Student Support for Unexpected Anxiety and Grief
Often during times of extreme upheaval and uncertainty it can be difficult to take care of ourselves, let alone support the students in our courses. In addition to the significant, rapid alterations to their academic term, many students will feel overwhelmed by current world events and the substantial impacts on their personal and academic responsibilities. So, how can we help students whose routines and expectations have been ripped away from them?
A number of professors, myself included, have already expressed the feelings of loss associated with the transitions to remote teaching eliminating the chance that they’ll see their students in person to finish the term. The students are coping with losing their academic routine, their social structures, and some have been thrusted into precarious and lonely situations. Eventually students will begin to grieve the loss of their typical practices and habits, and experience disappointment that they didn’t have the opportunity to say goodbye, or for some of them, attend convocation with their classmates.
According to Halifax-based grief and trauma counsellor, Michelle Malloy (MEd), students will struggle with anxiety in the immediate future, because everything is so uncertain. “Anyone who struggles with anxiety,” according to Malloy, “will need to reach out for connection. Social distancing does not mean social disconnection. Feeling as if we are in this together will help develop a sense of safety, which is key to managing anxiety.” Connecting with your students virtually will help them feel connected and increase their ability maintain their education and their health as they work through this crisis.
How can you help alleviate some of the students’ anxiety right now?
Reach out to students and communicate that you care about them. Connecting with your students online is just as important (maybe more important) than ensuring they receive all the course content you prepared for the final weeks of classes. Perhaps you can create a meaningful presence by including a short introductory “welcome to our new classroom” video. Taking the time to support students through this crisis will result in better outcomes for them.
Use multiple modes of communication to reach students and ensure they’ve received current information about what your institution is doing to address any changes. It’s important for students to receive information more than once and in multiple ways because stress and anxiety can create reading comprehension challenges.
Consider students’ needs in your communications. Is there a resource for accessing food on campus at this time? What health and counselling supports are available? Who should students contact about academic accommodations? If you can, provide the contact information for these resources.
Managing grief will come later because, as Malloy explains, people may not be expecting it: “[Grief] is usually associated with death, but any unexpected loss needs to be grieved. I think it's important to remember our collective resilience at times like this. It is uncertain whether or not big things like convocation will happen. We have the opportunity to be creative and innovative when it comes to how we recover from this disruption.” While we may not have the opportunity to address student grief for this cohort, academic institutions should consider how they’ll support their new graduates in the coming months and faculty can support the next group of students in their courses. This crisis will reverberate through their academic careers and we’ll need to be compassionate and empathetic in the year ahead.
A special thanks to Michelle Malloy for providing her insights on this topic. Michelle is a trauma-informed therapist specializing in hope. She works with individuals and organizations going through transition. Michelle holds Master’s degrees in both Adult Education and Counselling, and is a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), a member of the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association, a Registered Counselling Therapist (RCT), and a member of the Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists.