Connecting Students with Wellness Center Personal Counseling

If you are noticing a student struggling, or a student approaches you in need of support, this information can assist you in connecting a student to Wellness Center Personal Counseling.

Potential signs of distress may include

• Changes in academic performance • Changes in mood • Changes in hygiene
• Bizarre behaviors • Withdrawing from others • Missing classes more often than typical
• Stressed, anxious, upset, crying, sad • Frustrated or confused
• Having a friendship or relationship conflict • Dealing with grief, loss, sadness, or disappointment
• Not taking their prescribed psychiatric medications • Sleep disturbance

Encourage students to contact Wellness Center Personal Counseling

Student hesitation

Sometimes students are hesitant to reach out to Wellness Center Personal Counseling on their own. This is understandable. After all, it is easier to place a phone call or send an email requesting an appointment when someone is experiencing a sore throat or a cough.

Recognition of mental health concerns can be difficult, and making the decision to seek psychotherapy assistance can be daunting. You may have students in your classroom, advising or mentoring office, for example, whose cultural backgrounds do not embrace or accept counseling as a viable option to help students navigate their own feelings.

Helping to empower students

If encouraging students to contact our office, we recommend that you let the student with whom you are working contact us from the privacy of your office. You can offer to sit with them while they call or email, or offer to let them use your office for this purpose.

Unless a student is a minor, requesting medical assistance from Personal Counseling requires contact directly from the student. For students under the age of 18, their parents may contact us. For medical privacy reasons governed by HIPAA law, it is necessary that your student contact us on their own rather than you doing so.

What to do when a student appears to be in crisis

A student is in crisis if they are at risk of suicide, homicide, or imminent self-harm.

If a student is in crisis, please contact personalcounselingwc@udmercy.edu, or call 313-993-1562 Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Use of email or phone call is typically the best way to ensure that a student does not sit and wait in the counseling center’s waiting room for a prolonged time and allows the student to be routed appropriately to Personal Counseling.

If it is after 5 p.m. on a weekday or over the weekend:

Students needing crisis care may contact Public Safety if they live on campus, or are on campus at the time of emergency. Otherwise, they may contact 911 or go to their nearest emergency room.

If you are in an emergency situation where danger is imminent
and immediate help is required, call 911 or Public Safety at 313-993-1234.

Additional 24/7 Resources

Substance abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Disaster Distress Helpline
800-985-5990

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — 988

What students can expect after their initial contact

If a student is determined by Wellness Center Personal Counseling not to be in crisis, the intake and triage process begins. The intake manager sends a two-page intake form to the student requesting mental health services and, at the same time, provides helpful information to the student about the intake and triage process. For students contacting us after 5pm on Fridays through Sunday evening, our Personal Counseling intake manager returns student contacts the following Monday morning.

The second part of intake and triage occurs after a student has completed and returned the Wellness Center Personal Counseling intake form to the intake manager. The intake manager will contact the student by email, or will schedule a phone call with the student to complete triage.

Being supportive after encouraging a student to contact Wellness Center Personal Counseling

Due to confidentiality, the Wellness Center cannot confirm if a student has contacted us. You may follow up with your student directly if you would like to do so, and if your student feels comfortable in letting you know that they are completing intake and triage with Wellness Center Personal Counseling.

Another great way to support students when they are struggling is listening to their concerns. You may extend the due date for an assignment, an exam, or even offer an alternative assignment. This can show students of concern that you are listening to their needs, and that you understand and can be flexible so that they may complete their coursework with you while getting help and finding the resources that they need.