Introduction
This page is for UMass faculty, staff, and graduate teaching assistants. Use it to help recognize when a student is struggling, decide when and how to reach out for help, and connect a student to the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH). The last sections cover support for you, as a staff member who supports students every day.
Resources for Supporting Students
These three resources walk faculty and staff through how to recognize, respond to, and follow up with students in distress.
Maroon Folder
A guide for assisting students in distress: warning signs to recognize, ways to respond, and steps to take to offer help. Maintained by UMatter at UMass.
Critical Incident Response Plan
Step-by-step guidance for faculty and staff responding to a critical incident, including who to call, what to say, and follow-up steps.
Trauma Reaction Continuums
An overview of common trauma reactions, what is typical versus concerning, and when to encourage a student to seek support.
Recognizing Distress
Most students experience stress at some point during the semester. The signs below can help you tell the difference between ordinary stress and something that may need more support. You don't need to be certain. If something feels off, reach out.
🎓 Academic signs
- Sudden decline in academic performance or quality of work
- Repeated missed classes, assignments, or deadlines
- Withdrawal from class participation or group work
- Requests for extensions that increase in frequency or urgency
- Content of writing or class comments that suggests distress, hopelessness, or thoughts of harm
💬 Behavioral and emotional signs
- Marked change in mood, energy, or behavior
- Visible signs of distress: tearfulness, agitation, anxiety
- Isolation from peers or significant change in social patterns
- Noticeable change in appearance, hygiene, or weight
- Statements expressing hopelessness, loss of purpose, or feeling overwhelmed
🆘 Safety concerns
- Direct or indirect references to self-harm or suicide
- Threats of harm toward others
- Severe distress that interferes with daily functioning
- Significant disorientation or disconnection from reality
- Disclosure of a recent traumatic event
If you have a safety concern, see "When to call" below for next steps.
Trust your instincts. If something feels off, reach out.
When to Call
Not every concern is an emergency, and not every concern is something you have to handle alone. Use the guidance below to figure out who to call.
🆘 Imminent danger or safety emergency
A student is at immediate risk of harming themselves or others, is in medical danger, or is unable to keep themselves safe.
Call UMass Police at (413) 545-2121 or 911.
Stay with the student if it is safe to do so. If you cannot stay, ask a colleague to remain with them until help arrives.
❓ Ambiguous concerns
You're worried about a student, but you're not sure how serious it is or what to do.
Call CCPH at (413) 545-2337 for a consultation. Our staff can help you think through what you're seeing, suggest possible next steps, and talk through how to bring up your concern with the student.
You don't need the student's permission to ask for consultation, and the call is free.
💬 Suicidality
A student has expressed thoughts of suicide, mentioned wanting to die, or hinted at not wanting to be here anymore.
- Take it seriously. Asking directly about suicide does not put the idea in someone's head.
- Listen without judgment. You don't have to have the right words.
- If there is an immediate risk, call UMass Police at (413) 545-2121 or 911.
- If there is no immediate risk but the student needs support, call CCPH at (413) 545-HELP (4357), available 24/7.
- Stay with the student until they are connected to support.
Consult with CCPH
You don't have to figure out a student's situation on your own. Any UMass faculty or staff member can call CCPH to talk through a concern about a student before deciding what to do next.
Consultation is a real-time conversation with a CCPH clinician. We can help you:
- Make sense of what you're observing
- Think through how to talk with the student
- Decide whether to refer, follow up, or wait and watch
- Plan what to do if the student is reluctant to seek care
For general questions: call CCPH at (413) 545-2337, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For urgent or safety concerns: call our 24/7 crisis line at (413) 545-HELP (4357).
How to Refer a Student to CCPH
Talk with the student
Mention what you've noticed and that you're concerned. Listen without pressuring.
Suggest CCPH
Share the Let's Talk option or the main number. Offer to sit with them while they call.
Consult if unsure
Call (413) 545-2337 to speak with a CCPH clinician about how to approach the conversation.
If immediate danger
Call 911 or UMass Police (413) 545-3111. For acute mental health crisis: (413) 545-HELP (4357).
After a Tragedy or Loss
After a tragic event, the effects are often felt most intensely in the classroom. A faculty member may be the first person a student sees afterward. While those directly impacted are often most affected, tragedies ripple across campus and affect people in strong and sometimes unexpected ways.
The five suggestions below can help you support students in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy or loss.
Acknowledge what happened
Mentioning the event, even briefly, signals to students that it's normal to be thinking about it. Skipping past it can feel disconcerting to students who are processing strong reactions.
Provide an opportunity to talk
Ask broad, open-ended questions such as "How is everyone feeling about what happened?" or "How are people reacting?" The Maroon Folder above offers more guidance on recognizing and responding to students in distress.
Share your experience (if you feel comfortable)
Sharing your own reaction can help humanize you. It's okay to show emotion. If you don't feel comfortable sharing personally, that's okay too.
Make sure students are aware of campus supports
The Dean of Students Office, the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH), the Center for Women and Community, UMass Police, and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life are all resources in times of tragedy. You don't need to know which is the best referral. Staff in these areas are familiar with campus systems and can help figure out next steps.
If you need support for yourself, the Employee Counseling and Consultation Office (ECCO) offers free, confidential counseling for UMass employees.
Be flexible with students and for yourself
Students affected by tragedy may need temporary adjustments in workload. It is normal for people not to function at full capacity during an emotional event. Some people may not feel affected, and that is okay too. Extend the same flexibility to yourself.
Seeking Services for Yourself
Seeking services for yourself
Supporting students who are struggling is meaningful and often hard work. Listening to difficult stories, holding worry about someone else's wellbeing, and responding to crisis can take a real toll. CCPH provides services to UMass students, but UMass employees have their own support options.
ECCO
Employee Counseling and Consultation Office
Free, confidential counseling and consultation for UMass employees. ECCO can also help with workplace concerns, conflict, and referrals to longer-term care.
Optum / Mass4You
Statewide employee assistance program
Counseling, work-life resources, financial and legal consultation, and 24/7 support for state employees and their household members.
Access code: Mass4You
🪴 A note on burnout and vicarious trauma
Faculty and staff who regularly support students in distress can experience burnout, compassion fatigue, or vicarious trauma. Common signs include exhaustion that rest doesn't fix, increased cynicism, difficulty leaving work behind at the end of the day, and feeling emotionally numb or overwhelmed by stories you hear.
These reactions are normal responses to a hard job, not a sign that you're not cut out for the work. ECCO and Optum are good first stops if you notice these patterns in yourself.