Aerial view of campus looking toward the Green Mountains with Old Chapel in the foreground.

Integrated Care coordinates holistic clinical care and provides safety oversight for students experiencing complex health and wellness needs including coordinating with students’ network partners at Middlebury, their communities, and interpersonal family systems. 

In Integrated Care we seek to build on the efforts of our colleagues across departments by offering timely support in navigating complex situations that may arise in any context of community at Middlebury College.

Informed by Dialogic Practice developed in Western Lapland, Integrated Care works with students to explore their comprehensive wellness needs through the Collaborative Network Approach. This model is a flexible, person-centered approach that highlights the importance of relationships and social supports in a student’s life at Middlebury, also known as their “network.” CNA offers immediate help by identifying and activating students’ support network, and later leveraging peer support recovery-oriented care strategies. Working together, our priorities are to increase transparency, ensure that the voices of students and their networks are heard, address the most pressing needs, and create student-directed care plans. 

By producing plans for care that are clear to all involved, thoughtful about bias and power dynamics, and offer the greatest likelihood of success as defined by the students at the center of concern. Because the worries of the community are directly addressed in therapeutic collaboration, we will also see increased support and empowerment for network members that are involved, and perhaps distressed, in any given crisis. 

Some of the skills and principles that guide this work include the following: 

  • Reflection 
  • Listening without an agenda 
  • Slowing down and taking time before making decisions 
  • Avoiding interpretations and explanations in favor of listening with curiosity 
  • Inviting all the voices to be heard during meetings, and  
  • Guaranteeing safety for the network 

This model of care increases transparency and communication through the practices of dialogue and reflection. This directly challenges the common clinical practices of top-down care plans and separating individuals from their experiences and communities. Research shows that CNA substantially lowers rates of hospitalization and medication use, aligns with a human rights-centered paradigm, and can result in substantially altered, or entirely diverted, trajectories of negative mental health outcomes.  

Complex Consultation and Referral Planning for Specialized Care Needs 

There may be times when students are experiencing competing care and wellness needs, have exhausted resource options or aren’t sure what resources are available, or are concerned about the wellbeing of others. In these situations, Integrated Care can provide consultation, referrals, and assist with planning. These services are available to students as well as to staff, faculty, administrators, parents, family, and friends who are concerned about a current student and are seeking guidance.  

Wellness Response Action Planning (MWRAP) 

Middlebury College’s Wellness Response Action Plan (MWRAP) was developed to empower students to envision the best version of themselves at Middlebury. The plan leverages individual strengths, identifies barriers, potential pitfalls and future challenges, and names resources to guide a student forward after a critical incident, set-back, significant change, or new diagnosis.  MWRAP can be utilized as a template for students to reflect and plan independently or with Integrated Care support. Because MWRAP is highly individualized, it is a versatile template that can be used to identify goals and target change in ways that are not limited to overcoming mental health or medical barriers. All components of a student’s vision for success at Middlebury can be addressed through thoughtful detailed planning within the MWRAP template.  

The MWRAP is informed by the Wellness Recovery Action Plan template developed by Mary Ellen Copeland in collaboration with individuals who identify as peers working towards mental health recovery and wellbeing in 1997. 

Network Mapping 

Network Mapping is a series of 3-4 sessions where students create a piece of art that illustrates their social, institutional, family of origin, and community supports. This therapeutic process evolved from paper-based social network and eco-mapping tools and is combined with elements of art therapy and dialogic practices. Network Mapping helps students identify key resources, examine both healthy and unhealthy patterns of support that exist within relationships, and recognize where informal resources can potentially be expanded or developed. 

Creating a Network Map can be empowering, exciting, and may bring up challenging emotions and memories. Students who participate in Network Mapping with Integrated Care should plan to connect with trusted relationships and campus resources like Counseling, as needed. 

Groups interested in participating in Network Mapping workshops should contact Integrated Care to learn more about options.  

Facilitated Network Meetings 

Facilitated Network Meetings aim to (re)connect individuals experiencing crises with their support networks as soon as possible to talk, reflect, and plan for the future. Meetings are a place for students and those who may be concerned for them to express worries, share perspectives, listen, and increase understanding.  

Meeting goals includes greater senses of agency and responsibility for students. They also often produce plans for care that are clear to all involved, thoughtful about bias, and power dynamics, and offer the greatest likelihood of success as defined by the student(s) at the center of concern. Because the worries of the community are directly addressed in Network Meetings, network relationships are often strengthened as a result and distress is reduced for everyone who participates. 

Safety Planning  

Integrated Care offers one on one safety planning for students who are navigating concerns related to harm to self or others. Plans are often focused on after hours resources for when campus resources are less active. Our safety plans help to address more than standard emergency response practices including in-the-moment network engagement planning and independent therapeutic self-assistance skills, students are empowered to reach out for help in the ways that best serve them before reaching a state of emergency.  

Advocacy 

Integrated Care is committed to our role as student advocates. We can help students both on campus or with outside medical providers find resources and connect with other offices. Integrated Care firmly believes in principals of agency and will support students’ requests for treatment plans, accommodations, or other indicated services.  

Making an Appointment

To schedule complex health consultation, safety planning, facilitated network meetings, network mapping, wellness return action planning, or training please call (802) 443-2305 or email integratedcare@middlebury.edu. If you are needing follow up or develop questions regarding emerging needs, both contact points are available for making a new appointment. 

Common Health Concerns

Getting accurate and up-to-date health information is very important. We have researched the best sites for quality health information and encourage you to use them!

If you have questions or concerns that would best be addressed with a conversation and assessment by a health professional, please call our nurse line at 802-443-3290. If you have any questions or concerns about mental health services or access appointments available, please call our counseling line at 802-443-5141.

Need Help Now?

TalkNow through TimelyCare provides 24/7 access to mental health support. You can speak with a counselor at any time from anywhere simply by opening the TimelyCare app or visiting go/timelycare in a browser and selecting TalkNow.

In case of an emergency, call 911 or Public Safety’s Emergency Line at 802-443-5911.