A PROGRAM FOR PEER ACADEMIC ADVISORS TO UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO STUDENT STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION Alison Andrade, Heather Flaherty, Stefanie Parau

About Training Program  Training workshop provided to peer advisors by professional academic advising staff  Topic: responding to stress, anxiety, and depression  Aim to:  Clarify role as student helper/mentor  Educate peer advisors about mental health concerns  Help peer advisors identify behaviors of concern, how to respond, and whom on campus to refer them to  Provide information about mindfulness techniques that can be applied in advising work and personal lives  Developed for use within the Academic Achievement Center at BSU  Emerging peer academic advising program

Literature Review/Program Rationale  Mental health concerns on college campuses are becoming more prevalent.  Mental health is linked to student retention and academic performance (Backels & Wheeler, 2001).  Academic advisors increasingly state that mental health issues are impacting their students’ academic success (Harper & Peterson, 2010).

Literature Review/Program Rationale (cont.)  Peer advising programs are becoming more common in academic advising offices.  Peer advisors are often on the frontline for working with students.  Students may feel more comfortable in the presence of their peers than with professional advising staff.  Peer advisors do not necessarily have the appropriate training or knowledgebase to work with students presenting concerning behaviors.

Training Overview  One-time, mandatory three hour training workshop provided to new and returning peer academic advisors at the beginning of the semester (approximately 15 students)  Based off the Fox Valley Technical College advising training manual and in conjunction with the CAS self- assessment guide for academic advising programs.

Learning Outcomes  Peer advisors will learn how to work with students in varying capacities, and will be able to translate the experiences from the interpersonal interactions into their daily routines.  Peer advisors will work through real-life, stimulating scenarios which will challenge them in their role as an undergraduate peer leader.  Peer advisors will create meaningful relationships with professional advisors and other campus individuals who can serve as a resource to them.  Peer advisors will understand the importance of their role as “peer helpers” as a result of the training session.  Peer advisors will learn how to incorporate mindfulness and wellness techniques into their lives as a result of the training session.

Schedule  11:00: Welcome and overview  Purpose and learning outcomes  11:15: Role of a peer advisor  Expected to maintain professionalism and serve as helpers, but not meant to be counselors  Work with students for schedule planning purposes, academic policies, and general BSU questions  11:30: Potential situations

Schedule (cont.)  11:45: Information about mental health concerns  Anxiety and depression  DSM V diagnoses and warning signs  12:15: Break and refreshments  12:30: Case scenarios in small groups

Example Case Scenario Dan is a fourth-year commuter student majoring in communication studies with a concentration in film, video, and media, and he has recently been accepted to a prestigious graduate program for the following year. During what Dan believes to be his last peer advising meeting of his undergraduate experience you help him identify what requirements he needs to complete in his final semester. During this meeting you realize that one of the courses that Dan still needs to complete will not be offered next semester, but instead will be provided the following fall when he had planned to begin graduate school. When you inform Dan about this issue he says that he is not surprised, that bad things always seem to happen to him, and that he wonders whether life is really even worth living. How do you respond?

Schedule (cont.)  12:45: Referrals  Professional advising staff member  Counseling Center staff member  Care Team  1:00-1:30: Role plays  1:30-2:00: Mindfulness  Potential techniques to use with students  Applying mindfulness to their personal lives as peer mentors and undergraduate students

Marketing, Budget, & Assessment  Marketing/Outreach:  s and reminders during staff meetings  Budget:  Minimal (refreshments only, provided through Sodexo)  Evaluation/Assessment:  Qualtrics survey provided via within 24 hours of training  Survey questions tied back to learning outcomes  Five point Likert scale (including responses ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree)

Survey Questions  “As a result of the training I feel more capable of working with students with various needs and concerns.”  “The case scenarios provided in the training fostered my thinking of how I would respond to similar real-life situations.”  “As a result of the training I feel more capable of referring students of concern to professional advising and counseling staff at Bridgewater State University.”  “The training workshop clarified to me what my role is as a peer mentor on campus.”  “I feel like I can incorporate mindfulness techniques into my personal life as a result of the training.”

References Backels, K. & Wheeler, I. (2001). Faculty perceptions of mental health issues among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 42(2), Bridgewater State University (n.d.). Academic advising. Retrieved from Bridgewater State University (n.d.). Academic affairs. Retrieved from Bridgewater State University (2014, February 06). Bridgewater state university procedures for the use of qualtrics. Retrieved from pdf. Bridgewater State University (n.d.). Sodexo campus services at bridgewater state university. Retrieved from Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (2012). CAS professional standards for higher education (9th edition). Retrieved from Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (2012). CAS self-assessment guide for academic advising programs. Retrieved from Fox Valley Technical College (2009). Peer advising connection training manual. Retrieved from Mentoring-Commission/resources.aspx. Harper, R. & Peterson, M. (2010). Mental health issues in student advising. NACADA Clearinghouse. Retrieved from NACADA (n.d.). Mental health issues in advising. Retrieved from health-issues-in-advising.aspx. NACADA (2010). Peer advisor or mentor professional code. Retrieved from Groups/Theory-Practice-Delivery-of-Advising-I/Peer-Advising-and-Mentoring-Commission/resources.aspx. Trombitas, K. (2012). Financial stress: An everyday reality for college students. Retrieved from