Tucson shootings draw attention to warning signs

By Elizabeth Vogel, Staff Writer -- vogel11@up.edu

Before Jared Loughner was charged with shooting U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson last month, he was a student at Pima Community College.

Peers at the college noticed behavior strange enough for the school to suspend him until he obtained a mental health clearance. In media reports after the shootings, mental health professionals said Loughner showed clear signs of untreated mental instability.

The Tuscon incident, much like the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, sparked discussion nationwide about what colleges can do about unstable students who may be prone to act out violently.

"At the University of Portland, like every college and university in the world, there are students who will manifest the psychotic symptoms," Paul Myers, director of health services at UP, said. The University of Portland is prepared to deal with such situations while keeping the safety of all students at the forefront, according to Harold Burke-Sivers, director of Public Safety.

"Public Safety held joint talks with the health center to come up with a protocol," Burke-Sivers said.

Under this protocol, if Public Safety gets a call about someone who seems dangerous, the officer responding has a flow-chart with a series of steps to take based on answers to certain questions.

"I'm very pleased, the feedback that I've gotten from people in the field is that it has been very effective," Burke-Sivers said.

The protocol addresses a variety of scenarios and strategies for Public Safety officers, who are not trained psychologists.

"We don't do mental health assessments. We make sure we are getting them to the right resources," Burke-Sivers said.

There is a counselor on call 24/7 for Public Safety officers to contact in such cases. Each case is taken individually. The level of threat determines whether a student will simply be referred to the Health Center, or if more drastic measures should be taken.

"Most students comply," Myers said.

In cases when students do not comply, UP has the option to contact Project Respond, a mobile mental health crisis response team in Multnomah County.

Project Respond has the ability to instruct the Portland Police to take a person into custody.

"We use Project Respond once every three to four years," Myers said.

Once taken into custody, the individual may be held for up to 72 hours.

"Within that time a county advocate will conduct an evaluation to determine if early release is necessary, or if the person will voluntarily commit themselves, or whether the commitment needs to be extended against their will," Myers said. The Health Center and Public Safety don't see everything that happens on campus, so it is up to people close to the students as well as other students to recognize and report strange and potentially dangerous behavior.

"All new faculty receive training that says if you have any kind of student mental health situation, contact Public Safety if it's threatening and contact the Health Center if it is not," Myers said. "All residence life staff are trained every summer, and they have a variety of training activities throughout the year."

Aundréa Roberts, a resident assistant in Shipstad, went through the training.

"Returning RAs will act out different scenarios. They lead a group of four or five new RAs through all the different scenarios," she said. "That's really helpful because you get in-the-moment experience."

The RAs are taught to contact the hall director for help in situations where a person seems dangerous, either to himself or others.

"If it's an imminent danger issue, we are trained to call the hall director to come assess the situation, or we explain over the phone. The hall director will decide whether to call Public Safety," Roberts said.

The RAs' main goal is to keep the situation under control.

"We try to keep people calm – the individual and crowd control," Roberts said.

The most dangerous situations are rare, according to Public Safety and the Health Center.

"The most potentially debilitating and disruptive are the thought disorders or mood disorders that include psychosis," Myers said.

This category includes schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, major depression with psychosis, bi-polar disorder and substance- or trauma-induced psychoses. While mental health experts say the vast majority of people who suffer from those conditions are not violent, there are those whose hallucinations or delusions could result in dangerous behavior.

"The person feels under siege and believes they are justified in obeying the commands of an internal voice in their mind to take actions of self-protection, which can range from bizarre rituals to committing acts of violence," Myers said.

Once a person with a potentially dangerous diagnosis is brought to the University's attention, there are multiple interventions the school can use.

"If somebody has a concern, we'll do an evaluation," Myers said.

Once evaluated, the person can receive medication and counseling. If unable to function at the university, he or she can take a voluntary medical leave, allowing the student to return home and seek treatment. If necessary, the University can impose an involuntary administrative leave, which would force the student to leave the school pending a mental health clearance from an outside source.

"Administrative leave is rarely used, but it has been used a few times," Myers said.

Roberts has experienced some minor disturbances in the dormitory, but nothing requiring help from Public Safety.

"We had one issue where someone didn't feel comfortable with someone in the wing," she said.

In that kind of situation, the student can talk to the RA, who will refer him to the hall director if necessary, according to Roberts.

Although UP, like other colleges and universities, has some resources to deal with cases of severe psychosis, it is not meant to treat such conditions.

"It's not a mental health facility. It's a school," Myers said.

The protocol and resources are in place to ensure the safety of everyone on campus. For it to work, Myers believes students should be aware of the resources and warning signs.

"If you see something unusual, don't just look the other way. Seek consultation, seek help," Myers said.

Myers also pointed out that usually an individual with severe mental illness is more dangerous to himself than others.

"When somebody is that ill, it is rare that they are a threat to other people," he said.

 

What are some warning signs?

 

- any changes in behavior

- talk about suicide

- talk about self-harm or harm to others

- paranoia

- agitation

- hallucinations (can be auditory, olfactory, visual or kinesthetic)

- delusions (unsubstantiated belief systems, usually paranoid or grandiose)

- possession of weapons