Faculty/Staff Training and Resources

Student Counseling Service supports Miami faculty and staff by providing prevention-focused education and training. Learn more about introductory, intermediate, and advanced involvement opportunities for faculty and staff below. 

Introductory

• Campus Assistance Program
• Classroom Connections
• Consultation and Interview Services
• Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)

Intermediate

• Mental Health Ally Program
• Mental Health First Aid

Advanced

• Suicide Prevention Team

Introductory 

Classroom Connections, is a program from the Student Counseling Service for Miami faculty. As part of this program, you engage students in a short wellness activity at the start of class. The goal is to support positive mental health and build connection and trust with students.

When you sign up for Classroom Connections, you receive access to a Google Drive with digital content. This includes a variety of prompts that encourage reflection and discussion to help you connect with students at the start of the class or elsewhere. You can also request a free deck of "Stress Less" cards to use as prompts. 

Your Responsibilities

In order to help us improve the program, we ask that you share feedback at the end of the semester.

Sign up for Classroom Connections

For questions, email Laura Wonsik at WonsikLC@MiamiOH.edu. 

Introductory

CAP presentations support faculty and staff by teaching how to assist students in emotional distress. We focus on early support and referral. Your department can request a CAP presentation and a Student Counseling Service staff member will lead a 60-90 minute presentation.

The goals of CAP include:

• Educate our campus community about mental health issues facing our faculty, staff, and students.
• Increase understanding of how psychosocial struggles impact students’ academic performance, class attendance, health, and behavior.
• Assist faculty, staff, and students in identifying behaviors indicating a student may benefit from intervention.
• Teach skills to reach out to students who feel isolated, marginalized, and are less likely to seek help for their distress.
• Teach ways in which to offer and promote support services that best meet students’ needs.
• Encourage consultation with student support services throughout the university and community about referrals and case management for identified students.

Participants will learn the following steps in how to assist students in need:

1. Identify that the student is at risk.
2. Inquire by personally communicating your concerns and observations.
3. Encourage the student to seek help.
4. Refer the student to the appropriate service.

Contact Laura Wonsik at WonsikLC@MiamiOH.edu for more information. 

Introductory

Consultations

Students may request consultation for themselves or for others. Faculty, staff, and family members are also encouraged to request a consultation about a student. 

When seeking consultation in urgent situations, ensure that the student is physically safe by calling Miami University Police at 513-529-2222 or Oxford City Police at 911 for help when there is an immediate risk to health or safety. 

In less urgent situations, please call SCS at 513-529-4634 during working hours to schedule a phone, virtual, or in-person consultation with an available staff counselor.

Informational Interviews

Students, faculty, and staff are welcome to contact SCS to learn more about a psychological issue or obtain an interview from our staff.  

Please understand that clinical and urgent issues take precedence during busy times of the semester. We ask for a minimum of one week’s notice when you make informational requests for student academic papers, newspaper columns, and articles for academic purposes. At certain high-demand times of the academic year (e.g., the latter weeks of the semester), SCS staff may not be available to respond to these consultation requests due to the urgency of clinical demand for staff time.

Introductory

QPR teaches you how to respond to a mental health emergency, providing you tools for how to act when someone faces a serious risk.

Certified instructors teach three simple steps; how to Question, Persuade, and Refer. In just 90 minutes, you gain life-saving skills.

Goals of QPR Gatekeeper Training

• Recognize the warning signs of suicide.
• Learn how to offer and provide hope.
• Learn how to provide help and save a life through Question, Persuade, and Refer skills.
• Obtain resources available to help someone in crisis.

Training Audience

Anyone can serve as a mental health gatekeeper. Gatekeepers notice warning signs of suicidal risk and respond early. More trained gatekeepers means more saved lives.

Gatekeepers can be anyone including friends, coworkers, family members, faculty, staff, and community leaders.

*Those who complete a QPR training and an MHFA training qualify for the Mental Health Ally Program.

Register and Learn More

• Option 1: Training through Miami's Student Counseling Service
  • To register, visit our QPR registration page.  Upcoming training dates are listed there.
• Option 2: Envision Partnerships
  • Envision Partnerships, in collaboration with the Butler County Suicide Prevention Coalition, offers free QPR training. To learn how to bring a QPR Gatekeeper Training to your workplace, school, place of worship, or civic organization, contact Kristen Smith at 513-868-2100 ext. 228 or by email. 

You can also explore upcoming opportunities on the Envision Partnerships event calendar.

Questions?

Contact Laura Wonsik at WonsikLC@MiamiOH.edu

Intermediate

The Mental Health Ally program is a volunteer program led by the Student Counseling Service that provides faculty and staff with the skills and confidence to support students facing emotional or mental health challenges. The Mental Ally Program consists of training and consultation to build skills, comfort, experience, and knowledge around intervention, resources, and referral.

Mental Health Allies are not trained mental health counselors and they do not provide mental health counseling. Rather, they act as a supportive and informed first contact. They become part of a cohort of Miami faculty and staff and have access to ongoing support from SCS and access to shareable resources. They earn the Mental Health Ally title and display a sticker showing student support.

Requirements for faculty/staff to become a Mental Health Ally:

• Complete the Mental Health First Aid training.
• Complete the QPR Gatekeeper training.
• Attend at least one Mental Health Ally consultation session per academic year to maintain the designation.

Apply

If you have already completed the requirements above, apply to be a mental health ally.

Intermediate

Mental Health First Aid is an eight hour certification course. You will learn how to recognize mental health and substance use challenges and how to respond to them with confidence and care.

The training uses discussion, role-play, and real scenarios to offer practical skills for supporting adults in distress and/or crisis.

Miami University staff, faculty, and students may register. Classified staff may earn Job Enrichment points with supervisor approval. 

*Those who complete an MHFA training and QPR training qualify for the Mental Health Ally Program.

Upcoming Training

Participants complete a two hour self-paced online course, then attend a six hour in-person training focused on skills practice. The training includes multiple breaks and a one hour break for lunch on your own. 

Please sign up using the Mental Health First Aid Registration Form. Here you will find a list of training dates. We require at least five participants to hold the training. If we cancel, we will contact you and offer new dates.

Instructors

• Katherine Tylinski, Psy.D.
• Laura Wonsik. M.A., PCC
• Jennifer Young, Ph.D.

Visit our registration page

Questions?

Contact Laura Wonsik at WonsikLC@MiamiOH.edu