Mental Health Issues in Education Abroad Workshop

Charles Morse is Associate Dean of Student Life and Director of the Student Development and Counseling Center (SDCC) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Charlie has been with the SDCC since 1993 and assumed the role of Director of Counseling in 2005. He is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), with a MA in Counseling Psychology from Assumption College. Charlie works directly with students and also oversees WPI’s innovative training and consultation programs on recognizing and responding to student distress.  He brings his clinical expertise along with his experience in working with faculty and staff as they prepare for WPI’s unique study abroad model to bear in this training.

Natalie A. Mello is Vice President for Programs, Services & Trainings at the Forum on Education Abroad, a non-profit association recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the field of education abroad. She oversees a range of initiatives including the Forum’s Professional Certification Program, the Critical Incident Database, Standards Institutes, and she manages the process for updating the Standards of Good Practice in Education Abroad. Natalie joined the Forum in 2011 after serving 18 years as Director of Global Operations in the Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Natalie is the architect of the Professional Certification in Education Abroad and is responsible for developing all Forum offered workshop curricula.

• Overview of the prevalence and nature of U.S. mental health issues on U.S. campuses;
• A very brief overview of the U.S. legal and ethical landscape within which we support students;
• Discussion of how to work with U.S. students to promote disclosure and collaboration regarding mental health issues;