Effectively Managing Classroom Behavior

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Effectively Managing Classroom Behavior

• Dr. Diana Brecher
• Counselling Centre

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OUTLINE

• Distinguishing between depression and grief
• Impact of panic attacks on academic performance
• Making timely and appropriate referrals
• Confidentiality

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DEPRESSION

• (1) Depressed mood
• (2) Markedly diminished interest or pleasure
• (3) Significant weight loss (or gain)
• (4) Insomnia or hypersomnia
• (5) Restlessness or slowed down speech body
  movements
• (6) Fatigue or loss of energy
• (7) Feelings of worthlessness or excessive
• or inappropriate guilt
• (8) Diminished ability to think or concentrate,
  or indecisiveness
• (9) Recurrent thoughts of death

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GRIEF

• Feelings Sadness, anger, guilt and self
  reproach, anxiety, loneliness, fatigue,
  helplessness, shock, yearning, numbness
• Physical sensations Hollowness in stomach,
  tightness in chest, tightness in throat, over
  sensitivity to noise, nothing seems real,
  breathlessness, weakness in muscles, lack of
  energy, dry mouth
• Cognitions Disbelief, confusion, and
  preoccupation with the deceased
• Behaviours Sleep disturbances, appetite
  disturbance, absent minded behaviours (spacing
  out), social withdrawal, dreams of the deceased,
  avoiding reminders of the deceased, sighing,
  restless over activity, crying

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DEPRESSION GRIEF

• (1) Depressed mood
• (2) Markedly diminished interest or pleasure
• (3) Significant weight loss (or gain)
• (4) Insomnia or hypersomnia
• (5) Restlessness or slowed down speech body
  movements
• (6) Fatigue or loss of energy
• (7) Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or
  inappropriate guilt
• (8) Diminished ability to think or
• concentrate, or indecisiveness
• (9) Recurrent thoughts of death

• (1) Feelings Sadness, anger, guilt and self
  reproach, anxiety, loneliness, fatigue,
  helplessness, shock, yearning, relief, numbness
• (2) Physical sensations Hollowness in stomach,
  tightness in chest, tightness in throat, over
  sensitivity to noise nothing seems real,
  breathlessness, weakness in muscles, lack of
  energy, dry mouth
• (3) Cognitions Disbelief, confusion, and
  preoccupation with the deceased
• (4) Behaviours Sleep disturbances, appetite
  disturbance, absent minded behaviours, social
  withdrawal, dreams of the deceased, avoiding
  reminders of the deceased, sighing, restless over
  activity, crying

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CRITERIA FOR A PANIC ATTACK

• A discrete period of intense fear or discomfort,
  in which four (or more) of the following symptoms
  developed abruptly and reached a peak within 10
  minutes

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PANIC ATTACKS

• heart palpitations, pounding heart or accelerated
  heart rate
• sweating
• trembling or shaking
• sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
• feeling of choking
• chest pain or discomfort
• nausea or abdominal distress

• feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint
• feelings of unreality and/or being detached from
  oneself
• fear of losing control or going crazy
• fear of dying
• numbness or tingling sensations
• chills or hot flushes

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WHAT YOU CAN DO

• During a presentation (the student will likely
  leave or freeze as a way of managing their
  symptoms)
• Reassure the student, encourage him or her to
  return to class and continue or offer another
  opportunity to redo the presentation at another
  time or in a different context

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WHAT YOU CAN DO

• During a test or exam (the student will likely
  leave early as a way of managing their symptoms)
• Offer the student an opportunity of either
  returning to the task or refer the student to the
  appropriate resource depending on the time of year

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ROLE OF FACULTY

• Support the distressed student by knowing the
  right referral resource on campus and how and
  when to make that referral
• Access Centre
• Counselling Centre
• Medical Centre

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COUNSELLING CENTRE

• Provides counselling and psychotherapy for
  anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, eating
  disorders, family issues
• Career counselling and educational planning
• Ryerson Safe House
• Ryerson Crisis Team

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LANGUAGE TO USE

• You seem to be fairly upset about this and I
  think that you could use some help in sorting out
  these issues. Im concerned about you and I
  would like you to consider talking to one of the
  counsellors in our Counselling Centre

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ACCESS CENTRE

• Provides academic accommodations and support for
  disabilities
• Temporary broken bones, bereavement,
  post-concussion side effects, aftereffects of a
  car accident
• Intermittent depression, anxiety ,PTSD
• Permanent physical disabilities, LD, ADHD,
  Aspergers, chronic illnesses, mental illness

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LANGUAGE TO USE

• You have raised several important concerns with
  respect to your need for academic accommodation.
  I would encourage you to contact our Access
  Centre to speak with a disability counsellor who
  can assist you this matter

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MEDICAL CENTRE

• Provides medical services and documentation for
• Physical and mental illnesses
• Injury, pain, discomfort
• Referrals for psychiatric care and/or other
  specialists

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CONFIDENTIALITY in Counselling Centre

• All contact information, including appointment
  times.
• No information regarding the clients
  counselling appears in his/her academic file.
• No one outside of the Counselling Centre staff
  has access to any information about what was
  discussed in the counselling sessions, unless the
  client gives his/her signed permission for
  specific information to be shared.
• The client may revoke his/her signed permission
  to release information by informing his/her
  counsellor within a reasonable time frame.

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LIMITS TO CONFIDENTIALITY

• Counsellors are required by law and/or the
  College of Psychologists of Ontario to waive
  confidentiality under the following
  circumstances
• The client is at imminent risk of harming
  him/herself or others
• There is a reasonable suspicion of emotional
  and/or physical neglect of a minor or a
  reasonable suspicion of emotional, physical, or
  sexual abuse of a minor
• The client reports having been sexually abused
  by a regulated health professional and provides
  the counsellor with the name of that professional
• There is a court subpoena for the counselling
  records (e.g. in criminal court cases in
  contentious child custody cases)