Loyola University Chicago

On rare occasion, you may find yourself with a student who is experiencing a psychological/behavioral crisis.

In your office or other non classroom of the university

If the crisis is life threatening or if the student's behavior is extreme (student threatening to harm self or others, acting out, emotional outburst, loss of rationality, venting, screaming, swearing, high energy output)

• Call 44-911 and convey to the dispatcher that this is a life-threatening situation and that appropriate assistance is needed.
• If others are present, escort the student to a private area or ask others to step away.
• Be calm, clear and simple.
• After the situation has been resolved, notify the Dean of Students office at 8-3900 so that follow up can be initiated.

If you feel threatened or intimidated

• Call 44-911 and convey to the dispatcher that you need help immediately.
• Wait for assistance.
• Keep a safe distance and don't move toward the student.
  Do not attempt an intervention. Intervening at this point may trigger physical acting out behavior and jeopardize your safety and the safety of others around you.
• After the situation has been resolved, notify the Dean of Students office at 8-3900 so that follow up can be initiated
• Contact the Wellness Center at 8-2530 if you would like to talk to a mental health professional about what happened. Situations such as these can have impact on you and you may need some support to sort it out.

If the crisis is life threatening (student threatening to harm self or others, acting out, emotional outburst, loss of rationality, venting, screaming, swearing, high energy output)

• Call 44-911 and convey to the dispatcher that this is a life-threatening situation and that appropriate assistance is needed.
• If others are present, escort the student into the hall or ask others to step away.
• Be calm, clear and simple.
• After the situation has been resolved, notify the Dean of Students office at 8-3900 so that follow up can be initiated.
• Contact the Wellness Center at 8-2530 if you would like to talk to a mental health professional about what happened. Situations such as these can have impact on you and on the other students in the classroom. A mental health professional can help you to sort things out and can offer to you some suggestions on helping the other students in the classroom.

If you feel threatened or intimidated

• Call 44-911 and convey to the dispatcher that you need help immediately. If you are unable to get to a phone, send a specific student to go for help.
• Wait for assistance.
• Keep a safe distance and don't move toward the student.
• If the student is violent or if you think violence is imminent, ask the other students to quietly exit the classroom. Do not attempt an intervention. Intervening at this point may trigger physical acting out behavior and jeopardize your safety and the safety of others around you.
• After the situation has been resolved, notify the Dean of Students office at 8-3900 so that follow up can be initiated.

If the student is in significant distress but not in a life-threatening situation, call 44-911 for assistance and ask to speak with the Wellness Center's on-call mental health professional. Please leave a phone number where you maybe reached and the on-call mental health professional will call it as soon as possible. These verbal intervention tips may help you:

Confidentiality

If you have made a referral to the Wellness Center, it is understandable that you might want to follow-up to see how the student is doing. Because of the importance of a student's right to privacy, professional standards of confidentiality and privilege communication laws bind the mental health professionals at the Wellness Center to strict confidentiality including whether a student kept an appointment or is being seen at the Center. However, if a student wishes that a mental health professional talk with you, the student must ask to sign a release of information form.