Managing Post-election Emotional Distress

Karen Carlucci, LCSW, Director of Mental Health Strategic Partnerships and Brian Nido, Director of Client Experience
All of us at Kognito have been processing the outcome of the presidential election, along with the rest of the country. It seems the complex emotional reactions were rather unexpected, adding to a collective sense of uncertainty. We are aware that this is a critical time in many settings, specifically PK-12 and Higher Education schools, as there may be an overwhelming swell of emotions and concerns amongst students, faculty, and staff.

We want to ensure that everyone in your school community, from the school nurse to resident advisors, are prepared to respond to any emotional distress that a student may be facing during these times. We know that having certain resources readily available can make a significant difference when faced with an increased need to provide student support. Our education clients are equipped with Kognito’s easy to access role-play simulations that empower faculty, staff, and students to readily help connect students experiencing emotional distress with support services.  If your school currently has access, we encourage the use of these simulations, including our emotional wellness programs such as At-Risk, LGBTQ on Campus, Veterans On-Campus, as well as our bullying prevention programs Step In, Speak Up! and Friend2Friend.

As we gear up for the new semester and new year, our Client Experience team is ready to assist with suggested use cases and implementation ideas that you may want to try in these next few weeks. We wanted to share a few below:

For Faculty/Staff Use:

• Include simulation information into upcoming faculty workshops or as a recommended professional development offering
• Encourage use during staff/faculty meetings and in-service days
• Promote re-training (or re-certification) for individuals to start in the second half of the school year

For Student Use:

• Suggest or assign as coursework for students to start the new year
• Encourage Resident Advisors, Fraternity and Sorority Life, and Student Government to adopt this into their training regiment
• Partner with traditionally overlooked groups such as student employees, athletic clubs, sororities/fraternities, study abroad groups, international students, multi-cultural awareness organizations, and LGBTQ clubs

As a reminder, the Kognito team is here to help and to be an additional resource to you and your communities. Please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager if you would like additional dissemination ideas or simply to share what you may be observing in your school environment.

If you currently do not have access and would like to learn more about the Kognito simulations listed above, please contact info@kognito.com.