Concerned about the safety or well-being of student?
Please contact the Dean of Students Office directly at 508- 831-5201 or dean-of-students@wpi.edu, or contact the WPI Care Team and submit the I’m Concerned About a Student form.
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Please contact the Dean of Students Office directly at 508- 831-5201 or dean-of-students@wpi.edu, or contact the WPI Care Team and submit the I’m Concerned About a Student form.
The WPI Student Development and Counseling Center (SDCC) is dedicated to promoting the safety, emotional health, and personal growth of all WPI students, as well as cultivating a supportive campus. Because faculty and staff members are often the first to recognize a student experiencing distress, we provide several resources to help you confidently identify and respond to these situations. Working together, we can help students develop lifelong skills in support of good mental and physical health.
Faculty and staff members are often the first to notice a student experiencing distress. If you observe a student who is showing signs of difficulty, please alert the SDCC, Dean of Students, or Academic Advising.
You do not have to take on the role of counselor, but we may encourage you to have a more direct conversation with the student to gather additional information, express your concerns, and offer resource referral information.
There are oftentimes indications that a student is experiencing distress long before a situation escalates. To support our students in maintaining their mental health and maximizing their intellectual growth, it’s important to identify difficulties as early as possible.
While the presence of one of the following indicators alone does not necessarily mean that a student is experiencing severe distress, the more indicators you notice, the more likely that he or she needs help. When in doubt, consult with the SDCC.
When you have identified a student in distress, you have the option of choosing to:
These options are certainly not mutually exclusive; in many situations, doing both will be appropriate. Your decision about where to begin may be influenced by:
If you chose to make contact, you will not be taking on the role of counselor. You need only listen, care, and offer resource referral information.
If there are signs of safety risk, ask if the student is considering suicide. A person contemplating suicide will likely be relieved that you asked. If he or she is not, asking the question will not plant the idea in his or her head.
Acknowledge your limitations. When referring a student, make it clear that your referral to someone else does not mean that you think there is something wrong with the student or that you are not interested. Explain that it instead has to do with the limitations of your knowledge and experience. The referral organization/office, on the other hand, has the resources and training to assist the student in a more appropriate manner.
Initiate the referral. Provide name, phone number, and office location of the referral location or walk the student to the SDCC or other appropriate resource such as the Dean of Students if doing so seems like it would help him or her follow through. Try to normalize the need to ask for help as much as possible. It can be reassuring if you know the names of staff members and can speak highly of them. Convey the spirit of hopefulness that troublesome situations can and do get better.
Accept students’ concerns. Recognize that your offer of help may be rejected. People in varying levels of distress sometimes deny their problems because it is difficult to admit they need help or they think things will get better on their own. Take time to listen to the student’s fears and concerns about seeking help. Let the student know that it is because of your concern that you are referring him or her to an important resource.
Offer to follow up. End the conversation in a way that will allow you or the student to come back to the subject at another time. Keep the lines of communication open and invite the student back to follow up.
The SDCC welcomes information from staff and faculty members, parents, friends, and anyone concerned about our students. While the boundaries of confidentiality prevent us from sharing information with you about students we see, our work is always strongly aided by your observations and comments.
The SDCC staff is always willing to strategize with you on how to approach students and connect them with our office or other appropriate resources. Please call our office at 508-831-5540 to set up consultation with one of our staff members.
If you are interested in participating in these trainings, please email us or call 508- 831-5540 for more information.
WPI’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers services for employees and their families. EAP counselors provide assessment, referral, and brief counseling services that are free and confidential.
Working with teams and leading groups can be challenging for students, so the SDCC is available to bring team development workshops to your classroom to complement your course curriculum. Workshops last up to 90 minutes and involve a practical discussion of group dynamics, sources of group conflict, and conflict management strategies.
The SDCC staff can also assist project teams experiencing significant group dynamic issues. These consultations are arranged by faculty referral, with a brief assessment and intervention aimed at maximizing the group’s functionality.
To schedule a workshop, or for more information about SDCC consultations, email us, or call 508- 831-5540.