Faculty and staff have very important roles in the lives of Ball State students.  In addition to providing academic learning to students, you also mentor them, encourage them, and inspire them. Faculty and staff can also be one of the first ones to realize when something is not going right in the student’s life. Perhaps a student suddenly quits going to classes, or dozes off during a lecture, performs much worse on tests and quizzes, or appears more irritable during classroom discussion.  While changes of this nature can signal many things, it may also indicate that the student is struggling with an emotional problem and needs help.

This page is designed to provide you more information about signals of distress in students, tips on how to deal with distressed students, the academic supports that are available, and a description of common mental health issues in students.  Additionally, there is an Employee Assistant Program available to Ball State faculty and staff.

If a student comes to you disclosing that they are suffering from an emotional disorder, you may want to consult with Disabled Student Development to learn about appropriate accommodations that may be recommended. Richard Harris, the Director of Disabled Student Development, can be reached at 285-5293.

Tips for Faculty and Staff on Recognizing and Dealing with students in emotional distress

Academic Support for Students with a Psychiatric Disability
http://counseling.uchicago.edu/vpc/qut/support.html

Common Mental Health Issues
http://lcshc.geneseo.edu/counseling/issues.html

The development of this page was funded
by a grant from the Lilly Endowment