Area Support Groups
For Parents Only!
Info on Specific Issues
Meet the Staff
Other Campus Resources
Other College Counseling Centers
Private Practitioner Referral List
Resources
for Faculty & Staff
Role of the Department
Services
Virtual Tour of the Department
Where to Find Us
Home
|
Oberlin
College is committed to caring for our students’ intellectual,
social, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. When a national
or world tragedy occurs, faculty members often express the wish to help
their students effectively deal with the aftermath. There is no single
correct time for these discussions. It is probably best to consider a
discussion within a week of the occurrence of the tragedy.
If you prefer not to provide discussion
time during class
Even if you do not wish to lead an in-classroom
discussion, it is
probably best to acknowledge the event. A national or local tragedy can
result in students having difficulty concentrating. Failure to mention
the event can result in students becoming angry at what they label as
a “professor’s insensitivity to what happened.” If
you choose not to
devote discussion time to the event, you might mention to students that
tragedies stir up many emotions, and that you want to remind the
students that there are resources on campus where they might consider
seeking support. On our campus, those resources include the Counseling
Center, Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, Residential Education,
and Class Deans.
If
you wish to provide an opportunity for discussion
How do we
discuss something so distressing? Here are some ideas to consider.
- Discussion
can be brief.
Consider providing an opportunity at the beginning of a class period. Often,
a short time period is more effective than a whole class period. This
serves the purpose of acknowledging that students may be reacting
to a recent event, without pressuring students to speak.
- Acknowledge
the event.
Introduce
the opportunity by briefly
acknowledging the tragic event, and
suggesting that it might be helpful to share personal
reactions students
may have.
- Allow
brief discussion of the “facts,” and then
shift to emotions.
Often the discussion starts with students
asking questions
about what
actually happened,
and “debating” some
details. People are
more comfortable discussing “facts,” than
feelings, so it’s
best to allow
this exchange for a
brief period of time.
After facts have
been exchanged, you
can
try to shift the
discussion toward
sharing personal
and emotional reactions.
- Invite
students to share emotional, personal responses.
You might lead
off by saying
something like,“Often
it is helpful to
share your own
emotional responses,
and hear
how others are
responding.
It doesn’t change
the reality,
but it takes away
the sense of
loneliness
that sometimes
accompanies stressful
events. I
would be grateful
for
whatever you are
willing to share.”
- If
students
begin “debating” the “right
way” to
react
to
a
tragedy,
it
is
useful
to
comment
that
each
person
copes
with
stress
in
a
unique
way, and there
is
no “right
way” to
react.
- Be
prepared for blaming.
When people
are upset,
they
often look for
someone
to blame.
Essentially,
this
is a displacement
of anger.
It is
a way of
coping.
The
idea is
that
if someone
did something
wrong,
then
future tragedies
can
be avoided
by doing
things “right.” If
the discussion
gets “stuck” with
blaming,
it is might
be
useful
to say, “We
have been
focusing
on our
sense of
anger and
blame,
and that’s
not unusual.
It might
be useful
to
talk about
our fears.”
- It
is normal for people to seek
an “explanation” of
why the
tragedy
occurred.
By
understanding, we
seek to
reassure ourselves
that a similar
event could
be prevented
in the
future. You
might comment
that, as
intellectual
beings:
- We
always seek
to understand
- It
is very
challenging to
understand “unthinkable” events
- By
their very
natures, tragedies
are especially
difficult to
explain
- Uncertainty
is particularly
distressing, but
sometimes is
inevitable
The
faculty member
is better
off resisting
the temptation
to make
meaning
of the
event. That
is not
one of
your responsibilities,
and
would
not be
helpful.
- Thank
students for sharing,
and remind
them of
resources on
campus.
In
ending the
discussion, it
is useful
to comment
that people
cope in
a
variety
of ways.
If a student
would benefit
from a
one-on-one
discussion,
you encourage
them to
make use
of campus
resources. These
include
the the
Counseling Center,
Office of Religious and Spiritual Life,
and Class Deans.
- Some
useful links:
- For
information on
the impact
of traumatic
stress, the
American
Psychological
Association provides
the online
brochure: Mind/Body
Health:
The Effects
of Traumatic
Stress
http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=12
- For
University students,
a good resource,
provided by
the American
Psychological
Association specifically
for the
Virginia Tech
disaster
is:
Tips for
College and
University Students:
Managing Your
Distress in
the
Aftermath of
the Virginia Tech Shootings
http://helping.apa.org/articles/article.php?id=151
|
