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Melbourne, Australia
Protocols for assisting distressed students: Essentials course (Staff course) by RMIT Mental Wellbeing Initiatives is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
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Attributions
This textbook includes material adapted from third party works under Creative Commons licences. In the case of multiple downstream adaptations, links to original works are included within the attribution statement where possible.
RMIT Mental Wellbeing Initiatives. (2022). RMIT Protocols for assisting distressed students: Essentials course. RMIT Open Press.
“RMIT Protocols for assisting distressed students: Essentials course” by RMIT Mental Wellbeing Initiatives is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
This book is provided under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence except where otherwise noted and the RMIT University Logo and cover design.
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RMIT University Library via RMIT Open Press.
This open textbook was adapted and created by the staff of RMIT Mental Wellbeing Initiatives. The authors gratefully acknowledge the content contributions of past RMIT staff. RMIT Protocols for assisting distressed students was primarily adapted and customised from the following key resource, however other openly licenced content is also incorporated:
RMIT Mental Wellbeing Initiatives. (2018). Assisting students in distress: Essentials course. RMIT University.
By Dr. Lisa Cianci
RMIT Indigenous design : ‘Luwaytini’ by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.
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Thanks for your interest in our Assisting Students in Distress: Essentials module. We’ve made an effort to make this module easily adaptable for use in other institutions, and hope it’s of use to you. Throughout, we’ve added text boxes with instructions for adapting, or with generic text between pairs of asterisks to be filled in during adaptation. Below are examples of both kinds of instructional text.
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I
A story of urgent student support (1:52 min)
(“A story of urgent student support” by RMIT Wellbeing)
Welcome. This course offers information about how to assist students in distress at *Learning Institution*. Because this can be emotional and challenging work for staff, the course also provides advice about how to look after yourself while supporting students.
In this first module, we’ll build an understanding of student distress and how you might become involved through your work at *Learning Institution*.
Throughout this course, we use the term ‘distress’ to refer to a range of upsetting or unpleasant thoughts and feelings that significantly impact a student’s state of wellbeing. Distress includes, but is much broader than, related terms like ‘mental health condition’. For example, a student might be distressed because of a negative life event – but not experiencing a mental health condition.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://rmit.pressbooks.pub/assistingdistressedstudents/?p=49#h5p-4
Imagine a bucket as representing a student’s ability to cope with the pressures they’re facing. The size of their bucket is influenced by a range of factors, including previous significant life events, genetics, temperament, personality, and family experiences. Stress is like water being poured into their bucket. And there’s no shortage of stress for students.
Some stress is good for us and helps us rise to the challenges we’re facing, but excessive and prolonged stress can be damaging. Distress is the point at which demands have exceeded a student’s capacity to cope.
What does this mean for understanding students in distress?
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://rmit.pressbooks.pub/assistingdistressedstudents/?p=56#h5p-17
You might be thinking, “Hey, I’m here to teach or support learning – I didn’t sign up to be a counsellor!” – which is a great point, because being a counsellor is not your job.
Read each statement below and think about whether it’s in your role, or outside it, when assisting students – then check by dragging and dropping the statements into the boxes.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://rmit.pressbooks.pub/assistingdistressedstudents/?p=58#h5p-3
*Learning Institution* wants students to engage in their learning and get the most out of their studies. As a staff member, you can assist by noticing when issues are getting in the way of this happening. For students in distress, this means you can:
Taking these steps gives you peace of mind that you’re doing all you can – while allowing you to focus on your main job of helping students get the most out of their studies.
Student distress and your role (1:44 min)
(“Student distress and your role” by RMIT Wellbeing)
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://rmit.pressbooks.pub/assistingdistressedstudents/?p=60#h5p-14
Here are the key points to take away from this module:
Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash
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Knowing that you’re not underreacting or overreacting to student distress can be a challenge. So how do staff find the balance?
In this module, we look at how to best respond when you’ve recognised a student in distress and what supports are available at *Learning Institution*.
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An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://rmit.pressbooks.pub/assistingdistressedstudents/?p=132#h5p-5
Photos by Tim Gouw on Unsplash, Verena Yunita Yapi on Unsplash, Omid Armin on Unsplash.
When these situations occur, it may leave you wondering how concerned should I be? The general rule is that there is a greater level of concern:
Once you have established your concern for a student, the type of action required depends on the severity of the situation.
The ‘Supporting students: Action guide for RMIT staff’ provides you with information to assist students in different levels of distress (download Supporting Students: Action Guide for RMIT Staff PDF 326KB).
About the Staff Line for urgent student support
The Staff Line for urgent student support is a phone line for *Learning Institution* Staff to contact when they hold serious concerns about a student’s welfare or wellbeing and require timely assistance. RMIT staff line for urgent student support (2:34 min)
(“RMIT staff line for urgent student support” by RMIT Wellbeing) Casual, sessional or specialist staff who may spend less time on campus are encouraged to contact the *Learning Institution* Staff Line to discuss any pressing concerns and how they may be attended to in their absence.
