Faculty, staff, family and friends of students are often among the first to notice those who are encountering overwhelming amounts of stress in their lives and are struggling emotionally. This stress can seriously disrupt academic progress, personal relationships and enjoyment of daily life. Parents and friends who are geographically distant may be more uncertain how to best intervene to provide assistance and support. The Counseling Center's professional staff regularly provide consultations to individuals concerned about a student and are available to consult with faculty, staff, family and friends by phone or in person.

Counselors can offer support and strategies for handling concerns by working to:

• Clarify the seriousness of the problem the student is having.
• Plan effective ways to let the student know of your concerns regarding their behavior.
• Develop a plan to refer the student to available sources of assistance.
• Learn more about university and community resources.

Faculty, staff, family or friends concerned about a student who may be in a crisis during our business hours can:

• Call the Counseling Center at 404-413-1640 and alert the front office staff that they would like to speak with a counselor about their concern for a student.
• Alert the front desk staff member if the student is in an immediate, life-threatening crisis.
• Alert the Office of the Dean of Students by completing an online student of concern referral form.

Links to the online referral form, as well as other resources and handouts, including a wellness statement for syllabi, a sample email response to students writing in distress, and a list of resources provided by the counseling center can be accessed by clicking below.

Faculty, staff, family or friends who witness any of warning signs below should encourage the student to speak with a counselor at the Counseling Center by calling 404-413-1640. If the student is in immediate, life-threatening danger or is in danger of harming another, call campus police at 404-413-3333 or 911 if the student is off campus.

Signs and Symptoms

• Behaviors or interactions that leave others feeling uncomfortable
• Social isolation, withdrawal, lethargy
• Inability to focus on a specific topic in a conversation or activity
• Disorganized thinking and speech, feelings that are inappropriate to the situation, lack of affect or other evidence that the student is out of touch with reality
• Expression of feelings of persecution, strong mistrust of others
• Violent outbursts
• Signs of excessive alcohol or drug use
• Expressions of general unhappiness over a period of several weeks
• Frequent class absence or disappearance over extended periods of time
• Gain or loss of significant amounts of weight
• Abrupt change in manner, style or personal hygiene
• Increasing dependence on others