Mental Health Describe how you would handle this situation.

I would handle the situation by listening to the student in a way that shows that I
empathize and care. As the student shares, I will stay claim and speak in a reassuring tone. I will
let him share his thoughts, pain, and maybe experiences that are depressing. While at it, I will
acknowledge and let him know that his feelings are legitimate. After listening to the student
share, I will offer the necessary support and encouragement. Since the student is suicidal, I will
take the necessary actions to save a life. Mostly, this will entail listening and showing support as
much as I can. I will ensure that I validate his feelings and not minimize the problems that could
be making him feel depressed. I will help the student express himself and listen to the problems
or dilemmas that could be embedded in his stories. I will listen, reflect, and summarize what the
student will be saying. I will also evaluate the problem to see the extent of the damage. In case I
can handle it, then I will walk hand in hand with the student and ensure he walks out of
depression. I will get to the root of his concerns and dilemmas by encouraging him to e more
open and candid. I will reframe the student’s dilemma and walk with them as they explore how
they could be contributing to the dilemma. I will then help the student to come up with an action
plan on how to resolve the issues. To start with, I will ask the student to reach out to his peers,
initiate conversations with them, and be deliberate about initiating friendships. He should take
part in games and get out more freely so that he can interact with other people.
Justify your actions, citing argument and evidence from Chapter 27 of the textbook and
another credible source.

One of the models of helping a person is building rapport. The process of helping the
student was easy because I had already established a rapport with him. Okun (2002) and Hill and
O’Brien (1999) state that student affairs practitioners often enjoy good ongoing relationships
with the students that they help (Schuh et al., 2017). Having a good relationship creates a good
ground for the practitioner to reach out to the affected student. It becomes easy to initiate contact.
In my case, the rapport that I had already established helped me initiate the initial conversation
with the student. It also ensured that I could spend ample time with the student and walk the
journey with him.
I will get to the core of the concerns raised by the student. According to the second phase
of helping models, helpers center their attention to the core of the concerns raised by the student.
Reframing the student’s dilemma helps shine a light into the students concerns (Schuh et al.,
2017). It may open their mind to see alternative approaches and solutions to their problems. The
final phase entails helping a student set goals and come up with an action plan on how to resolve
the dilemma. By helping the student work a plan on how to get friends, I was in the third phase
of the helping models.
Identify some concerns or challenges you might face in helping this student.
One of the concerns is that I may experience burnout as I listen to the student share some
life experiences. These may be painful and a lot to handle. I may thus encounter emotional
exhaustion as I deal with his strong emotions. Also, since I a dealing with a person who has
considered suicide, then I need to walk with him until recovery. Having to dedicate time to him
as I also deal with personal and work-related issues can take a toll on me. Another challenge that
I may encounter is ethical. Some of the ethical issues include confidentiality and competence.
The student has contemplated suicide; thus, if the issue is one that I cannot handle, I may be

forced o breach confidentiality if he is facing issues that I cannot handle. The other issue of
competence may arise because I feel the need to help. I may be overtaken by the desire to help
because I have a good rapport with the student, even when the issue he is facing goes outside my
area of expertise.
Explain how you would overcome them.
I would overcome these issues by ensuring that I take care of my needs as well. In case I
realize that I may experience burnout, I will take a break, refer the student to a therapist, and take
care of my emotional wellbeing. Secondly, I will overcome ethical issues by ensuring that I do
not attempt to offer help that goes outside of my expertise area. If I realize that the student has
issues that I cannot handle, I will recommend a therapist or another professional with the
necessary expertise.

References

Schuh, J. H., Jones, S. R., & Torres, V. (Eds.) (2017). Student services: A handbook for the
profession (6th ed.). Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com