Resources for Faculty and Staff

The Counseling and Psychological Services Center is happy to support faculty and staff as you take care of yourselves and assist your students who may be struggling with mental health concerns.

Training Taking Care of Yourself Students in Urgent or Crisis Situations Students Struggling With Mental Health Issues

 

Training

Trainings for Faculty/Staff

Incorporate Mental Health Education in Your Classroom

Regardless of the courses you teach, your students’ mental health matters. Better mental health yields better academic performance too! Incorporating some mental health content into your courses is easy, and it doesn’t require any class time at all. 

Mental Well-Being Online Course

MWB provides a general overview of mental health signs and symptoms, self-care strategies, and ways to support peers who are struggling. The course can be completed in about one hour and a certificate of completion is provided.

MWB can be accessed through students’ eWeber portal and is also available on Canvas Commons to simply drag-and-drop into your course.

Therapy Assistance Online (TAO)

TAO offers a large collection of psychoeducational self-help modules addressing numerous mental health topics including anxiety and depression, loneliness, perfectionism, impostor syndrome, grief, and many more. Average length of individual modules is 20-30 minutes. TAO can be accessed through students' eWeber portals. 

TAO makes it easy to assign students collections of modules and provide credit for completing them. Doing so incentivizes students to learn important life skills! Several collections, including First Year Toolkit, De-Stress Success and others are available in Canvas Commons. You can also curate your own set of required modules and track student completions if you like.

Online Suicide Prevention Trainings

Two brief training options for students:

Intermountain Health 15-minute online training
Outlines basic signs and symptoms, intervention strategies, and resources. A final page of resources can be printed as proof of completion.

LiveOnUtah 10-session Instagram course
Explains how to identify and respond to those in suicidal crisis. Each session is only 5-7 minutes in length. Sessions are delivered to students daily until the full course is completed and a certification of completion is provided.

 

For more information about how to support positive mental health in the classroom, contact Dianna Abel diannaabel@weber.edu.

Taking Care Of Yourself

Managing the stressors of your work life and your personal life can be emotionally draining. A variety of options are available for you to help maintain your own mental health.

  • TAO (Therapy Assistance Online) 
    A platform of short educational and practice modules for skill-building in subjects such as mindfulness, depression, anxiety management, and other areas.
     
  • Faculty and Staff Groups
    Consider joining groups reserved specifically for faculty and staff members to receive support and learn mindfulness meditation skills. These groups are available until further notice as a special extension of services available during the pandemic.
     
  • WSU Employee Assistance Program 
    Free life assistance counseling services are available for employees & staff.
     
  • Local Referral Options 
    • You might also choose to utilize your mental health insurance benefit. Some potential local resources include resources for faculty/staff of color.
    • Additional options can also be searched on psychologytoday.com where users can limit a search to a particular insurance carrier, therapy type or zip code.
    • Please consult your insurance benefits to confirm any provider's current coverage status and to find further options.

Dealing With Students In Urgent Or Crisis Situations

It is not uncommon for faculty or staff members to encounter a student in an urgent situation. Working together is the best way to ensure that students get the support and help that they need. The following will help you recognize signs and identify appropriate campus liaisons.

A Student In An Urgent Or Crisis Situation May Include:

  • Expresses bizarre thoughts or incoherent statements

  • Exhibits intense or out-of-control rage

  • Threatens to harm him/herself or another

  • Becomes physically aggressive or intimidating

  • Reports having a weapon

 

In such circumstances, contact Campus Police for assistance. You should not handle difficult situations like this on your own.

Concerned About A Student In Distress?

Often faculty or staff want to share their concern about a student in distress to ensure that students get the support and help that they need. The appropriate university administrators to first reach out to for consultation and collaboration if needed, are in the Dean of Students’ office, not CPSC. Please contact them at (801) 626-7256 or deanofstudents@weber.edu

*See more information below for general tips about helping students.

Identifying & Responding Effectively To Students Struggling With Mental Health Issues

As faculty members at Weber State University, you spend a lot of time with students. You often get to know them well through their participation in class, their assignments, and papers, and the time they spend in your office. You are in an excellent position to recognize when a student has a potential emotional or mental health problem, and you likely have questions or concerns about what to do in these situations. The following information may be helpful to you. CPSC staff are also available for general consultation about student mental health issues.

Need Flyers To Hand Out?

You can download and print them yourself!

Printable CPSC Flyers (PDF)

*Contact us about bookmarks for your classroom