1.  How does your department/university respond to possible concerns (i.e.
attempted suicide, threat to harm others, etc.)?

When we become aware of a suicide threat after hours, an attempt is made to contact the Counseling Center staff.  They will deal with the situation if they are available.  If we cannot reach them, the On-Call Professional (one of the Res. Life professional staff members) will assess the situation and make a determination as to whether or not the student is a threat to self or others.  If the latter, the student will be sent to the hospital.  If the former, the staff member will talk with the student, obtain a promise from the student to cause no harm, and make arrangements for the student to be seen by a member of the Counseling Center staff the next day.  If the student is in a therapeutic relationship with an off-campus counselor, the staff member will try to encourage the student to contact his/her counselor immediately.

2.  Does your institution require counseling or any type of evaluation by
university mental health professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists)?

If a student goes to the hospital or withdraws from the College due to psychological concerns, we do require that appropriate documentation be sent to the Director of Counseling who will review the information and make a recommendation to me (as his supervisor) and the VP/Dean of the College as to whether or not the student should be permitted to return to the College and if so, under what conditions (if any).  If the student is permitted to return, they are almost always required to meet with the Director of Counseling at least once (more often if they don't have a private therapist) to "touch base."

3.  If you do have a system in place, what things have been successful and
what challenges have you experienced?

I think the system works pretty well for the most part.

Challenges:
Counseling Center staff do not want to be tied to a pager so we cannot be guaranteed that we will be able to reach them when needed after hours (this has not been a big problem for us fortunately).
Sometimes, students do not indicate that they are withdrawing due to psychological reasons.  Therefore, when they want to be readmitted, they simply return.  That has been a problem for tracking and following up to ensure that they really are ready and prepared to return.

Successful:
The Counseling Center and my office have a great working relationship when it comes to these kinds of situations.
Better communication because of our direct involvement with situations.
Counseling Center is very responsive to student needs.

I hope this info is useful to you.  If you have any questions, please contact me.
 
 

Joanne Goldwater
Assistant Dean for Residential Life
St. Mary's College of Maryland
18952 E. Fisher Rd.
St. Mary's City, MD 20686
301-862-0207 (phone)
301-862-0898 (fax)
jagoldwater@osprey.smcm.edu (e-mail)