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What does it mean when we speak of a student’s ‘psychological crisis’?

In everyday language, a crisis usually refers to a new, unanticipated situation that creates uncertainty or casts doubts in general as to whether the situation can be dealt with. An unanticipated situation that shocks a person, threatening or undermining their sense of security and their feeling that they can manage, may trigger a mental readjustment process, that is, a psychological crisis. A person with access to needed support and resources can get through a psychological crisis, and after dealing with it, life can return to a state of relatively stability.

The student years are for many people a special time in life. Crises encountered during that time may have a very strong, if brief, effect on their everyday life and studies. The student in that situation may need a variety of support for dealing with the crisis and getting their life back to normal. As a member of staff, you are not responsible for treating a student in a crisis or trying to resolve their situation. Operating within the limits of your own work role is enough, and referring the student to where they can receive other help. 

These guidelines refer to three types of crisis situations affecting students: 

1. a situation that triggers a mental crisis in a specific student is an individual psychological crisis
2. a situation that expands from an individual crisis to affect a number of other students is a collective crisis
3. a collective crisis may also a situation that from its onset and by its nature affects the wider community Collective crises have three subdivisions:
   • a collective crisis occurring in one of ´¡²¹±ô³Ù´Ç’s schools or in some community inside Aalto
   • a collective crisis originating outside the community (such as a natural disaster abroad), and
   • a crisis affecting the Aalto community as a whole. 

A) Individual crises (students)

A crisis affecting an individual student's own study and work abilities generally does not affect more students and is therefore not a collective crisis.

A student's life crisis

Crises involving life situations: A major change, such as moving to live on one’s own, the end of an intimate relationship, the death of a loved one, a serious illness or unexpected financial problems.

Traumatic crises: The student (or a close relationship) falling victim to a serious crime or accident, or witnessing such a situation befalling another, or experiencing a sudden and overwhelming loss. Although the student may say they managed to get by ‘with only scratches’, a trauma once experienced may easily resurface.

How to respond in your role as a teacher or advisor?

• Students who are going through a personal crisis may discuss the matter with you on their own initiative if, for example, it could affect their studies or their well-being. If possible, take the time to stop and listen to the student.
• As a teacher or advisor, you can ask the student whether they have a need for individual arrangements for completing a course, or how the situation may affect the their study plan, and then refer the student forward, if necessary.
• Tell the student, if necessary, that crisis support is available and direct them to where they can find it. Emailing the same information later is recommended as this makes it easier to return to the matter again, if necessary.
• Sometimes a student's behaviour, record of absences or other matters may cause you concern about the student's well-being. Feeling concern or confusion is usually a sign that the matter should be brought up and discussed. For tips on how to bring up the matter for discussion, see the section below.

Encountering a self-destructive student

If you have suspicions that a student is having self-destructive ideation, try to calm down yourself first. If the suspicion is based on the student's writing in a message or assignment, the urgency of the situation is usually low enough to allow you time to consider how to proceed or to consult with your supervisor, for example. If the suspicion arises in a discussion where you are advising the student, you can try to ask about the matter directly and refer the student forward. It is safe and recommended to ask about suicidal thoughts directly; talking about suicidal thoughts does not increase the risk of committing suicide.

The most important thing in such situations is to underline that help is available and to refer the student forward for more help. If the situation comes up suddenly, you may forget to refer the student; in that case, you should return to the matter later in a confidential manner.

Some rules of thumb for acting in such situations:

• If you have suspicions, ask the student directly
• Focus on listening
• Guide the student to seek help
• Call the emergency number (112), if necessary.
• Remember your own self-care.

More information is available below.

B) An individual situation that can become a collective crisis

In the following, we discuss crises of the individual that can become crises affecting many members of the community. In crises of this kind involving students, the responsibility for operations and for organising crisis support lies generally with the school's manager of academic affairs.

Sudden death of a member of the community (by accident, fit or seizure)

The sudden death of an Aalto student or staff member is a jarring incident for those who knew the deceased, and it may also raise many kinds of thoughts and feelings even among those who didn’t know the deceased personally. A sudden death often causes a collective crisis. At such times, crisis support for the community is needed. 

Important to inform the manager of academic affairs:

• If you find out that a student has died, inform the school's manager of academic affairs as soon as possible. The manager of academic affairs will ensure that the psychologist group in charge of collective crisis work at the school has been informed.
• It is also important for the manager of academic affairs to be informed as soon as possible in the event of an employee's death. The manager ensures that students receive collective crisis support, especially if the deceased had teaching or advising duties. 

