Supporting Students in Mental Health Crisis

Will Styler

Updated May 1st, 2026

When a student comes to you in a difficult moment, this can take many forms. Sometimes, the student starts off with a typical interaction, but ‘breaks down’ in the middle of (e.g.) talking about the exam. Sometimes the student seems like they’re just fine, but proceed to tell you about something very serious going on. Sometimes, a student will walk into your office already in emotional distress. Sometimes, you may just find yourself in a random hallway, unexpectedly helping somebody through the worst day of their lives.

This guide is designed to help you in the very short term, the moments between the student opening up, and your connecting them with professional help. For information about supporting students who are undergoing trauma or crisis in the longer term, please see my other guide on Supporting students through extraordinary circumstances and trauma.

There are four important phases to these immediate crisis interactions:

1. Managing Mandatory Reporting Obligations
2. Helping the student in the moment
3. Connecting the student with resources
4. Following up

We’ll walk through these step by step, offering guidance

Managing Mandatory Reporting Obligations

Most Professors and Instructional Assistants are Mandatory Reporters (‘Responsible Employees’)! Any time that you get the sense that a student is planning to disclose something personally difficult, particularly around Title IX issues like stalking, sexual harassment, or sexual violence on campus, you should pre-emptively (and gently) remind them of your mandatory reporting status.

My general approach, however awkward it feels to interrupt, is to stop them for a moment and say something like…

Hold on. I’m getting the sense you’re about to share something. I want to help you, and you’re welcome to talk with me about whatever’s going on, but before you tell me specifics, you should know that in my role, I have certain reporting obligations, particularly around incidents involving sexual violence or sexual harassment on campus, and I want you to stay in control of the situation until you decide what you want to do. So, you’re welcome to tell me about your situation knowing I have this obligation, you can talk in more general terms, without giving specifics so I can help you find the right people to talk to, or, I can connect you with confidential resources and advocates that you can talk with, who don’t have the same reporting obligations as I do.”

This usually results in one of three outcomes:

• In most cases, students will dismiss this with ‘oh no it’s nothing like that’, and you can gently apologize, and they’ll continue sharing.
• In other cases, students might choose to stop there, and you can skip straight to the ‘Connecting the student with resources’ section, directing them towards confidential resources (like CARE, Ombuds, CAPS, Student Health Services, FSAP), and ideally, walk with them to such a resource on campus.
• Finally, a student might choose to disclose anyway, in which case you can immediately follow up with:

“OK, you’re welcome to keep sharing and I want to support you, but do keep in mind my obligation to share aspects of what you tell me with OPHD after this meeting.”

Then, as soon as possible after the interaction ends and the student has been connected with resources, contact OPHD at UCSD to report the interaction.

Once these obligations have been addressed, you can focus on assisting the student.

Helping the student in the moment

Ultimately, you are not the student’s psychologist or therapist, and your goal needs to be connecting them with professional help. But, between ‘asking for help’ and ‘connecting with resources’, you are there in a critical moment, and your role matters! It may be that they’re opening up about this for the first time, or in a new context, or in a moment that they didn’t expect to, but badly needed to.

First, if you don’t know the student (e.g. you find them crying in a hallway), introduce yourself before you go any further, and get their name too. Make yourself human, and acknowledge their humanity. Now, how you’ll proceed depends partly on how the student is feeling and acting in this moment. I’ll focus here on five specific domains in mental health which are ‘scary’ for many people (crying/emotionality, delusional thinking, anger/agitation, suicidality, and trauma), and discuss how to address each of these as you support students in the moment.

Crying and Emotional Outbursts

There’s no ‘right’ way to support a student who’s crying or experiencing an emotional moment in your office, but here’s some general advice:

Do:

