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Peers with problemsStudents can help when peers are in trouble.
"Stress is a big part of grad school," says Delardo, now a fourth-year psychology student at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. "Although we're being trained to help people with their lives, that doesn't make us immune to problems."
Delardo is the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) representative to APA's Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance (ACCA). Whether the issue is depression, drinking or something else, impaired students can derail their training, monopolize faculty's time and reflect poorly on their departments. At worst, patient care can be compromised. And although fellow students may recognize problems before faculty do, many don't know how to react to a peer's impairment. Others may be reluctant to intervene in what can be awkward situations. "It can be troubling and upsetting to see classmates in distress," says Stephen Behnke, JD, PhD, director of APA's Ethics Office. "Psychology has a good deal of work to do in examining how best to address impairment among our colleagues. It's completely understandable that students may feel overwhelmed or not know how best to respond when a classmate is struggling with a potentially serious disorder or addiction." But, say Behnke and others, psychology graduate students can help their troubled peers.
A QUANDARY Student impairment is an issue that psychology departments face frequently, says University of South Dakota psychology and MBA student Matthew N.I. Oliver in a 2004 article in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (Vol. 35, No. 2, pages 141–147). Oliver's survey of 46 students in clinical training programs found that most were confused about what to do when peers have problems. They also resented faculty who ignore such situations. Students and faculty alike may be reluctant to intervene, admits ACCA Chair Roberta L. Nutt, PhD, director of the counseling psychology program at Texas Woman's University in Denton. "Whether they're faculty or students, they're not quite sure how to go about it without giving offense or making the person angry," she says. Getting involved can also be stressful, adds Nutt. Students may distrust their own judgment, she says, or worry about snitching on a friend and getting that person in trouble. However, students themselves are often better positioned than faculty to recognize trouble, says ACCA member Jeffrey Pincus, PhD, a private practitioner with Riegler, Shienvold and Associates in Harrisburg, Pa. "Students are more likely to talk candidly about personal issues with each other than with faculty," he says. "And they spend much more time with each other."
WHAT TO DO So what should you do if you suspect a peer's in trouble? Here's some advice from ACCA members and others:
Don't deal with the problem in isolation, say Delardo and others. Check whether your department has a written policy on student impairment and get a second opinion by consulting a psychologist or professor. Without naming names, describe the situation and ask for guidance. In fact, Behnke points out, APA's Ethics Code encourages psychologists to consult with colleagues. A trusted professor or university ombudsman, for example, can help you determine whether you might talk with the peer yourself or if the situation is serious enough–if patient care is being affected, for instance–to turn the matter over to your department.
"Say ‘We're in such a stressful situation, it's certainly understandable that this is happening,'" suggests Ronda L. Dearing, PhD, a research scientist at the Research Institute on Addiction at the State University of New York in Buffalo. "Then say, ‘But because of those demands, it's important to act now rather than letting things get worse.'"
A LONG-TERM PLAN Of course, it's easier to intervene when a crisis hits if your department already has programs and policies in place to handle impairment. But many don't. In fact, APAGS chair-elect Kristi Sands Van Sickle, many departments lack programs that ensure psychology graduate students' access to therapy. That's a problem, since many students can't afford care on their own or avoid campus services because their own professors and peers are the ones providing therapy. Van Sickle helped do something about that in her department at the Florida Institute of Technology. "I'd done an anonymous survey of our program's students, and it was clear they wanted access to services," says Van Sickle, now a psychology intern at the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tampa, Fla. That led to a task force that compiled a list of local providers who agreed to offer reduced student rates. One provider even agreed to waive co-payments for students with mental health coverage. Departments also need policies, suggests Nancy S. Elman, PhD, an associate professor of applied developmental psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, in a 2004 article in Professional Psychology (Vol. 35, No. 2, pages 123–130). She recommends that departments establish written policies regarding the way psychotherapy can be recommended or required as part of remediation plans for impaired students. Janine Delardo is happy to see her own department moving in that direction. Because of past incidents, she says, faculty members are developing formal policies about peer impairment. "As students we're under so much pressure to keep working toward our goal of being psychologists we sometimes forget about our own health," she says. "If someone I had a close bond with had reached out to me, I would have appreciated it." By Rebecca A. Clay Rebecca A. Clay is a writer in Washington, D.C. Also in DEGREE In sight …
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© 2008 American Psychological Association |
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