Supporting Mental Health
Sending your student to college brings with it many changes, some expected and some surprising. Preparing for these changes ahead of time can ensure your student has you as a resource as they begin and navigate this journey.
Centering Mental Health in the Transition to College
Families are a huge part of a student’s support team even after they leave home. At Middlebury, we’re excited to have you as a partner.
A few tips for you and your student:
Make a communication plan.
- How often will you talk?
- Will you communicate via text, video chat, phone call?
- How will you let each other know that you need to change your plan when the schedule doesn’t work?
- Having a regular day, time, and agreed upon channel of communication can ground both students and families.
Support your student in seeking out campus resources on their own.
- Be prepared to hear about challenges. It can be hard to hear about your student struggling, even when they are completely appropriate for college students. Often, students feel they can be most honest or share the hardest parts of college with families and they might leave out some of the easy or good things that are happening too.
- Know our campus resources, but encourage your student to seek them out on their own. This can foster a sense of accomplishment and make it easier the next time they need help with something.
- Parents and families can always contact campus resources to learn more, ensure that they have the correct outreach channels, and practice how to describe the resource or support to their student.
Contact campus staff for consultation or in the case of emergency.
- Families are our partners. If you are concerned about your student’s immediate health or safety, call call Public Safety at (802)443-5911.
- For non-urgent concerns of information requests consider contacting a campus office that provides support or services on the topic at the center of the concern or CARE Management at or call/text (802) 443-3340. CARE Managers can help you understand which campus resources might be able to help.middcares@middlebury.edu
Make sure your student knows that you believe mental health matters.
Starting conversations about mental health can be hard at first or families may feel unsure about how being connected at a distance will go. Here are some resources to help start the conversation:
- Starting the Discussion: College and Your Mental Health, A Guide for Families, is a great resources from JED Foundation and National Alliance on Mental Illness. You can download the guide from the site.
- Supporting Mental Health From a Distance: When should a parent intervene? provides helpful and actionable information from the Set To Go JED Program.
Navigating Transitions Webinar for Parents and Families
Director of Health and Wellness Education Madeline Hope-Lyng provides tips for parents and families who are supporting their student in their transition to Middlebury.