After hours response: If you are seeking assistance for a student in distress after hours (i.e. outside of 9am – 5pm):
Let’s check your understanding of the Action Guide responses. The focus of this activity is what support service you might contact for assistance in different situations (separate to what you say to the student in the moment which is also addressed in the Action Guide and a following activity). Please note, these situations are general in nature and not based on individual *Learning Institution* students.
Whether online or in person, knowing the right support to call upon is important, but how you respond to the student’s distress in the moment can make a difference too. Having these kinds of conversations doesn’t come easily to everyone. You might be thinking “I might make it worse” or “What if they get upset?” or “I don’t have time for this”. Keeping the following points in mind will help.
As well as the skills discussed above there are a few extra things to consider when responding to a distressed student online:
Whether face to face or online, remember that if you are unsure how to assist the student always contact *Learning Institution* staff line via phone *phone number* or email *email address*. For more information visit *website wellbeing page*.
Making a brief note about your contact with the student is useful. It can help to demonstrate the manner in which you supported and directed the student, should this information be required at a later date. Consider documenting the following information, as appropriate:
For significant incidents, it’s also important to make a report on *Learning Institution*’s system for incident or hazard reporting system, *link to Health and Safety incident management system/process*. Remember to seek support for yourself if you need it. You can debrief with your manager or contact the Employee Assistance Program.
The confidentiality of any sensitive information a student discloses to you should be maintained. This means:
However, there is a duty of care to prevent harm or injury at *Learning Institution* that can override confidentiality. If you have any concerns about the safety of a student, then you must breach confidentiality and report your concerns. There are also mandatory reporting requirements for students under 18 years of age to be aware of – please contact the *Learning Institution* Safer Community team on *phone number* or *email address* for further information as soon as you become aware about the safety of an underage student.
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“Staff report feeling pretty ill-prepared or inadequate in dealing with some of the concerns students raise. If staff are feeling overwhelmed, I’d encourage them to speak to a colleague. We’re only human after all, and it’s important we have a support network in place” – Chris, RMIT teaching staff
Self-care is about taking a moment to tune in to your wellbeing, noticing what is impacting on it and taking proactive steps to maintain or enhance it. It’s about acknowledging how much of yourself you are giving to students, and developing ways of recharging or topping yourself up as a regular part of your professional practice.
While it is hard to prioritise ourselves when there is limited time, mountains of work, looming deadlines and urgent situations to manage, we know that we are most effective at assisting students when we have a good sense of personal wellbeing. Even though it can feel like we just can’t fit another thing in, when we invest time in the self-care strategies that work for us, we have a lot to gain.
Effective self-care:
It can be distressing to support someone in distress. At one level, emotions are contagious and we readily feel what someone else is feeling during intense moments. A range of other emotions may arise too – some which may catch you off guard. You might feel:
These are all normal human responses. Being aware of them and recognising their impact is critical for self-care. Without support and self-care strategies in place, you may become emotionally fatigued from caring and supporting students over time.
Take a look at these personal and professional self-care strategies and think about which would be most useful for you.
An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://rmit.pressbooks.pub/assistingdistressedstudents/?p=96#h5p-16
Research shows there are five simple areas of behaviour that you can include in your daily life – for work, life, and play – to build resilience, boost your wellbeing and lower your risk of developing mental health problems.
These simple actions are known internationally as the Five Ways to Wellbeing: Connect, Give, Take Notice, Keep Learning, and Be Active.
Regularly engaging in behaviours that are part of the Five Ways is beneficial for everyone to enhance our wellbeing when life is going well, and to support us when faced with stress.
Connect: Talk and listen, be there, feel connected.
Give: Do something nice for someone, show your appreciation, do something nourishing for yourself.
Take Notice: Pay attention to the present moment and remember the simple things that give you joy.
Keep Learning: Be curious, understand different perspectives and grow through challenges.
Be Active: Moving our bodies supports our emotional and mental wellbeing.
If you’d like to learn more about the Five Ways to Wellbeing, check out more resources from the Mental Health Foundation (NZ) and Wellbeing SA.
“We’re constantly encouraging students to speak up and seek assistance – and we’re quite often the worst when it comes to seeking assistance and supporting ourselves. We can speak to colleagues, but at the end of the day, if that’s not enough, I’d certainly advise my colleagues who were struggling to seek external support.” – Chris, RMIT teaching staff
If you’re experiencing work or personal issues and would benefit from support, *Learning Institution* has a range of services for staff. Read on or follow the link below for information on the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Let’s take a moment to reflect again. Remember your starting confidence level in assisting students in distress. After completing the course, how confident are you in supporting students in distress? Has your confidence grown?
This online course is supported by a suite of professional development opportunities for staff at *Learning Institution* to enhance student mental wellbeing. This training will promote further skill development and discussion of the complex array of issues that arise when assisting students in distress. To find out more, contact *insert relevant contact email address for your institution*.
Please complete a short feedback survey in the below form.
*Learning Institution* Protocols for Assisting Distressed Students: Essentials Course