Students with Emotional Issues

Faculty will discover that there is a small, but growing, population of students with emotional problems that interfere with their ability to handle the academic workload and succeed in the classroom. UC Denver established the Student Counseling Center to assist students with this need. This Center also houses the Counseling and Family Therapy Center open to individual faculty and staff, as well as couples and families.

Student Counseling Center

The Student Counseling Center provides free, short-term (up to 10 sessions) counseling to students who may be in need of assistance in issues related to student behavior. The Center is staffed by professional psychotherapists and advanced graduate-level students who are supervised by licensed, practicing psychologists and UC Denver faculty members. The Center also refers students to off-campus, long-term counseling when appropriate. The Center provides workshops on stress management, conflict resolution and acculturation issues.

Most faculty are ill-prepared to identify emotional problems let alone counsel students in this situation. To assist students with emotional problems, faculty should contact the UC Denver Student Counseling Center. Professional services are available through the Student Counseling Center to assist faculty in this area.

UC Denver Student Counseling Center, NC 4036 303-556-4372

Frequently Encountered Situations

Faculty don't know whether to contact Office of Student Life or Counseling Center for disruptive students with emotional problems.

This is a difficult, judgement call on the part of the faculty member. Faculty with disruptive students that interfere with the classroom learning environment should contact the Office of Student Life. Students with personal problems that do not interfere with the classroom environment should be referred to the Student Counseling Center.

Faculty don't know how best to encourage students to seek counseling.

Call the Counseling Center and seek their advice. Be persistent without being intrusive. Privately ask the student how the counseling is going. Faculty with students judged to be a threat to themselves or others should immediately escort the student to the Counseling Center.