Supporting Students’ Emotional Well-Being
While Studying AbroadJamie Robinson, Thomas Teague, Jeanne Walker
Tweet your questions to: #NAFSAemowellbeing
Purpose & OutlineIssues of mental health and safety remain at the forefront as more students participate in education abroad. Students need to be prepared and supported for these experiences.
Promoting mental health and safety to support emotional well-being:o Pre-departure screening – Psychological pre-planningo Best practices across the fieldo Experiential mindfulness exercise
Presenters Jamie Robinson, LMFT, RDT
o Mental Health Advisor, CEA o Primary Clinician, University of California, San Francisco
Thomas Teagueo Education Abroad Advisor, University of Kentucky
Jeanne Walker, PhDo Director, Student Psychological Counseling Serviceso Chapman University
Tweet your questions to: #NAFSAemowellbeing
Pre-Departure Screening:
Psychological Pre-Planning
Students with Mental Illness
Best Practice Guidelines All students indicating psychiatric disorders or
taking medication should be contacted.
Information is needed to best support accommodations for students.
This approach promotes student disclosure.
Emphasis will be placed on the Pre-Departure and While Abroad phases
Common Medical Questionnaire Disclosures
Anxiety Depression: clinical, mild, major Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Eating Disorders Bipolar Disorder Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Relevant Concerns and Questions
1. Assess for safety2. Assess for accommodations/needs3. Assess for students’ capacity to manage
symptoms
Goals?To help students consolidate their strengths and resources before going.
NOT our goals:1. Fix a student2. Cure a student3. Analyze a student4. Pathologize a student5. Diagnose a student
Symptoms Questions Identifying the current impact of symptoms on the
student's life.o "How is depression affecting you right now in your life?“o What are your depressive or anxiety symptoms?o What led to your hospitalization?o What is the impact of depression on your day to day life now?o How has depression or anxiety affected your life recently?
What triggers your symptoms or episodes? o Important for Bipolar, Panic Attacks, Eating Disorders, OCD
Support SystemWho, what, and where is important in maintaining the student’s well-being?
What do you do to calm down, feel safe, etc.? o Use the students’ language when they give you words
Who do you talk to or spend time with? Where do you feel safe? Who do you tell about these symptoms? Are you currently in contact with any treatment
providers?
Developing a Coping Plan
Have you considered making a plan for coping with these symptoms?
Who would you talk to about making a plan? Specific items for the plan include:
o contact with a known treatment providero ways to cope with triggers o housing o sleep, eating, roommates, academicso communication with international staff about
symptoms o access to treatment abroad
YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE THE PLAN WITH THE STUDENT
Preparing ALL Students Emotionally & Psychologically
Student Reflections & Strategies
Student Reflections “You can look at pictures and such, but nothing will be the same
[when you] get there in person”
“…I wish I had more time in-country to keep more of an emotion journal…Emotion is important in reflecting.”
“It was really good for us to have conversations…with someone that you feel you can be open with…just being able to talk about it…and having someone to bounce your ideas off of and ask them for feedback. It’s amazing what some feedback can do.”
“Sometimes it’s the students that have never undergone counseling or treatment that sometimes need the most support”
Support & Preparation in Action
Emphasized goal and expectations setting in pre-departure orientationo Gave examples; Encouraged developing & sharing of
goals in-person
Linked orientation sections, infused culture, and provided support resources (i.e. faculty, on-site staff, other contacts)
Provided Pre-Departure and “While Abroad” handbooks, reflection questions
Goals & Expectation
s
Identity & Backgroun
d
Culture & Cultural
Adjustment
Health, Safety &
Expectations
Other strategies for support & preparation
Using different language, ways of thinking o e.g. Culture Shock; “U-curve model”
Engaging students in activities to better understand themselves and their colleagueso Personality-type icebreaker; Assumptions activity
Incorporating campus partners or past students Working with on-site partners and/or 3rd party
providers Utilizing supervised grad students in Psychology
to help support students while abroad– via Skype Mentor program on-site– each staff assigned to
studentsResponses taken from a survey conducted via SECUSS-L in April 2014If interested in obtaining full survey results, please email [email protected] .
Experiential Mindfulness
Worries, Anxieties, and Fears (WAFs)
Name your WAFs Talk to others Unanticipated WAFs
CONTROL IS THE PROBLEM, NOT THE SOLUTION
Mindfulness Mindfulness = observing and creating a wise
mind
“Mindfulness is not a special state you achieve through a trick or a technique. It is a way of being. Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally to things as they are”. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness is: o Intentional– acting with awarenesso Experiential– present moment focuso Non-Judgmental– observing self vs. judging self
Awareness– Requires attention Separation– Impartial observer Compassionate witness– Acceptance Letting go and moving on– Self-regulation tools
Examples:o HEALo WAF Busterso ACTo Wheel of Awareness
HEALHave a positive experienceEnrich it AbsorbLink positive & negative material
HARD WIRING HAPPINESSRick Hanson
WAF Busters Demoting the WAFs Physical exercise Moving meditation Teach breathing techniques Guided imagery Using humor Thoughts are just words
ACT Skills
Feeding the tigerDriving your life busGet off your but(t)s
THE MINDFULNESS & ACCEPTANCE WORKBOOK FOR ANXIETY (Forsyth & Eifert)
Wheel of Awareness
THE MINDFUL BRAIN(Siegel)
Helpful Apps Breathe to Relax Buddify Calm Zen Meditative Music
Questions? Tweet your questions to: #NAFSAemowellbeing
NAFSA E-Book: Best Practices in Addressing Mental Health Issues Affecting Education Abroad Participantso www.valdosta.edu/academics/academic-affairs/internatio
nal-programs/dept/documents/study-abroad/mental-health.pdf
Moving with Emotional Resilience Between and Within Cultures (Janice Abarbanel, PhD)o www.afs60.de/webcontent/files/MbM_Abarbanel.pdf
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