Mental health awareness

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
This PowerPoint session has been designed as a resource to compliment the University of Strathclyde “Helping Students in Distress: A Guide for Staff” document.
Carla Rhodes, Disability & Wellbeing Service: September 2020. www.strath.ac.uk
X THE PLACE OF USEFUL LEARNING

SESSION AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The health and welfare of all members of the University community is everyone’s concern. This PowerPoint provides advice on dealing with students in crisis, as well as guidance on supporting students in emotional distress. It is important to be prepared for emergencies, but also to be aware they occur rarely, and that expert help is always available.
Many people experience emotional and psychological difficulties at some point in their lives. Usually these difficulties can be resolved by talking them through with family and friends. Sometimes professional help is needed. If you are required to offer extra assistance to a student it is important to be mindful of your competence and capabilities, as well as the boundaries of your role.
This PowerPoint session has been designed as a resource to compliment the University of Strathclyde “Helping Students in Distress: A Guide for Staff” document. Both the PowerPoint and Guide have been produced to :

• Raise awareness of issues relating to student mental health
• Help you to recognise when a student may be in difficulty
• Provide advice to help you respond/refer appropriately and effectively
• Remind you of the sources of support within the University

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH

• Half of all young adults will access higher education by the time they are thirty. Students now form a significant group within the young adult population, and as numbers have grown, the student population increasingly resembles the wider young adult population in its diversity and characteristics. Support within our University communities needs to build from an understanding of the differing identities, characteristics and needs of the student population.
• Students are at higher risk of developing mental health problems with research showing many people first experience mental health problems or first seek help when they are at university.
• Students with mental health problems are more likely to experience disruption to their education through taking time off, attempting to continue their studies without the support they need, or dropping out altogether.

Minding Our Future: Starting a Conversation about the support of student mental health. Universities UK, 2018.

The number of students to drop out of university with mental health problems has more than trebled in recent years, official figures show a 210% increase.