What college campuses are doing to help vulnerable students

In reporting out the story on the suicide of college students that appeared in Sunday's paperhttp://www.inquirer.com/local/education/20140209_Addressing_suicide_among_seemingly_successful_college_students.html, I interviewed mental health professionals at campuses around the region. Here are more details on examples of what some colleges are doing to help students.

Drexel University: Drexel established a task force following the suicide of two students last year. A university spokeswoman laid out the steps that the university has taken in response to the task force report:

"* A full-time associate director of counseling was specifically hired to oversee all suicide prevention programs.

* A series of training modules for faculty and staff was implemented to identify students at risk.

* The Counseling Services website was made more user-friendly and much easier to find.

* The university expanded the services of the Counseling Center by making a psychiatrist available five days a week. It should also be noted that through Drexel's Counseling Center, students can walk-in daily and see a licensed psychologist/therapist. No appointment is necessary. Emergency care for mental health is also available 24 hours a day."

Rowan University: The university recently received a $100,000 grant renewable over three years for suicide prevention. With the grant, the university said through a spokesman, it is:

"* Increasing student knowledge and recognition of suicidal behaviors in their peers through a media campaign and online interactive program, Kognito interactive gatekeeper training.

* Increasing student life and coping skills through workshops

* Increasing help seeking behavior by promoting existing services on campus ( help hotline, counselor on call)

* Thoroughly reviewing and revising policy and procedures to ensure compliance with recent best practices

* Training faculty/staff who are not members of the Wellness Center on crisis protocols to assist in an emergency and help students cope with a suicide on campus

* Allowing new professional counselors to be trained in DBT to give specific life skills training to at-risk students

* Working to destigmatize talking about suicide through outreach programs that discuss help-seeking behavior."

In an interview with the Inquirer, two campus officials outlined some of the programs and iniatitives underway on campus.

To encourage students to get help, Rowan integrated its mental health services within its "Wellness Center," which opened in the heart of campus in September.

"You don't see psychiatrict services, you see the wellness center," said David Rubenstein, director of counseling and psychological services.

The wellness center even includes regular classroom space so that more students are exposed to the center and come in for reasons other than getting help.

Counselors also go into residence halls and other campus space to interact with students.

"This is a proactive approach as opposed to a reactive approach," said Richard Jones, dean of students.

Faculty have guidelines on steps to take if a student exhibits strange behavior or problems, if for example, their attendance is spotty, or they look disheveled, or if their writing takes on a highly eccentric or strange tone. There have been cases where a change in student's handwriting has raised concerns, Rubenstein said.

"What we say is don't wait for things to get acute before you give the counseling center a call," he said.

He cited the case of a student who wrote something "funky" on a white board. A faculty member, concerned that the student could have posed a danger to himself or others, took a picture of the writing and emailed it to the center.

"That's just what we want," Rubenstein said.

A counselor at the center met with the student and continues to meet with the student, he said.

The university also is upgrading training for students.

At Rowan next fall, incoming freshmen for the first time will be trained in how to intervene in a crisis, Rubenstein said.

As for parents, the university encourages involvement.

"We like helicopter parents," Jones said. "We invite parents to be intrusive.

Pennsylvania State University: For the last three years, the university counseling center has led the "Show You Care" campaign to educate students, faculty and staff on their role in helping others who may be in crisis, including students exhibiting suicidal ideation or intent, said Joe Puzycki, assistant vice president for student affairs.

"It is clear that addressing the risk of suicide is a community responsibility at institutions of higher education: parents, students, faculty, staff, mental health providers, student affairs professionals, local community providers and resources all play a role," he said. "Alongside the many critical issues that arise in the lives of our students, suicide often seems to be beyond our individual control, while at the same time the care or potential influence of our collective community efforts may mitigate the potential for suicide."

Rutgers University: The university has ramped up training for staff and the student body in how to recognize suicidal signs in others and help.

"We're trying to bolster a sense of community which we know is a major protective factor in inhibiting suicidal thinking and behaviors," said Mary E. Kelly, lead psychologist at Rutgers.

Kelly also functions as Rutgers' suicide prevention specialist, a role in which she reaches out to others on campus and in the community to build a support network.

The university also this fall added a mobile app "Just in Case," which provides links to all mental health services on campus, said Felicia McGinty, vice chancellor for student affairs.

"We're trying everything we can," McGinty said. "We know we can't change every person's intention around taking their life, but we really want to try."

The university has also done a number of programs, such as "Let's Talk," which allows students to meet informally with counselors outside the walls of the center.

Rutgers also has a multi-disciplinary team on campus that focuses on helping high-risk students.

Widener University: Similarly, Widener runs a "behavior intervention team" that meets regularly to help students who are exhibiting troubling behavior.

"Our intent is a safety net," said Denise Gifford, associate provost and dean of students.

University of Pennsylvania: In light of recent student deaths, the university announced it would expand hours in its counseling center and add three new staffers.

The counseling center "is working to extend hours three nights per week to 7:30 p.m. as soon as we can secure the staffing to cover these times," said William Alexander, director of counseling and psychological services. "We are now interviewing temp staff."

Temple University: "Temple has created a resource guide called "Student Safety Nest: Helping Students in Distress," a web-based resource for faculty, staff, parents and family members that's available online through the Wellness Resource Center's website. A copy of the guide is distributed to each academic program and advising department at Temple, and a postcard promoting the guide and BMI training (see below) is sent to every faculty member.

Brief Motivational Interviewing (BMI) training is offered twice a month during the school year to all Temple faculty and staff. BMI is a technique for getting students to think about small steps they can take to make changes in their lives. The goal is to have effective conversations with students in distress. The sessions are paired with online Kognito training (virtual simulations with avatars of interactions with students). Once a month, there's a pizza lunch for trainees who'd like to discuss interactions.

TThe National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK) has been added to the TUmobile app for smartphones and other mobile devices. It's available under the 911 Campus Safety button within the app. (Future plans include providing more wellness and mental health information on the TUmobile app.)

Temple has created a comprehensive wellness and suicide prevention training program for student leadership, including Kognito training, BMI training and a bystander intervention program called Say Something at Temple (SS@T). The goal is to expand the number of students aware of warning signs and who can refer students of concern. This type of student training had been limited to the Wellness Resources Center's peer educators and Residential Life staff (RAs and such)."

West Chester University: "The Student Health Services provides a depression-screening instrument for all students who utilize their health services. This is yet another way that a student's emotional state can be assessed; if the score is high for depression, the student is immediately referred.

In the fall'13 semester, several departments joined to sponsor a depression screening event "Out of the Blue." Students who were identified with depression had the opportunity to talk to a counselor and set up further counseling."

Philadelphia University: "As part of the freshman and transfer orientations, a wide range of topics are covered including mental health issues and the availability of counseling services, and other emergency options (such as calling Safety and Security) are reviewed. Resident Assistants are trained to both recognize and take action quickly if they become aware of students who may have suicidal or self-harming thoughts."

Cheyney University: "We currently offer 1 hr. weekly counseling sessions for those that have made past (suicidal) attempts. University College has received grant funding and has developed a peer mentoring program to promote mental health among students."

Lehigh University: "Members of the counseling services department meet with student groups, athletic teams, present at orientation, present to new faculty and all TAs, and work routinely with the Office of Student Affairs to communicate the signs of a student in trouble. They also communicate to the entire campus the referral process for counseling services. They rotate through every faculty department on campus (not just the colleges) and present their services and procedures."