• Have tissues nearby to offer the student, and offer them compassionately
  • “Here, take as many as you need”
• If they start apologizing for their reaction, reassure them that it’s OK for them to be there and struggling in that moment
  • “Hey, don’t worry, it seems like you’re going through a lot, and it’s OK not to be OK”
  • “No need for apologies, I think a lot of people have moments like this at some points. I sure have.”
• Ask if they’d like you to close the door for privacy
  • Do not shut the door without asking, you don’t want them feeling trapped
• Quietly wave off other students waiting for office hours outside the door
• Give them time and space
  • “Hey, take whatever time you need, I’m here when you’re ready to talk”
  • The most acute phase lasts a couple of minutes, generally, and there’s value in just ‘letting it out’
• Try to stay calm and relaxed in voice and body language
  • They’ll meet your baseline. If you’re scared or anxious, they may match that
• If the student appears to be ‘spiraling’ or struggling to stabilize, take a moment to redirect their attention
  • “Hey, do you want to take some deep breaths with me? That often helps me feel better when I have these kinds of moments” and then model slow, even breathing (or box breathing)
  • If you think it’s safe to leave them alone, “I could use some tea, would you like a cup too? What’s your tea preference?”
• Focus on ways you can help academically
  • “Look, I’m a linguist, so I’m not the right person to help you with this situation with your parents. I’ll help connect you with some folks who can help more there in a few minutes, but, if you’d like, we can talk a little bit about ways to help you navigate the academic parts of your life while this is happening?”
  • You could also focus on the resources, “let’s figure things out with LING 101 another day, and focus on getting you to somebody you can talk with”

Do not:

• Don’t touch the student in any way
  • A reassuring hand on the shoulder or leg might be just what you’d do for a friend or family member, but may feel very frightening for a student in crisis
  • Be mindful of the power dynamic, and recognize that an offered hug may not feel like something a student can say ‘no’ to
• Don’t tell them to “calm down”, “stop crying” or “get it together”
  • This is not so different from shouting “stop burning” at a flaming appliance
  • They would almost certainly rather not be crying right now
  • In many cases, the student literally cannot regulate their emotions at this moment
• Don’t try to be their psychologist
  • You can be sympathetic and kind (‘that must be so hard’) without trying to be their therapist
  • Avoid questions which unnecessarily ‘go deeper into it’, “Tell me a bit more about your relationship with your father, has it always been bad?”
• Don’t rush them out of the room
  • It may be uncomfortable, but sitting quietly with them as they go through this is really important
  • Consider carefully whether leaving that student alone right now is worse than skipping your next meeting
  • If you absolutely must go, ‘hand them off’ to another resource, walking them over CAPS or connecting them with a friendly and safe person they can continue talking to and who can help them get resources

Disorganized or Delusional Thinking

Sometimes, a student comes to you and has clearly lost touch with reality, either altogether, or in specific domains. Remember that often, schizophrenia and related disorders commonly manifest in people’s lives around the age of 20-25, so it’s not uncommon that a student with no history of mental health difficulties suddenly finds themselves struggling.

‘Red Flags’ for student mental health crisis

As you’re talking with students or reading student assignments and communications, keep an eye out for…

• Delusional Thinking and Paranoia
  • Persecutory Delusions (e.g. “The CIA has put microphones and cameras in my dorm room…” and other forms of ‘somebody’s out to get me’) are common and strong red flags
  • Religious elements (e.g “I’m the reincarnation of Abraham”), grandiosity (e.g. “They’ve finally realized that I’m the rightful king of Canada”), and conspiracy (e.g. “My free energy generator interferes with the military weather control satellites”) are also common elements to look out for
  • Asking curious questions can sometimes help tease apart a student with a unique world view from a student who is disconnected from reality
• Response to Internal Stimuli
  • If the student is reacting to stimuli which you can’t see or hear (e.g. hearing or responding to voices, seeing ‘shadow people’ or other entities that aren’t objectively there), this is a red flag
• Confusion and disorientation
  • Addressing confusion with academic matters is a part of our job, but if a student is struggling to conduct a basic conversation, losing track of what they’re doing, or forgetting things which were said moments before, there may be more at play
  • If the student seems unclear about who, where, or when they are, this is a red flag
• Dissociation
  • If the student stops responding to stimuli, goes ‘blank’, or is barely responsive to the conversation, this is a red flag

In all of these cases, the student needs immediate professional assistance.

Do:

• Contact Triton CORE or, failing that, the UC Police Department
  • The ‘Triton CORE’ team is a mental health intervention team at UCSD designed to take the police out of this process
  • Remember, you can text UCPD or 911 and they’ll do the appropriate dispatch
  • If the student seems unstable, step into the hallway
  • “Hey, I’m so sorry, but I need to run down the hallway and use the bathroom, wait here, OK?”
  • You can also call, text, or ask a TA or colleague to call on your behalf
  • They are trained to do mental health evaluation, and will not take the student if there’s no actual problem
• Act curious, rather than judgemental
  • “Tell me a bit more about that?”
  • “How did you find this out?”
• Show sympathy
  • “I can’t even imagine how hard this is for you” when the student is expressing a difficult (but delusional) situation is not out of line
• If the student is acting concerningly or disruptively in class, end class early and let the other students leave
  • “Folks, I’m sorry, but there’s a lot on my mind today, so I’m just going to stop class here and we’ll pick up on Friday”
  • Then, approach the student who’s struggling and engage them in a conversation, or offer to walk with them to their next class

