Reference no: EM133239238
Case: Many times, crises have warning signs prior to the escalation. The student affairs professional will want to be aware of and looking for the warning signs. The return on the investment of time and energy spent recognizing and mitigating potential dangers is substantial and rewarding for staff and student leaders alike. The development of university cross-functional teams will assist in acknowledging a shared responsibility for detection, intervention, and remediation of campus dangers.
You have been notified by one of the student leaders that a student has been causing herself harm by cutting her arms. Jordan, a junior from the other side of the country, lives on campus and is a psychology major.
It seems every October she comes up on the radar of the university's team responsible for caring for students who at times may have self-harming behavior. Her freshman year, her roommates shared with their resident assistant about the cutting they had seen on her arms and legs. In the October of her sophomore year, she wrote a paper in her English class about her eating disorders. During the summer between her sophomore and junior years, she made known on social media about how difficult it was being home away from her friends. It is now November and the roommate conflict is beginning to build.
Unbeknownst to anyone, including Jordan, she will be taking a concoction of sleeping pills and other medicines to attempt to take her life in mid-December. While student affairs professionals do not know the future, they do know the past and have the responsibility to recognize potential dangers.
Question 1: What potential warning signs may signal an imminent crisis?
Question 2: What can be done to prevent the crisis or the escalation of the crisis?
Question 3: What are the most appropriate strategies to assist Jordan based on her history?
Question 4: What cross-functional teams on campus would share responsibility for detection, intervention, and resolution of these crises?