is very worried about a close friend on campus who has been self-injuring and is not functioning well. The student has been taking care of their friend a lot and it is now impacting their own ability to focus, get their work done, etc and they are feeling stressed and overwhelmed.
Listen
- Initiate conversation
- If the student expresses they are stressed, initiate by asking an open-ended question “has anything been going on lately?”
- Describe observations, express feelings
- “I notice you seem unfocused.. stressed..”
- Ask open questions
Support
- Provide empathy and validation
- Normalize and reduce stigma
- Ask what kind of support they would like (problem-solving, listening, referrals)
- “How are you taking care of yourself?” “Who is your support system?” “Who are the people in your support system who are there for you?”
- “The best way to support others is by taking care of yourself.” “It’s okay to step back.”
Refer
- Encourage the student to submit a Student Support Network (SSN) report about the friend (you can sit with them while they complete that report)
- ** language to offer options: “I am here to listen and I also understand if given my role you would prefer to talk to someone else about this topic (due to power dynamics, etc.) … What do you think?”
- Potentially offer resource connection—you want to get them to the best possible support
Considerations
- Healthy boundaries and caring for self, watching to not get overinvolved
- Explore support systems for the student, who is holding a lot
- Make sure to check in in a few days