Do not:

• Don’t reinforce their delusions
  • Asking questions is one thing, but ‘playing into it’ will not help
  • “Oh, the CIA has lots of programs, who knows what they might do” may just increase their fears
• Don’t discuss any interventions in a threatening way
  • Avoid things like “If you don’t pull yourself together, you’re gonna end up in a psych ward”
  • Instead, choose something like “I’d like to connect you with some people who can help, is that OK?”
• Don’t mock or deride them
  • “You’re sounding really crazy right now” may be intuitive to say, but not helpful
  • “Wait, do you actually BELIEVE this?!” will not help either

Unfortunately, sometimes, these situations can lead to…

Agitated or Threatening Students

Sometimes, you’ll find a student is angry or agitated, in a way which goes beyond the normal “I don’t like my homework grade” anger, and in a way that doesn’t respond to arguments or reason. If you find yourself in an interaction where the student is agitated, angry, or threatening, and you realize that your safety or theirs is a concern, you’ll need to de-escalate the situation. To help with this…

Do:

• Listen to them and make them feel heard
  • Ask questions, keep them sharing, and redirect with a different question when a line of questioning is agitating them more
  • Validate their concerns where possible (e.g. “This must be incredibly hard for you”)
  • Find common ground in what they’re saying to humanize yourself (e.g. “Hey, you’re from Colorado? So am I!”)
  • “OK, tell me if I’ve got this right, you’re worried that…”
• Make an effort to understand the source of the agitation and what they need
  • “Is there anything we can do that would help right now?”
• Give them plenty of physical space
  • Consider standing with something (e.g. a table) between you and them
  • This is both for your safety, and their sense of safety
• Keep a soft and calm voice and non-threatening posture
  • Avoid sudden movements, and announce your actions ahead of time
  • Sit or stand at an angle to the student (rather than squared off), with your hands clearly visible
  • Take audible, deep breaths so that they might naturally join in
• Keep your communication simple and clear
  • Give a small set of options (e.g. “I think we’re not making progress today. Would you like to discuss this by email tomorrow, or make an appointment to talk another day?”)
  • Don’t explain complex things that they may not be in a position to understand or remember
• Consider your own exit route and safety plan
  • Think about where you’d go next if they became further agitated
  • Keep your door open
• Break the pattern of escalation
  • You can use innocent or self-deprecating humor to ‘break the tension’, if you feel comfortable
  • Take the blame. “Hey, I’m sorry if I’m making things feel tense, I’ve been having a really tough week, and I’m not at my best. What can I do to help right now?”
  • Ask an unexpected and unrelated question. “Oh, wait, that’s what I meant to ask you. Were you the student who had a friend who speaks Quechua?”
  • Take pauses before responding, with some deep breaths
• Consider requests or actions that buy you time to get help
  • “You’re right, this is a very tricky situation. Let me think about this this evening, and I’ll email you once I’ve decided”
  • “Let me grab my phone to look up your grades on Canvas”
  • “I left your exam in my office in my lab, hang out right here and I’ll go grab that”
  • “I’d like you to go back to your dorm room, grab that notebook you mentioned, and bring it back here. I’ll be here for the next hour.”
• Contact the UCSD Police as soon as it’s safe to do so
  • On our campus, they’re the first step for mental health interventions where the safety of the student and others is an immediate concern

Do not:

• Don’t argue with them or disagree
  • If their agitation doesn’t come from logic, logic won’t resolve it
  • Find something you can agree with in what they’re saying, and agree (e.g. “Wow, nobody should have to feel like they’re under constant surveillance” or “Of course, everybody should be graded based on the quality of their work”)
  • Redirect them instead (e.g. “We can help you resolve that later, for now, can we get you some water? Is there somebody you’d like me to call?”)
  • Sometimes, your goal is to end this interaction and get them help, not to resolve the disagreement or show that you’re correct
• Don’t escalate the situation needlessly
  • Don’t meet their angry or threatening body language with your own, consciously or not
  • “Hey, get out of my office, I’m going to call the cops” will likely not help
  • It is not important to ‘be right’ or ‘appear strong’ here, check your ego
  • Giving orders and ‘laying down the law’ will not help
• Don’t ‘gang up’ on them
  • Multiple people talking at them will only make things worse
  • Have one person talk to them, and let everybody else take some distance and watch

(Thanks to Richmond et al. 2012 for some of these suggestions)

Suicidality

It can be extremely scary to interact with somebody expressing to you that they’re contemplating ending their lives or harming themselves, if you’re not familiar with these feelings yourself and have never had these conversations. But, there is a way to handle it which can help the student.

