Many parents feel ill-equipped to facilitate conversations with their adult children about mental health issues. The reality is, there is no “perfect” way to have these conversations, but there are many really great ways to let your child know you care. Your job in these conversations is to listen without judgment, and offer as much information as you have. When you feel like you don’t know the answer, that’s OK – just use the resources provided on this page to guide yourself and your child to someone who can help.

Hospitalization of a loved one and what follows after discharge from treatment is often a very difficult, overwhelming time. The first signs of mental health conditions frequently emerge during early adulthood, therefore the onset or intensification of symptoms is a common experience among college students resulting in suicidal ideation or immediate mental health care needs. Additionally, the amount of stress many college students are under due to academic, career, or other external pressures can also contribute to psychiatric distress requiring hospitalization. If your loved one is an Ocean County College student and has recently been hospitalized, please review the following for tips and recommendations to facilitate a safe recovery and return to school:

• Ensure development of a comprehensive after-care plan with the hospital treatment team. This may include outpatient treatment programs, therapists, psychiatrists, and any other relevant community supports. Ideally this is completed prior to discharge from the hospital; however in the event this is not provided, call the hospital and ask for referrals based on their clinical recommendations. Depending on any authorization for release of protected health information, hospital staff may only be able to speak with the person receiving care. They may need to make this phone call themselves to receive this information.

• Familiarize yourself with available resources, and encourage your loved one to connect in their community. These may include (but are not limited to): self-help meetings, local non-profits that support basic needs, and crisis hotlines. Many of such resources are listed on our website, as well as ULifeline (search for OCC under “Find Your School”).

• Connect with OCC Counseling Services. Ocean County College provides free, confidential mental health counseling to all OCC and Kean-Ocean students. Licensed counselors are available to provide short-term counseling, crisis assessment and intervention, as well as referral services for ongoing treatment and linkage with additional supports. A strong protective factor against continued distress is a sense of connection or belonging in one’s community. Having a relationship or “safe place” on campus often provides students with reassurance needed to feel comfortable returning to school. OCC Counseling Services is not otherwise informed if one of our students are hospitalized. Therefore, it is very important our students or their families advise of such circumstances in order to receive our support.

• Engage in open, nonjudgmental conversation. Simply talking about mental health conditions, symptoms, concerns, and experiences reduces stigma and encourages your loved one to continue to be open about his or her challenges. Symptoms worsen in the darkness. Providing support and assurance that you are a safe person to talk to is immensely helpful.

• Develop a safety plan. Talk with your loved one about any high risk situations and plan steps ahead of time to ensure safety. If your loved one has expressed suicidal thoughts and has talked about a plan (or has attempted suicide) remove any access to means of acting on this. Common ways of removing access to means include: securing all medications, removing/securing any firearms or other weapons in the home. Talk with your loved one about what is needed to increase safety in your individual circumstance, or enlist the help of a counselor to complete this task.

• Be sure to take care of yourself, and that your loved one does the same. It is incredibly important during periods of high stress that you and your loved one are getting sufficient sleep, eating nutrient-dense foods, drinking water, exercising, avoiding drugs/alcohol, and taking medication as prescribed (if applicable).

• Consider speaking with a counselor yourself. Caregiving can be very stressful, and you may find it helpful to have a place of your own to discuss any fears, thoughts, or questions you have along the way.

Once you have identified concern for a student there are several things you could do to help. Many times, staff and faculty provide adequate support through listening and simple problem-solving; however, there are situations when it would best serve the student to encourage them to seek professional help. The following are tips for having the conversation about a referral to counseling services:

• Speak to the student in a direct, concerned, straight-forward manner
• Communicate clearly the reasons you are concerned and why you believe counseling would be helpful. Let the student know you are doing so because you care about them.
• Explain the services provided by the counseling department. Direct the student to our webpage under Information and Resources for Students
• Sometimes it is useful to help the student make the initial appointment. You can offer to call with the student, or in some cases it might be necessary to walk the student over to our office. In those cases, call our office at extension 2911 and we will be sure to have a counselor available when you arrive.
• If you need help in deciding on whether or not it is appropriate to make a referral, contact us with any questions or to request a consultation.

If you need immediate assistance from a counselor due to a student in crisis or distress, call Counseling Services at ext. 2911 or security at ext. 2200.

File a CARE Report

• The purpose of the CARE Team is to facilitate communication, assessment, decision-making and action about potential and real risk situations, involving persons of concern, including students, faculty, staff and visitors.
• The CARE Team is focused on the safety of the individual and the campus community through pro-active and early intervention activities.
• Membership of the CARE Team is comprised of representatives from faculty, student affairs, academic affairs, human resources, college administration, and security.
• Submitting a CARE Report can be done anonymously, but doing so limits the capabilities of the CARE Team in investigating the report and gathering additional information. When the reported concern is related to a mental health issue or student in distress, a counselor will take appropriate action.

Confidentiality Note: Due to confidentiality laws surrounding counseling, we may not be able to provide information related to the outcome of student outreach and involvement in counseling. Students have the ability to sign a Consent to Release Confidential Information form to permit such communication, but this is a voluntary action and is only requested when doing so would help to facilitate resolution of the student’s concern. While we greatly appreciate your referral and understand the concern for your students, we are legally required to maintain confidentiality and privacy when our services are provided.