The school’s manager of academic affairs also makes the decision about organising crisis support. The manager consults with ´¡²¹±ô³Ù´Ç’s psychologist group responsible for collective crisis support. The psychologists can arrange crisis discussions with the group of students together in cooperation with Aalto chaplains.

• If the deceased has not been an active member for a long time, there is not necessarily a need to organise collective crisis support.
• Generally speaking, the situation is always a collective crisis if suicide or crime is suspected or the case attracts media attention (for example, if the deceased was a public figure or a missing person subject to extensive search operations). 

Aalto has comprehensive instructions on how to act if a student or employee dies:

Guidelines for staff in the event of a student’s death | Aalto University

Dealing with the death of an employee | Aalto University

Serious close-calls on campus or in studies

A serious close call experienced by a student refers to an incident on campus or in studies where the student’s health or life had been at serious risk, but they managed to ‘dodge the bullet'. These may include a hazardous situation in a laboratory or in traffic on the campus grounds. 

The situation may trigger a psychological crisis in one or more individuals. In these, the mind attempts to deal with the incident through catastrophic thinking or speculating about what might have occurred. This may expand to a collective crisis if others eye-witnessed the scene or identified strongly with it through another’s report (‘this might have happened to me’ or ‘to us’).

The risk that the situation will cause later fear or avoidance behaviour may be reduced if the affected student(s) are offered opportunities to talk through what occurred. Many students may feel that they do not need support in a situations that were merely close calls. There are not always symptoms of a psychological crisis. However, some reactions may be delayed and arise after several days or weeks have passed. Therefore, it is important to tell all affected students and parties that crisis help is available, giving the same information in writing (via email) regardless of their immediate response to the situation.

How to respond in your role as a teacher or advisor?

• When a close-call situation comes to your attention, find out what happened, who was there and how the matter was handled (if you were not there). In addition to making sure that concrete safety measures are now in place, remember that students who were present may still be shaken up by the experience, i.e. in a state of psychological shock, and may be in need of crisis support without realising it.
• Make sure students know where they can turn for easily approachable counselling.
• If the situation occurs at an event organised by a student or a group that you are responsible for, contact your supervisor. If the situation is serious, you must also inform the school's manager of academic affairs and the head of security and risk management.
• The manager of academic affairs may consult with ´¡²¹±ô³Ù´Ç’s psychologist group in charge of collective crises on what kind of support students should be offered in the situation.
• If the incident was related to teaching or supervision (e.g. in a laboratory), it is good to go through it unhurried manner with all the students who were present and to do so under the supervision of e.g. the teacher-in-charge by the end of following day.
  • Discuss what happened, what kind of thoughts the incident gave rise to, and how now to move on.
  • It is important to remind the students once more that support is available or to provide them with the information in writing.
• Whenever a close-call incident occurs in a campus area, an incident report must be written up. Incident report | Aalto University

Member of the community whose behaviour raises concern, fears or uncertainty

This generally means to either an individual incident or series of incidents arising during teaching or in the campus area in which an individual’s behaviour raises concerns, fears or uncertainty. This may turn into a collective crisisif, for example, the individual is a student and known to the group, or if there is a threat of violence. It should be noted that threats of violence to a community can generally always be regarded as a collective crisis.

Procedures when encountering a threatening individual are available in ´¡²¹±ô³Ù´Ç’s security guidelines. In a threatening situation, your first priority is to ensure your own safety and that of others; call for help when it is possible to do so. See /en/security#8-procedures-in-case-of-encountering-a-threatening-individual 

In most cases, situations that raise concerns, fears or uncertainty do not appear at once as clear threats; instead, members of the community notice disquieting signs over a longer period of time. Such latent or smouldering crises may also affect relations within the community. It is therefore important to take any concerns expressed by other students seriously and try as soon as possible to get to the bottom of the matter between the students and the individual who is causing the concern.

How to respond in your role as a teacher or advisor?