Do:

• Address the matter directly, by asking a question like “Are you considering or planning self harm or suicide?”
  • Be straightforward and compassionate, you will not “put the idea of suicide” into their mind, this is an old myth
  • Ask even if there’s a chance the student might have been joking or ‘being dramatic’
• Advise students about 988 which is the national suicide and crisis lifeline (which can be called or texted)
  • “If you’d like, you can make the call right now. I could stand in the hallway for a bit if you’d prefer privacy.”
• Remember that ‘chronic suicidality’ is a thing that some people experience, and doesn’t pose an immediate threat
  • Many people always feel a bit suicidal, but without an immediate plan or intent to act on it. As long as they have support and resources, this isn’t itself an emergency
  • “Well, I guess I always kind of want to kill myself, but I don’t plan to actually do it any time soon” is a moment to check to see that they have resources, but not a crisis
• If they are imminently contemplating self harm or harm to others, contact Triton CORE, UCSD Police, and start the students of concern process immediately after the conversation
  • If possible, stay with the student until they arrive

Do not:

• Don’t panic or take rash actions
  • If you immediately clam up or grow anxious, the student may feel less likely to be open or honest with you
  • Don’t take out your phone and immediately call the police
  • If they wanted to harm themselves right now, they likely already would have. Reaching out for help and opening up is a good thing, so be kind in this moment
• Don’t downplay or seem to mock the student’s feelings
  • Avoid jokes like “Oh, I was in a meeting last week where I wanted to jump out the window. I get it.”
• Don’t try to forcibly prevent the student from leaving
  • Staying with the person until help arrives is a good idea, but don’t stop them from leaving if they want
  • Feeling trapped will not improve their mental state
  • You can encourage them to stick around, or offer to walk with them to (e.g.) CAPS or another resource, but you can’t and shouldn’t force them to stay with you
• Don’t take internal responsibility for their safety
  • You cannot prevent a determined person from engaging in self harm
  • Offer what you can, do what you can, and try to get them help, but remember that you are not responsible for their actions

Trauma and Extraordinary Circumstances

I’ve written an entire document describing how to support students going through trauma which focuses not on the immediate moment, but on the longer term, but here are some quick tips to remember:

Do:

• Believe the student
  • Truth can be stranger than fiction, and somebody a student trusts doubting their experiences can be hugely harmful
  • Even if something weren’t 100% accurate, it’s not your job to figure that out, and it’s still a cry for help
• Ask if they’re OK
  • “I know you might not feel OK now, but can you see a path to when you will be?”
• Ask them how you can help, given your role and expertise
  • “I’m glad you’re getting help, what can I do in my role as your Professor to help you get through this”
• Ask if they have sufficient support, and offer additional resources
  • “Do you already have somebody you’re able to talk with about this? Are you getting professional help here?”
  • “Do you have any needs that are unmet right now?”
  • “You might already know about this, but have you heard of [resource center]? They often support students in these situations”
• Understand Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • It’s incredibly common, and explains a lot of seemingly irrational or unhelpful behavior
• Offer a clear ‘path forward’ in the academic sphere
  • “Here are good next steps for you to take to get back on track in the classroom, and if you’d like, we can keep meeting regularly to help you catch up with anything you missed”
• Get help for yourself
  • ‘Secondhand trauma’ is very much a thing, and supporting people in crisis is hard emotional work
• Let them know that you’ll keep what they’ve told you in confidence
  • This assumes that there are no mandatory report obligations
  • Students might be afraid that you’ll gossip with colleagues or tell others, and shame is often strong in these areas

Do not:

