Joshua A. Fletcher, George Mason University Vernell Wilks, George Mason University
Discussions pertaining to diversity and mental and emotional health issues have widely circulated within the higher education arena. According to NeaToday, the majority of college students (more than 60 percent) meet the criteria for at least one mental health problem—a nearly 50 percent increase since 2013. In an article printed in NeaToday,
a mental-health crisis is blooming among college students from the south side of Chicago to rural central Massachusetts, the pervasiveness of mental-health issues on campuses has reached an all-time high. Indeed, a new national survey shows that rates of depression and anxiety among college students are at historic levels. (Flannery, 2023)
This means that academic advisors often have to deal with mental health problems among their students and sometimes their parents as well. The question to be answered is: are the advisors thoroughly prepared to handle students with mental health issues? While there is a plethora of resources for this population of students, there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of support for the academic advisor. Therefore, the mental health literacy of advisors must be assessed to determine whether they can detect mental health problems when working with students who suffer from emotional and mental health issues (Raji et al., 2022).
What is Mental Health Literacy?
Mental health literacy refers to the knowledge and beliefs people have about mental health conditions. It helps with recognizing, managing, or preventing mental health issues. Having mental health literacy means understanding how to develop and maintain good mental health and reducing stigma around mental distress and illness (Flannery, 2023). In a similar article in NeaToday, it also states that mental health literacy often falls to faculty and staff-who may be untrained and overwhelmed-to respond to students with mental-health needs. A survey also found that half of faculty said their institutions should do more to support the mental well-being of faculty. More mental-health training for faculty and staff to be able to assist students would be helpful to students—and to the faculty and staff who feel burned out by this work, experts suggest (Flannery, 2024). Essentially, academic advisors must learn to identify the underlying issue, maintain their composure, and approach each situation as professionally as possible. However, because many advisors do not receive training on the day-to-day instances and are often learning by experience, the ultimate goal is to share some of those experiences and the strategies that proved effective with other advisors. It is our hope that other advisors will have several take-a-ways to store in their advising tool belt based on the scenarios that are shared here. The Student Displaying Emotional Distress
The student arrived thirty minutes early and kept ringing the bell at the front desk, even after it was explained that the advisors were at lunch and would be available shortly. Because the student continued to ring the bell, and was visibly distressed, an advisor agreed to meet sooner. During that meeting, it was determined that the student was actually in the wrong department. The student’s stress level escalated. The advisor actually walked with the student to the correct office. Once seated, the student was enrolled by the correct advisor, but the stress level of the student continued to amplify. The student stood up and began to bang their head against the wall. The advisor sent a distress signal to the other advisors via email, who quickly ran to the other side of the building to offer assistance. By now, the student was in tears and was trembling. Since the student’s problems had been resolved, none of the three advisors quite understood why the student continued to present such a reaction.
One of the other advisors spoke calmly to the student, assuring that all was well. The student continued to exhibit high anxiety, and it was recommended that they visit the counseling office. One of the three advisors finally asked the student, “do you need a hug?” The student eagerly accepted a hug, and seemed to calm down and was not heard from again. Although this student appeared to be inconsiderate, rude and irrational, they confessed to some very sad experiences that they had recently endured, which no doubt, continued to impact them emotionally. After hearing what the student had been going through, the advisors were glad that they handled the matter so delicately. The lessons that the advisors learned were to remain calm and realize that there could be more below the surface than meets the eye, and to refrain from making any assumptions about the student’s behavior. More importantly, be ready to call on outside resources if the situation is out of your control, and to first show compassion, understanding, and just listen.
The Student and his Advocate
Advisors are often faced with some of the most unusual situations. For example, a student walked into an advisor’s office with his educational advocate. The student and the advocate took their seats which are neatly stationed at the opposite side of the advisor’s desk. The advocate explained the reason for the meeting, while the student placed his forehead on the desk revealing just the top of his head. The student asked multiple questions of the advisor without ever lifting his head. The advisor kindly asked the student to lift his head so that she could show him her computer screen, because the screen had some of the answers that the student was seeking. As the student looked somewhat in the advisor’s direction (no eye contact), he explained that he had a condition and that he didn’t have his head on the desk because he was trying to be rude. He repeated that he had a condition. The advisor had not realized that she had offended the student by interrupting his routine.
