Helping Distressed or Distressing Students

The Suspicious Student

Typically, these students complain about something other than their psychological difficulties. They are generally tense, anxious, mistrustful, isolated, and have few friends. They tend to interpret minor oversights as significant personal rejection and often overreact to insignificant occurrences. They see themselves as the focal point of everyone's behavior and view everything that happens as having special meaning to them. They are overly concerned with fairness and being treated equally. Feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy underlie most of their behavior, though they may seem capable and bright.

DO:

Express compassion without intimate friendship. Remember, suspicious students have trouble with closeness and warmth

Be firm, steady, punctual, and consistent

Be specific and clear regarding the standards of behavior you expect

DON'T:

Assure the student that you are his/her friend. Instead, acknowledge that although you are not a close friend; you are concerned about him/her

Be overly warm and nurturing

Flatter or participate in his/her games. You don't know his/her rules.

Be cute or humorous

Challenge or agree with any mistaken or illogical beliefs

Be ambiguous