• Don’t engage in any form of victim blaming or shaming
  • Even if you mean well, questions like “Why were you out that late?” or “What were you wearing?” or “Had you consented before?” can be incredibly hurtful
  • Also be careful with things like “Why didn’t you report this?”, “You should’ve told me when it happened!”, or “If you don’t call the cops, he might just do it again to somebody else and then it’s your fault”
• Don’t immediately shift into ‘fix it’ mode
  • Academics often jump straight to ‘problem solving’ and brainstorming ‘solutions’, but this may not be what the student wants or needs
  • You might not have enough information to give good ‘solutions’, and they might not be ready to start that process yet
  • You could ask if they’d like to brainstorm, but giving solutions is not a substitute for listening to them and providing compassion
• Don’t make assumptions about the severity or veracity of their situation based on their emotional response
  • Numbness or dissociation can mean a student is deep in crisis, but talking and interacting normally
  • Similarly, people can decompensate once finally safe, and experience emotional crisis after the (objective) worst has passed

Connecting the student with Resources

No matter what happens in your discussion, above all else, make sure that the student leaves your care with good resources and a path forward. This can take a few forms, presented in order of decreasing urgency:

• Emergency Intervention: Calling 911, Triton CORE, or a similar service to get immediate help
  • This should be used when you are concerned that the student is a direct and immediate threat to themselves or others
  • This may involve police presence, and could result in a psychiatric ‘5150’ hold if the clinicians or officers deem it prudent
• Warm Hand-Off: Walking with the student directly to a relevant campus office (e.g. CAPS or CARE), and leaving only once you know they’re with somebody who can give the assistance they need
  • This is ideal for a student who is in crisis (but who does not pose an immediate risk), or a student who is really struggling and needs the extra support to ask for help
  • Get in the habit of offering this to students who are struggling, “Hey, my next meeting is in the building next door, do you want to walk over to CAPS together?”
• Triton Concern Process: For Non-Urgent concerns about a student’s well-being, you can use the Triton Concern Form to get them connected with a case manager
  • It’s a good idea to tell the student that you’re doing this to help connect them to resources, so they’re not surprised when they’re contacted and don’t feel like they’re ‘in trouble’
  • “UCSD has a way to have a case manager reach out to talk to you, help you, and make sure you get priority access to resources. Would you like me to start that process?”
  • Note that this process might take several business days for the student to be contacted.
• Mandatory Reporting: When you contact OPHD at UCSD to make a report, the student will be contacted and offered the opportunity to meet with OPHD and other advocates
  • Note that Mandatory Report is an administrative process, and does not replace (e.g.) Triton Concern, so you should still offer mental health resources alongside making your report
• Contact Information: Giving students an email or note with information about relevant resources, for them to follow up on their own
  • This is the best choice for a student who is ‘doing OK’, but just needs to know where to go next

Regardless of the method you choose, the key here is to make sure that students don’t leave your office feeling scared, unsupported, or hopeless, and that they know there are people they can talk to as part of their next steps.

Commonly Used Resources

Some of the most common resource needs you’ll face are:

• Support for Survivors of Sexual Assault, Sexual Violence, Family/Partner Violence, or Stalking (CARE at SARC at UCSD)
• Mental Health Support (CAPS at UCSD for students, FSAP for faculty)
• Support for people facing harassment or discrimination on campus (OPHD)
• Support for people navigating conflict on campus (Ombuds)
• Student Legal Services (UCSD’s Version)
• Basic Needs (e.g. food, housing, transportation) Issues (211 or The Hub at UCSD)
• The National Suicide Hotline (988) available by Call or Text
• Here’s a list of other resources on campus
  • Also included here are the UCSD ‘Dean of Students’ for each college, who also have case management staff and can help connect students with resources

Department Level Resources

It’s possible that a student in crisis might also benefit from department level help (e.g. getting policy exceptions, or advising about leaves of absence). You can talk with the student about this directly, for example:

“Hey, I think it might be helpful for our Chair to know some of this for [Reasons X, Y and Z]. Would you like me to connect you two? Or, would you like me to talk with him directly? What are you OK with my sharing?”

Regardless, it’s critical for the student to feel like they’re in control of what is and isn’t shared (assuming mandatory reporting doesn’t apply), so follow the student’s lead and respect their wishes.

