Engaging Healthy Boundaries While Supporting Students

Facilitator: Angela Parsons, Education Assistant & Human Services Instructor, Accessibility and Wellness Advisor, Columbia College

Welcome and Introduction

Angela Parsons welcomed attendees and shared her role at Columbia College, highlighting her dual responsibilities in teaching and serving as Accessibility and Wellness Advisor. This workshop is part of an ongoing series offered by the Center of Excellence, focusing on topics to support both faculty/staff and, eventually, students. Her focus is primarily on mental health and wellness.

Workshop Focus

This session builds upon a previous workshop on supporting student mental health and shifts the focus to maintaining professional wellness—specifically through boundary setting. Angela emphasized that without clear boundaries, burnout, stress, and emotional fatigue can easily follow, especially when dealing with students in crisis.

“Boundaries aren’t just about saying no. They’re about clearly saying yes to what you’re willing and able to do.”

Agenda Highlights

• Review of the previous mental health workshop

• Defining and reframing what boundaries are

• Reflection activity via Slido

• Roleplay/practice: Rephrasing boundary statements positively

• Resource sharing

• Group scenarios & response development

• Final reflection and evaluation

Reframing Boundaries

Angela led participants through the concept of reframing boundary statements from negatives (e.g., “I can’t meet after class”) to clear, affirmative limits (e.g., “I’m available between 2 and 4 p.m.”). She provided sample responses and encouraged participants to keep go-to phrases on hand to reduce stress in real-time interactions.

Common Challenges Shared

Participants contributed examples of challenging student interactions, including:

• Oversharing or seeking emotional support

• Late-night emails or crisis messaging

• Students trying to build personal rather than professional relationships

• Navigating emotionally charged or political conversations

• Student anxiety, panic, or withdrawal

Angela discussed different anxiety responses—fight, flight, or freeze—and how to identify when students are shutting down rather than acting out.

Reflection Prompts

Through a Slido activity, participants reflected on:

1. Situations where student behavior felt overwhelming

2. Steps they could take when unsure how to respond

Common strategies included pausing, seeking support from managers or Angela, and referring students to the Wellness Hub or external resources.

Active Listening Tools

Angela offered several prompts to validate student feelings while maintaining professional boundaries:

• “It sounds like this has been really tough for you.”

• “I get the sense you’re feeling frustrated. Is that right?”

• “How are you managing with everything?”

These tools allow staff to show empathy without becoming emotionally overextended.

Scenario Practice

Groups tackled situations such as:

• Pressure to break confidentiality

• Students contacting instructors late at night

• Repeated non-academic interactions

• Students needing support beyond the staff’s role

Angela reminded everyone that it’s okay to redirect and refer, especially when interactions exceed emotional or professional limits.

Sample Boundary Statements

Angela shared scripted responses, including:

• “I can understand this is difficult. I encourage you to speak with someone trained to help—here’s the Wellness Hub contact.”

• “I’m not available outside office hours, but here’s a resource that can support you.”

• “Let’s focus on the piece I can help you with—your time management.”

Final Thoughts

Angela emphasized self-care, understanding your professional limits, and modeling resilience for students. The next session in the series will focus on Thriving and Resilience and will include practical strategies for wellness and professional sustainability.

She closed by encouraging participants to complete the feedback survey and watch for handouts and the recording.