Over-stressed, Overwhelmed, and Over Here: Resident Directors and the Challenges of Student Mental Health Abroad

Abstract

This article presents a study that stemmed from the author's personal struggle to help several students abroad suffering from mental illness (endogenous depression, anxiety disorder, borderline personality, paranoia, anorexia). At the time, little research had been written on the role of the resident director in relation to the mental health challenges students may experience while on overseas programs. Therefore, this article attempts to state the nature of these issues, examine current research, and present actual cases of study abroad students with whom the author worked on a variety of mental health concerns (their names and some details have been changed to protect their privacy). The hope of this article is to begin a line of inquiry that will help other professionals in the field come to terms with one of the growing challenges resident directors face working with U.S. undergraduates overseas.