Following up

This last step is optional, but generally a kindness. Consider gently checking in with the student, either next time you see them, or a few days later by email. This is particularly relevant if you simply leave them with contact information for resources, but generally never hurts. As you’re checking in…

Do:

• Keep it light
  • “Just checking in after our conversation the other day to see if there’s anything else I can do to help”
  • You don’t need to re-open the entire conversation or solicit more sharing
  • The best answer you can get here is “No, I’m doing much better, thanks for the resources!”
  • Sometimes, a simple ‘thumbs up’ with raised eyebrows after class is enough
• Follow the students’ lead
  • Some students want to continue to check in, others want to pretend the conversation never happened
  • Some students feel are open after, some very much close off or avoid you after, both are fine responses
• Offer flexibility where it’s relevant and fair
  • “Hey, I know you’ve got a lot going on, so if you need to turn the midterm paper in next week, that’s fine by me”
• Leave the metaphorical door open, and continue showing warmth and compassion
  • Students may be worried that they ‘burned a bridge’ or that you no longer want to interact with them
  • “Great, well, I’m always here if you need anything else” is a good vibe
  • Some traumas may come with intense shame or guilt, so demonstrating that what you know doesn’t change your opinion of them is valuable
• Take time to take care of yourself
  • Helping students is wonderful, but help yourself too
  • Make time for self-care in the aftermath
  • Give yourself space to not be OK

Do not:

• Don’t demand details
  • “Hey, did have a good conversation with CAPS?” demands information about their therapy session and whether they’re in treatment
  • Limit it to simple questions where needed, “Did a Case Manager ever get in touch with you, or would you like me to reach out to them again?”
  • Students may well volunteer more information, but don’t ask questions which force them to
• Don’t follow up in front of classmates or colleagues
  • A classmate’s “What was that about?!” might be an awkward question for them to answer
• Don’t include specifics from the discussion in your message to them
  • University emails may not be private from parents, administrators or abusers, so keep it vague
  • Write emails which could just as easily refer to guidance on academic subjects
  • “Just checking in to see if you were able to get what you needed from those resources after our chat the other day?”
• Don’t treat the student differently afterwards
  • Many students fear being stigmatized for struggling with mental health or being a survivor of trauma
  • Avoiding the student reinforces this stigma, but so does coddling or being overbearingly concerned for them
  • Be kind, be compassionate, but treat them as you would any other student
  • For many trauma survivors, normalcy is a virtue, and they may appreciate one place where ‘nothing changed’
• Don’t demand a response
  • Some students may never reach back out or respond
  • You are not owed a response or followup from that student
• Don’t ‘call them in’ or force a meeting to follow up
  • Don’t demand that they meet with you again to follow up, but instead, suggest or offer
  • Be very explicit about why you’re suggesting a meeting (“Hey, it might be useful for us to chat so we can discuss how to handle HW1 and HW2 in light of what’s going on”)
  • The power dynamic here is real, and a student who might not want to talk about it again might feel obligated because you control their grade and (could) influence their degree path

Appendix: Designing your Space for Student Comfort

Although we often don’t have control over where these interactions take place, there are simple ways to ensure that the space that you use for interacting with students is calm and comforting:

• Keep your door open while talking with students as a matter of general practice
  • If a student is talking about something private, you can always add a “If you’d like, you can close the door”
  • Generally speaking, inviting the student to close the door (rather than doing so yourself) is a good best practice
• Have tissues available, but not directly at the table with the student
  • This gives you a moment, if a student begins crying, to take a breath and ground yourself, as you’re ‘getting some tissues’
• If possible, arrange the room with a table or desk directly between yourself and the student when talking
  • The presence of a barrier between yourself and the student provides some symbolic and practical safety
• If possible, arrange the room such that the student is between you and the door.
  • Put differently, whenever possible, do not sit or stand between the door and the student
  • You never want the student to feel ‘trapped’ or like they can’t get out without your help, even if you feel you’re not a threat
  • This may feel excessive, but remember that students may not be reacting to you, but to difficult situations from their past
• When you have multiple students ‘in line’ for office hours, feel free to ask something like “Does anybody have a grade question or anything else they’d like to talk about one-on-one?”
  • Don’t just ‘invite everybody in’ unless you’re sure everybody is there to talk about normal class things

Cited References and Acknowledgements

• Verbal De-escalation of the Agitated Patient: Consensus Statement of the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry Project BETA De-escalation Workgroup (Richmond et al. 2012, in Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, DOI: 10.5811/westjem.2011.9.6864)

• Thanks very much to Jessica Styler, LCSW, for her consultation and advice on this document

All content © Copyright 2011-2026 Will Styler unless otherwise licensed. Please contact for relicensing.