• When the situation comes to your attention, find out what has happened, who was present and how the matter has been handled (if you were not there yourself). In addition to making sure that concrete safety measures are in place, remember that students who have been present may be upset or in a state of shock. Such students may be in need of crisis support without realising it.
• If the situation occurs at an event organised by a student or a group that you are responsible for, contact your supervisor. If the situation is serious, you must also inform the school's manager of academic affairs and the head of security and risk management.
• Make sure students know where they can turn for easily approachable counselling.
• The manager of academic affairs may consult, if necessary, with ´¡²¹±ô³Ù´Ç’s psychologist group in charge of collective crises on what kind of support students in the situation should be offered.
• If the incident was related to teaching or supervision, it is good to go through it unhurried manner with students who were present and to do so under the supervision of e.g. the teacher-in-charge or a person designated by the manager of academic affairs by the end of following day.
  • Discuss what happened, what kind of thoughts the incident gave rise to, and how now to move on.
  • It is important to remind the students that support is available or to provide them with the information in writing.
  • When discussing the matter with the students, the student of concern may or may not be present, depending on the situation. This is decided by the manager of academic affairs or by their designee.
• Whenever an incident occurs in a campus area, an incident report must be written up. Incident report | Aalto University. 

Bullying and harassment

The Aalto community does not accept any form of inappropriate conduct, bullying or harassment. Students who have been, or suspect that they have been, subject to inappropriate conduct or harassment can go to the link below to find procedures for situations that occurred in the context of the university or that involved members of the Aalto community.

Support in cases of harassment | Aalto University and Instructions for investigating suspected cases of misconduct and disruptions of student learning | Aalto University

Psychological crises caused by bullying or harassment

• An incident or suspected incident of bullying and harassment may lead to psychological crisis in the affected student, and it is important that, in addition to practical guidelines, the student is provided with information on where they can receive crisis support.
• For others in the community who are close to the affected person, the bullying or harassment may become evident and cause conflicts, a psychological burden or feelings of helplessness/bewilderment. This does not mean, however, that cases of an individual being harassed or bullied always lead to a collective psychological crisis. In any case, however, it is good to tell the community close to the affected person about the support available.
• Bullying or harassment that is long-term or widespread can often become a collective crisis; it is then important to determine under the direction of the manager of academic affairs the need for collective crisis support.

As all situations of conflict and discord are not necessarily related to bullying or harassment, it may sometimes be useful to resolve the situation through mediation. Aalto University also offers mediation for conflicts between students (however, not for conflicts occurring during free time): /en/applications-instructions-and-guidelines/instructions-for-investigating-suspected-cases-of-misconduct-and-disruptions-of-student-learning#12-4-other-possible-measures---mediation

C) Collective crises in an Aalto school or among the Aalto community

The student crises presented above are individual-level crises that are not automatically collective crises, but may escalate and become so. In the following, we discuss crises that should be regarded as collective crises right from the start. Crises at the collective level occurring in an Aalto school and affecting students are led generally by the manager of academic affairs or their designee.

Missing person, suicide (or suspected suicide), or homicide victim

Generally speaking, the situation is always a collective crisis in the case where the person who died was an active member of the community and suicide or crime is suspected or the case attracts media attention (e.g. the deceased was a public figure or a missing person subject to extensive search operations). In such cases, it is always important to offer crisis support to students.

See the section ‘Sudden death of a member of the community’

Threatened (but unrealised) violence against a community

Serious threats to any specific community among Aalto, are, in principle, collective crises, and therefore the need for collective crisis support must be ascertained under the direction of the manager of academic affairs. 

See section ‘Member of the community whose behaviour raises concern, fears or uncertainty`.  

Accident in studies or on campus (excluding major accident)

Accidents in an Aalto school context are, in principle, a collective crises, and therefore the need for collective crisis support must be determined. The guidelines in the section Serious close-calls on campus or in studies may apply to these situations. 

If the mishap results in fatalities and/or serious injury or may otherwise be considered a major accident, it is a collective crisis affecting Aalto University as a whole.

Serious, widespread or long-term bullying or harassment

Bullying or harassment that is long-term or widespread can often become a collective crisis; it is then important to determine students’ need for collective crisis support.

See the ‘Bullying and harassment’ section.

D) Collective-level crises from outside Aalto

Large-scale catastrophe, natural disaster, terrorist attack, or an outbreak of war or conflict abroad

As a university, Aalto is highly international. When major catastrophes, natural disasters (earthquake, tsunami), terror attacks, or outbreaks of violent or military conflict occur, they can impact some members of the Aalto community directly or indirectly. They may involve the Aalto member in a physical or concrete sense (e.g. individuals present at the scene) and/or psychologically (e.g. individuals from the country or region in question). 

HR services (HR) and Learning Services (LES) have a model for how to act in such crises. The model seeks to identify and attempt to reach the Aalto members who are affected by the situation. If you contact such members, send information regarding what psychological symptoms a crisis may cause, when they should seek help, and where they can find crisis support. You can download the instructions at the bottom of the page. Contact is usually made based on the member’s nationality or presumed location. However, a crisis may also impact Aalto members who cannot be reached according to these criteria. Some crises may affect at some level a very large part of the community, if not everyone (e.g. the outbreak of the war in Ukraine), and they may have a more personal impact on some than on others. 

