Responding to Distressed Students

February 9, 2016

For various reasons, winter can be an emotionally challenging time. This is particularly true for students managing the stress and pressures of an academic environment. Campus behavioral health departments usually notice an increase in students reporting crisis issues, depression, and suicidal thoughts during winter, and this winter has been no exception. For that reason, we want to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the resources available to students.

We are proud of our campus culture of caring. Our students are fortunate to have staff and faculty members who are committed to referring students to support resources and reporting concerns about students to appropriate offices. UCSB has many resources for students experiencing emotional challenges, but we would like to highlight two tools that can be used to determine the best referral resource or reporting option for students of concern.

• The first is the Distressed Student Protocol, our campus’s tool for determining when and where to report students in distress. Please consider printing out and posting the attached Protocol so it is easy to find when you need it. The Protocol includes a list of the resources for referring students directly to support services. 
• Another tool developed for our campus community is the Red Folder. Some members of the community have the Red Folder already on their desktop. For those who do not, the link is http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/RedFolder. The Red Folder contains tips for supporting students, the Distressed Student Protocol, and a list of campus resources for referring students directly to support services.

Remember that you can always contact Student Mental Health Coordination Services for consultation or for assistance in determining the best referral resource for a student. That number is 805-893-3030. Additionally, Counseling & Psychological Services provides confidential consultation 24/7 at 805-893-4411.

If you ever have immediate concerns about someone’s life or safety, please call 911. Dialing 911 will activate an emergency response that, if needed, will include an assessment by Santa Barbara County’s mobile psychiatric evaluation team.

Thank you for everything you do to support our students and their academic goals.