The Role of the Mental Health Consultant in Dealing with Disruptive College Students

Ordinarily, the primary purpose of a college mental health program is to provide direct psychological services to students who are in crisis, usually on a short-term basis. During the course of providing such services, the staff of the program will also be called upon to provide consultation to various employees of the college regarding students who are, allegedly, disruptive. This article will desribe the role of the mental health consultant, highlighting the specific ways in which the consultant can contribute to the resolution of disruptive crises as well as describing some of the misunderstandings and disjunctions that may arise between complaints and the consultant.