How to get a troubled student to open up.
Sometimes I have students who are experiencing depression. How do I get them to open up with out getting to personal?
Depression is a touchy subject best left to trained personnel, Andre. Most everyone has a down day periodically, but if it becomes chronic they should be referred to a counselor. How you do that depends on the relationship you have with the student. While some students may resent the observation, most students will respond favorably to a statement of concern from a caring person. Does your school have a counselor on staff? If not, do you have a referral program with a community agency?
We don't have a counselor on staff. We used to, but the students wouldn't show up. When we asked them why, they just felt it wasn't that important. Some people just keep to themselves. Maybe a referral program would be best.
This is a serious and staying in the guidelines of what we do as mentors has an impact not only to the students, but also to the families and people who are involved in their lives. A few techniques I have learned in working with students, is to let them form a relationship with you. When you start off this way, you gain a trust. If a student trusts you then you can assist the student to work through the problem. Another application would be to have the student write out the problem Journaling is a great way to get out feelings and begin the healing process. Another idea would be to get outside and get exercise. this will do the body good and will pump blood through the body and muscles. Another suggestion would be to have the student drink water. Water is an essential coponent that will assist the body and hydrate at the same time. this will help body aches as well as flush out toxins that stress produces in our body.
Do you have a specific protocall that you follow to gain a student's trust, Dagger? Do you meet with every student privately?
The best you can do is let the students know that you are available to talk and that you are not there teacher but you are also someone that can help. Even if the student does not want to tell you what he's problem is you can always help by pointing them in the direction of a professional.
Andres, sometime you have to do more than let them know you are available. There are times when you must be aggressively proactive and initiate contact. Troubled students are often paralyzed by the problems they are facing and not thinking clearly about how to get help.
By initiating contact, you can help the student clarify the problems that he/she is facing and identify positive alternative solutions. On-going encouragement is the next step.
If referrals are made to other resources, do you have a procedure to assure that action has been taken?
I think that getting someone to open up starts the moment the walk threw the door. Its all about how you approch a person. Approch them with a big smile and a hand shake. And while they are waiting to be seen by someone ask them question about there self like "What high school did you graduate from?" "How did you hear about our school?" its all about communication and making a person fill welcome. And if you are in admissions take a little more time to talk with the student and show that you care and that you are intrested in what they have to say.
I love that idea also. The more supprot they have, the better chance they will reach out to someone when they experience troubles. I explain to my students that even after they leave my course into they next semester, that I will still aways be availabel to talk if they need tutoring, access to school labs, transportation problems, etc.
It's great that you are so accessible. Do you have many students that stay connected with you after they complete your courses? Any stories you would like to share to encourage others to adopt your practices?
We don't have a counselor on staff either. A referal program would be required.
