Advising and Counseling
When brief, friendly interactions are insufficient, or you think a student could benefit from help which you or the course professor cannot provide, encourage the student to contact the appropriate University service.
2. Become Informed about What is Available
It will be useful to know of:
- the academic advising provided at the Student Services Office, and the Registrar's Office;
- the career, personal, and study skills counseling available at Counseling Services;
- the general medical and psychiatric services at Health Services.
Find out about the services which are particularly relevant to your TA work. For example, if you are leading seminar or tutorial discussions, you may notice some students who could benefit from the public speaking anxiety reduction programme at Counseling Services. If you are correcting papers, you may wish to refer some students to the Writing Workshop. If you are correcting mathematical assignments, you will want to be knowledgeable about the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Centre. The Student Services Office can provide you with a written booklet describing the considerable variety of services available at Dalhousie.
3. How To Refer Students
Be diplomatic, positive, and specific. Avoid saying things like "This sounds too serious for me to handle," or "I think you need professional help."
You will need to use your own judgement and knowledge of each particular situation. However, it may often be beneficial to:
First ask if the student would like you to suggest who could help with such issues or problems.
If the answer is yes, provide the name, location, and telephone number of the relevant person or service.
Perhaps point out (as will usually be the case) that many other students have similar concerns, and benefit from the type of help you are recommending.