The above are all questions that may come up for you as a teacher when considering student wellness. In this didactic tip, we offer tools that are useful in individual contact, as well as during a lesson.
Tip 1: active listening with the LSD-method
A well-known conversation technique is “listen, summarize, deepen,” or LSD for short. This means adopting an active listening posture, both verbal and non-verbal. Try to empathize with the student and follow his or her way of thinking. Summarize their story in between to verify that what you think you hear is correct. For example, say, “do I understand correctly that...” or “do you mean to say...”. This is best done with open-ended questions that begin with one of the five W's: Who, What, Where, When and Why.
Tip 2: structuring the conversation with regulation skills
A structured conversation consists of an opening, a middle, and a closing. In all these stages, it helps to apply regulation skills. First, it is good to open the conversation and set goals. For example, say, “It’s great that you contacted me. How can I help you?” Then, in the middle part, the student tells their story. Here, you apply the LSD method. After this, it is wise to evaluate the purpose of the conversation. For example, say “coming back to…” or “would you still like to...”. After this, it is time to conclude the conversation. If necessary, thank the student for sharing their story. Next, name what will happen next, such as the action you or the student will take with a possible timeline.
Tip 3: show empathy
The student often benefits more when you show empathy than when you offer (unsolicited) advice or solutions. Unsolicited advice is often counterproductive and demotivating. Show your empathy with statements such as “I understand that…” or “I can well imagine that...”. By doing so, you soften the other person's emotions and create space for them to come up with their own solutions.
Tip 4: be aware of potential pitfalls
When you are eager to help a student, there are potential pitfalls. To make you aware of these, we list some common ones:
- Giving (unsolicited) advice with “you must” or “just”;
- Making decisions for the other person;
- Starting discussions or arguments;
- Forgetting your own boundaries;
- Promising secrecy (secrecy is different from confidentiality).
Tip 5: distinguish between secrecy and confidentiality
In line with the previous tip, it is important to be aware of the difference between secrecy and confidentiality. You can't promise secrecy because you need to be able to hand over the situation when your own safety or that of the student(s) comes into the behaviour. In fact, secrecy makes you jointly responsible. Explain to the student that what you discuss is confidential but that if you have concerns, you will contact another confidential person. For example, say, “How would you feel about contacting...?”.
Tip 6: set your own boundaries
Be aware of your personal and professional boundaries and set them in advance. Think about what issues a student might experience and what they might ask of you in such a situation. You can even prepare your response by coming up with some scripts in advance. This will help you communicate your boundaries clearly and avoid tricky situations.
Tip 7: leave the responsibility where it belongs
To leave responsibility where it belongs, it helps to have two rules:
- Desire is not power. You can have the desire to heal, but not have the power to do so. Of course you can have both, but that is still not helpful in certain situations. You can’t always make everything better for someone or solve it. It is the person's own responsibility to solve their problem, even if you could do it for them. Possibly the student does not want you to solve the problem either.
- Fixing everything is not nothing. The fact that you are listening to a student and showing that you are there for them is already a big deal. Make the student feel heard; sometimes that is all it takes. Support the student in processing the situation so they feel heard. Lower the threshold for them to take responsibility and take steps.
Tip 8: refer students as needed
According to the VU Vision on Student wellbeing (NL) academic staff have basic knowledge about student wellbeing, identify and refer as needed. This means that the responsibility of faculty is emphatically to identify and refer, and not to resolve help and care issues. If you are concerned about a student, it may be wise to approach professionals about this.
Please refer to the 'Roadmap student wellness for staff' (NL) to determine to whom to refer the student. There are several referral options within VU such as the student advisor, student psychologist, student dean, confidential advisor, social safety directors and the student ombudsman.
In the ‘Infographic Student Wellbeing’ you will also find parties outside VU Amsterdam that students can turn to for additional guidance and support such as the Listening Line, Arkin Prevention, NEWConnective, 113 Suicide Prevention and Victim Support.
In addition to referring the student to these professionals, you can also point the student to the initiatives of the ‘VU Wellbeing Boosters’. This includes wide and varied offerings to enhance student wellbeing. For example, these initiatives reduce stress, promote their mental health and help them become fitter. A great example of this is the Student Wellbeing Point.
Want to know more?
The VU Center for Teaching and Learning offers several trainings about guiding students effectively. Some of the above tips are also covered in the training for mentors from the VU Centre for Teaching & Learning. Need more support or help? If so, please send an email to ctl@vu.nl