The pressures and lifestyle risks experienced on a college campus are on constant display, but seeing below the surface of daily life to detect a potentially troubled student is not easy.<\/p>\n
A program now offered at Northern Arizona University uses technology intended to develop \u201cgatekeepers\u201d across campus who can recognize students who may be in psychological distress and then intervene.<\/p>\n
The At-Risk for University Students program features an online role-playing simulation to train students, faculty and staff how to identify those who may need counseling support.\u00a0Access to the online training<\/a>, which uses emotionally responsive avatars, is open to everyone on campus and takes 30-40 minutes to complete.<\/p>\n \u201cThis program is exciting because it uses cutting-edge technology,\u201d said\u00a0Melissa Griffin<\/strong>, senior health educator in the Health Promotions office. \u201cIt\u2019s an efficient, easy, best-practice program.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffin said the peer-to-peer approach is important, considering the number of students who may need additional services.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to get the word out by targeting students for training who interact with a lot of other students,\u201d Griffin said, noting that resident advisors in the residence halls are a logical choice. Griffin also is reaching out to student organizations.<\/p>\n The program is paid for by a grant from the Arizona Department of Health Services, which made it available to universities and community colleges throughout the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"