Occupational health, the Aalto chaplains, HR, and the psychology group in charge of collective crises may organise discussion sessions for members of the community, if necessary. 

How to respond in your role as a teacher or advisor?

• If you suspect that the event may be impacting a student, you can ask them how they are managing and make sure they have received support, if needed.
  • Sometimes we do not ask, thinking that unless the way we try to console or the words we use are correct, we might only make the student feel worse. In reality, there is generally no single ‘right’ way to console or correct words to use. You might just tell the student that you do not know what to say, except that you are sorry on their behalf and you wish to give your condolences. Giving your attention to the other person, listening to them and directing them to where can find other support, if needed, is sufficient.
• If you encounter a student with a need for support because of a crisis in their part of the world, you can guide them to visit the Starting Point of Wellbeing and talk about it; there they can also be referred to other crisis support that is available.
• A student in the early stage of a psychological crisis may have difficulty concentrating on studies and on normal daily tasks. Therefore, it is recommended that these factors be taken into account when considering the student’s studies. The student may also be advised to talk with their own study coordinator, for example.

Major accident, pandemic, natural disaster or terrorist attack in Finland

Crises occurring in or aimed at Finland, including major accidents, deadly natural disasters, pandemics and terror attacks, may indirectly affect a great many or even a majority of members of the Aalto community, making it necessary for the community to process and talk through the incident with others. The need to process a collective psychological crisis depends on how unexpected the incident was, its duration, extent and effects. This need is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. ´¡²¹±ô³Ù´Ç’s Crisis Management Team (CMT) manages the activities related to these kinds of crises. 

It is important to note that if a member of the Aalto community is the victim of a crisis of this level (e.g. if a student at Aalto died in a major accident occurring elsewhere in Finland), then the situation must be managed separately as a collective crisis, since its effects directly affect some members of the Aalto community.

How to respond in your role as a teacher or advisor?

A student may need a more personal form of crisis support if the crisis affects them directly, for example, if the victim was someone close to them. In such cases, guide the student to the support services as necessary.

E) Traumatic crises that affect the whole university

A crises occurring at Aalto, such as a major accident, natural disaster, school attack or terrorist attack

Although traumatic crises directly involving the university are very rare, they have the potential to impact a great many or even all members of the Aalto community. Therefore, they can cause psychological crises in individuals and in the community and make it necessary to talk through and deal with the effects of the incident. The need for such processing of a collective psychological crisis depends on how unexpected the incident was, its duration, extent and effects. The need for collective crisis support is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 

´¡²¹±ô³Ù´Ç’s Crisis Management Team (CMT) together with the authorities are responsible for managing crises of this scale, and the community is informed of the crisis guidelines.

In conclusion: Support providers for students in crisis and for staff members who encounter them

Where can the student in crisis obtain help?

• An updated list of support providers and places where a person in personal crisis can receive help:  /en/study-at-aalto/starting-point-of-wellbeing#11-where-can-i-get-help-and-support-in-crisis-situations-or-other-acute-need-for-help-
• The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) arranges healthcare for bachelor's and master's degree students in non-acute situations: . Exchanges students are not entitled to use FSHS services. In emergency situations, exchange students may use the healthcare services in the municipality where they live.
• For international students, a useful list has been made of the various services available to them in Finland: Living in Finland | Aalto University

Where should I send a student who needs support for studies due to a crisis?

• The wide range of services available at Aalto is listed at Where to get guidance and support | Aalto University.
• Starting Point of Wellbeing | Aalto University offers students easily accessible guidance in matters concerning well-being and ability to study.
• A student may be entitled for health reasons to receive reasonable personal study arrangements at Aalto: Individual study arrangements | Aalto University

Where can a teacher or advisor receive support for responding to a student in a crisis situation?

• If the situation is serious, immediately contact the school's manager of academic affairs and the head of security and risk management.
• In situations that are unclear, confusing or otherwise challenging, you should contact your supervisor as soon as possible to discuss the situation.
• Remember: if you need support for yourself, you can turn to the university’s occupational health care services (Occupational health care | Aalto University) or mental well-being support services (Mental well-being support at Aalto | Aalto University) when you need them.
• You may consult an Aalto study and career psychologist if you wish to discuss how a student in a crisis situation may be helped: Student Services psychologist group | Aalto University