How could this session have been handled better? Perhaps, the advocate should have reached out to the advisor prior to the meeting to prepare her for what she was about to encounter so that she didn’t say anything to trigger the student. Having a heads up would be ideal for everyone involved. Additional training on specific conditions such as this one would also better prepare advisors for such situations.
The Student Unravels via Email
A student repeatedly emailed an advisor about an issue pertaining to graduation and a repeated course. The advisor responded to all five emails promptly and professionally. However, the student’s fifth response was wrought with profanity, accusations, and insults. Beyond being professional, the advisor managed to understand that perhaps the student was behaving irrationally via email for some unknown reason, especially since emails of that caliber are rarely received by the advisor. The advisor felt that the matter had been handled appropriately and professionally as possible, so the matter was forwarded to a higher level for review. A few weeks later, the student met face to face with a very poised advisor who warmly accepted his apology. The student had been suffering from sleep deprivation and was absolutely embarrassed by his behavior. The advisor is to be commended for not taking the student’s disrespect personally. This is another case where emotions were high and resulted in verbal retaliation. The advisor was caught in the crossfire and remained calmed despite the discomfort of the situation.
The Intrusion
The lights in the hallway were turned off as the advisor sat in her office enjoying lunch when the door was flung open and in walked a student. Before the advisor could swallow the second bite of her sandwich the student said as he continued to walk towards her, “I have a 1 o’clock advising meeting.” The advisor’s eyebrows remained raised as she said angrily to the student. “Hey, hey. It is still my lunch time. You cannot just barge into my office like that!” The manner in which the student responded (like a little boy who had been caught doing something wrong) made the advisor better understand what had just happened. The student apologized almost to the point of tears. His remorse was sincere, as he continued to apologize. The advisor stood up from her desk and assured the student that it was alright and that he should always knock first. She spoke to him in more of a motherly tone than that of an advisor who had just been startled out of her seat. Once lunch was over and the session began, the student continued to apologize. The advisor assured him that it was a lesson learned, and that from that day on, he should always knock. The student seemed relieved, but each time the advisor sees the student around campus, he always apologizes. In this case, the advisor was definitely caught off guard. Her response was a natural one, but once she fully understood the situation, she quickly readjusted her tone and helped the student to feel less apologetic and learn from his experience.
Conclusion
To be an effective academic advisor, one must be well-aware and well-equipped with strategies to use when dealing with students with special needs. The advisor must always remember Freud’s iceberg theory which describes the conscious mind that consists of all the mental processes of which we are aware, and this is seen as the tip of the iceberg. The advisor must be aware that there is more below the surface than what is seen on the surface. It is imperative that the advisor self-learn whenever possible, share experiences with other advisors for learning purposes, attend all available training sessions to improve mental health literacy. Advisors are also encouraged to know their school's resources and have them on hand. In addition, fellow staff members should be willing to show extra support for staff that may be experiencing a difficult situation. Most importantly, it is imperative for advisors to assess their mental health literacy by asking these questions:
References:
Flannery, M. E. (2023, March 29). The mental health crisis on college campuses. NEA Today. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/mental-health-crisis-college-campuses
Flannery, M. E. (2024, March 7). The mental health crisis among faculty and college staff. NEA Today. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/mental-health-crisis-among-faculty-and-college-staff
Raji, F., Morsi, N., Mahsoon, A., & Sharif, L. S. (2022). Assessment of health sciences academic advisors’ mental health literacy and their experiences with students facing mental health problems. Belitung Nursing Journal, 8(6), 511–520. https://doi.org/10.33546/bnj.2247
